J. Thomas Regan, who has served for a decade as dean of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, will address graduating Aggies at one of two Texas A&M summer graduation ceremonies Aug. 8 at Reed Arena.
Regan will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony, addressing graduates from the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture, Business, Engineering and Science.
Regan’s colleague, Richard H. Adams, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, will speak at the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony to graduates from his own college, as well as the Bush School of Government and Public Service, and the colleges of Education and Human Development, and Liberal Arts.
Both outgoing deans are relinquishing their administrative duties in August. Regan plans to remain at the College of Architecture as a professor of architecture, pursuing a teaching and research agenda.
Regan has been dean of the Texas A&M College of Architecture since 1998. Under his leadership, the college established innovative teaching programs, expanded virtually every teaching, research, and service outcome measure, and more than tripled its endowment.
Also during Regan’s tenure as dean, the College of Architecture became the largest college of its type in the nation, with one of the most advanced research agendas. A strong advocate of interdisciplinary collaboration in research and education in the built and virtual environments, Regan is responsible for significantly expanding the college’s global influence. He has long been committed to using international study and research as catalysts for global collaboration in both education and professional practice.
Prior to coming to Texas A&M, he served as dean of architecture at three other major universities— Auburn, North Carolina State and the University of Miami. In a recent nationwide survey of leading design practitioners and firm presidents conducted by the DesignIntelligence journal, Dean Regan was cited as one of the nation’s “25 Most Admired Educators.”
He received his undergraduate degree in architecture from Auburn University and a graduate degree at the Architectural Association Graduate School in London, England. He has worked for architecture firms in Alabama, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Dean Regan has been a member of 18 national accreditation teams for professional programs in architecture and landscape architecture in the United States and Canada. He served as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and has served on the board of directors of the South Florida and North Carolina chapters of the American Institute of Architects, and on the boards of numerous community groups. He has been a consultant on major projects for the states of Alabama, Ohio and Maryland.
Regan’s scholarship focuses on design education, visual languages, and design methodology. He also conducts research on modern campus planning innovations. He has made presentations at universities and professional meetings in the United States and abroad and often serves as a juror for design competitions and awards programs at both the state and national level.
At Texas A&M, Dean Regan served as a member of the steering committee that coordinated the University’s award-winning campus master plan and he was a key contributor to Texas A&M’s Vision 2020 initiative. As campus planner for Texas A&M, he provides oversight for the design and construction of new buildings, currently budgeted at over $900 million, on the university’s 5,200-acre main campus.
