The faculty, students, and staff of the The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend  Former Dean, Hal Box, who passed away on Sunday, May 8, 2011. Box was recognized for his prolific career and long and distinguished tenure as dean with the naming of the Goldsmith courtyard the “Eden & Hal Box Courtyard,” honoring his service and the support of his wife, Eden. He learned at the dedication reception that he had been named dean emeritus, a title held by only a handful of individuals at the university.

The faculty, students, and staff of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture are grieving the loss of a friend, colleague, and mentor, Associate Professor Kent Butler. Kent died in a tragic accident while hiking in Yosemite National Park on Friday, May 13, 2011. Dr. Butler had been with the School of Architecture since 1978. He was most recently serving as Associate Dean for Research and Operations and as the program director and associate professor for the Community and Regional Planning Program.

Associate Professor Mirka Benes and Michael G. Lee edited the recently published book, Clio in the Italian Garden: Twenty-First-Century Studies in Historical Methods and Theoretical Perspectives (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.; and Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass). On March 12, Benes presented a paper titled “Gardens and the Larger Landscape, Real and Imagined, in the Rome of Claude Lorrain,” at the University of Tennesse Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies’ annual symposium, “Gardens, Real and Imagined.”.

Assistant Professor Allan W. Shearer and P.H. Liotta contributed a chapter: Environmental Security and Ecoterrorism edited by Hami Alpas, Simon M. Berkowicz, and Irina Ermakova, and published last month as part of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2011).
 
Dean Fritz Steiner contributed a commentary, titled “Planning and Design: Oil and Water or Bacon and Eggs?,” in the Summer 2011 edition of the Journal of Planning Education and Research, published by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.