Yocom has served as interim dean since October 2024 and is a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, where he previously served as department chair. A longtime member of the UW faculty, Yocom brings deep institutional knowledge, a collaborative leadership style and a long-standing commitment to the college鈥檚 mission of advancing justice, sustainability and resilience through the built environment.

鈥淜en has been a thoughtful and steady leader during a critical period of transition,鈥� Serio said. 鈥淗e brings not only deep institutional knowledge but a clear vision for how the college can meet the challenges and opportunities of the future. His collaborative approach and student-centered focus will continue to strengthen the college鈥檚 impact in our region and beyond.鈥�

Yocom鈥檚 research and teaching examine the relationships between ecological systems and the built environment, with a particular focus on how infrastructure, water and landscape shape communities. His work reflects the college鈥檚 commitment to place-based, interdisciplinary solutions that respond to today鈥檚 most pressing societal challenges 鈥� from climate change to housing access to public health.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to continue leading this remarkable college 鈥� a community defined by purpose, creativity and care,鈥� Yocom said. 鈥淎t the College of Built Environments, we don鈥檛 just prepare students to design buildings or plan cities 鈥� we help them imagine and shape a better world. I鈥檓 inspired by the ways our faculty, staff and students come together to confront urgent challenges, and I鈥檓 excited for what we will build 鈥� together.鈥�

Yocom holds a master鈥檚 degree in landscape architecture and a doctorate in built environments from the 天美影视传媒. As dean, he will lead a college that brings together architecture, construction management, landscape architecture, real estate and urban planning in pursuit of transformative solutions for communities and the planet.

The 2017 NEH Summer Institute, titled “CITY/NATURE: Urban Environmental Humanities,” is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, part of a supporting 290 humanities projects across the United States. The summer institute, administered through the UW , was awarded a grant of $179,256 to fund the program.

The summer program for teachers “responds to the call for a broader and more inclusive approach” to the teaching of environmental studies, co-organizer , associate professor of landscape architecture, wrote in a statement. “Intended for college and university faculty, the institute will explore the emerging landscape of the urban environmental humanities as it informs scholarship and teaching.”

Though the program’s readings and discussions “will engage a range of global cities, the institute will use Seattle as an urban case study throughout.” About 25 college and university teachers will attend.

Organizing the program with Way are , associate professor of landscape architecture; and , associate professor of French and Italian studies. UW faculty joining them as guest speakers will be , associate professor in the Jackson School and director of the ; , associate professor of architecture; , associate professor of history and , associate professor of classics. Other guest speakers will include David Pellow of the University of California, Santa Barbara, William Gleason of Princeton University, Laura Pulido of the University of Southern California and Stephanie LeMenager of the University of Oregon.

“Cities are our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity to steward the natural world,” Way said. “Humanists can help scientists and planners think about people, culture, and society in our understanding of the natural world, and scientists and planners can help humanists understand the role of the natural world in our global cultures.”

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For more information about the 2017 NEH Summer Institute, contact Way at 206-685-2523 or tway@uw.edu.