The soon-to-be dean of the College of Architecture and Planning said he will use his broad affiliations to intersect the department's disciplines and create an international dimension in the college.
"I am very excited about the potential that the College of Architecture and Planning offers," said Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, who will leave his position as executive associate dean and director of outreach at Texas A&M University and begin working at Ball State University on August 1. "I feel that everyone in the College is ready to take things to the next level."
Vasquez de Velasco is a practicing architect with degrees in architecture and urban planning. He has conducted research on Computer Mediated Design Education, an achievement he said has helped him move up the academic ranks.
"Guillermo is an outstanding professor of architecture and has significant architecture experience," Ball State Provost Terry King said. "He also has considerable international experience and comes from a highly-regarded university."
Past meetings with faculty and students from the College of Architecture and Planning have impressed him and influenced his decision to take the position, Vasquez de Velasco said.
"I think our students are well known and appreciated for their ability to perform with high levels of competency," he said. "I look forward to future generations of CAP students who will be able to compete in a global and multidisciplinary professional market."
Junior architecture student Mark Vanden Akker said he did not know about the assignment of the new dean, but looks forward to seeing what changes Vasquez de Velasco will make to the college.
The new dean has a son who will leave their home in Texas and attend New York University in the fall, making it a good time for Vasquez de Velasco and his wife, Antonieta, to move to Muncie.
"We have been very happy in College Station [Texas] and feel that Muncie will become home very fast," he said. "So far we have met many people that we look forward to [calling] friends. Muncie has the potential to be a success story, and I look forward to being part of that story."
Vasquez de Velasco's achievements include the College Teaching Excellence Award and two Graduate Faculty awards, all won during his time at Texas A&M. He also has wide-ranging academic and professional affiliations in Latin America and Europe, and his work to develop international programs there resulted in him winning the University International Excellence Award.
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