Dean Search for the Fay Jones
School of Architecture and Design
Search Candidates
The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design dean search committe has selected three finalists - James C. Stevens, Kristi Cheramie and C.L. Bohannon - who held open forums on April 27, 29 and 30, respectively at 3:30 p.m. each date in the Shollmier Auditorium in Vol Walker Hall (WALK 250). Each presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
During their presentation, each candidate will provide an overview of their academic, professional and administrative background that is relevant to the position. Candidates are asked to highlight key experiences, achievements, and skills that have prepared them for this role.
Additionally, candidates will articulate their vision for the future of architecture and design education, both within the context of the school and the broader field. They will also discuss their approach to leadership and how they would foster a collaborative and innovative environment within the school and across the university.
The campus community is invited to attend each presentation. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Evaluation forms for each candidate will be linked below on the day of their presentation. A recording of each open forum will provided below for those unable to attend in-person. Individuals will need to enter their university credentials to access the recordings.
James C. Stevens (Presenting April 27)
James Stevens is a professor at the School of Architecture at Clemson University, where he served as the school director from 2020 to 2025. Prior to his appointment at Clemson University in 2020, Stevens was chair of the Department of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University, where he was the founding director of makeLab, the University's digital fabrication laboratory. Stevens is also co-author of the book Digital Vernacular, Architectural Principles, Tools, and Processes (Routledge, 2015) and has authored multiple peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.
He is a licensed architect and certified by the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB) and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA). He is the recipient of the AIA Henry Adams Medal for Excellence in the Study of Architecture and was a 2016 Fulbright Scholar in Albania and a 2025 Fulbright Specialist in Peru.
He holds a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of Ferrara in Italy, where he conducted his residency and research at Polis University in Tirana, Albania. He also holds a Master of Architecture from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s degree in historic preservation from The Savannah College of Art and Design. For more information on Stevens, view his curriculum vitae.
Kristi Cheramie (Presenting April 29)
Kristi Cheramie is a professor and the head of landscape architecture at The Ohio State University’s Knowlton School. She has served as the head of the department since 2020 and was recently reappointed for a second term in August 2024. In this role, she oversees nationally recognized accredited programs consisting of more than 200 students and 18 full-time faculty within the school’s landscape architecture program, which is the only landscape architecture program located within a college of engineering in the nation. Cheramie has also served as the chair of undergraduate studies in landscape architecture at the Knowlton School.
Prior to joining the Knowlton School, Cheramie was an associate professor in the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University, where she held the Suzanne L. Turner Associate Professorship. Additionally, she served as a visiting professor at the Sam Fox School of Design at Washington University in St. Louis in 2012.
Cheramie’s research explores how design and building respond to environmental fluctuation, cultural systems, and long-term landscape transformation. She is the author of Through Time and the City: Notes on Rome (Routledge, 2020). She is also the founding director of the Knowlton School’s Midwest Landscape Lab, a research and teaching initiative that examines the ecological, material and cultural histories that shape the Midwest.
Cheramie holds a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. For more information on Cheramie, view her curriculum vitae.
C.L. Bohannon (Presenting April 30)
University of Arkansas alumnus C.L. Bohannon is an associate professor in the Landscape Architecture Department and senior associate dean of faculty affairs and community engagement in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Prior to joining the University of Virginia in 2022, Bohannon was an associate professor of landscape architecture and interim director in the School of Architecture + Design, housed in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He was also director of the Community Engagement Lab and a faculty principal since 2018 at the Leadership and Social Change Residential College at Virginia Tech, living and working alongside students.
As founder and director of the Community Engagement Lab, Bohannon works with communities throughout the Southwest Virginia region of Appalachia, focused on food insecurity, community histories and narratives and urban vacancy. As part of this work, he has crafted a model for community engagement guided by an inclusive approach to design and leadership practice.
Bohannon received his doctorate in architecture and design research and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech. He received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Arkansas. For more information on Bohannon, view his curriculum vitae.