Dean, School of Architecture
Michael Speaks was named dean in 2013. He was dean of the College of Design at the University of Kentucky from 2008-13 and director of the graduate program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles from 1998-2005. Speaks has taught in the graphic design department at the Yale School of Art and in the architecture programs at Harvard University, Columbia University, The University of Michigan, UCLA, the Art Center College of Design, the Berlage Institute, and the TU Delft in the Netherlands. Speaks was founding editor of the cultural journal Polygraph, and former senior editor at Any where he also edited two books in the series, “Writing Architecture,” published by MIT Press. In addition, he served for many years on the editorial advisory board of a+u in Japan, and as a contributing editor for Architectural Record.
Speaks has published and lectured internationally on contemporary art, architecture, urban design, and scenario planning. Speaks has played an important role in recent debates about city branding and alternative models of city planning, authoring a number of essays and advisory studies, as well as overseeing scenario studies commissioned by city and regional governments in the U.S. and in Europe. Speaks earned his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his Ph.D. from Duke University.