Dr. Thaïsa Way appointed Director, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
February 26, 2025
A message from James Olson, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science
Dr. Thaïsa Way has been appointed to a five-year term as SALA Director. She will begin her term on January 1, 2026.
Dr. Way is currently the Director of Garden and Landscape Studies (GLS), Dumbarton Oaks where she leads the Mellon funded “Democracy and Landscape: Race, Identity, and Difference Initiative.” She also teaches in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University and is Professor Emerita at the College of Built Environments, University of Washington, Seattle.
Dr. Way has held multiple leadership positions both within and external to academia including as Curator of the Historic Grounds at the University of Virginia, Director of the President’s Council at Cornell University, and Executive Director of the Ithaca Community Childcare Center. She was a leader for faculty initiatives including Urban@UW and was elected to Faculty Senate leadership at the University of Washington. She is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (2016) and an elected Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (2018). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Architectural Historians, as a jury member for the ASEH George Perkins Marsh Environmental History Book Award, as Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Society of Architectural Historians, and is the academic representative for the Landscape Architecture CEO Roundtable.
In her role as Principal Investigator for the “Democracy and Landscape Initiative” Dr. Way leads the Built Environment Deans Advancing Change Initiative to mentor early career BIPoC and under-represented faculty in design and planning schools.
Dr. Way holds a PhD from Cornell University and a Master of Architectural History from the University of Virginia. Her publications span her interests in design and land pedagogy, the public realm in democracies, and history of territory and public lands in the 20th century. Throughout her career, Dr. Way has been highly successful in obtaining multiple research and teaching grants and has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to research and teaching.
The Committee found Dr. Way to be an outstanding candidate for the position of SALA Director and believes she will bring invaluable expertise and leadership to the role.
"I am deeply honoured by the opportunity to contribute to this very special school as I believe design is a critical body of knowledge and practice in this moment if we are to build the future our world needs, for all of us." - Dr. Thaïsa Way
Director, pro tem Blair Satterfield will continue in his role until Dr. Way’s term begins in January 2026. The SALA and Applied Science communities extend their gratitude for Professor Satterfield’s excellent contributions and leadership as the School searched for its next director.
