A placemaking pilot for three legacy food trucks along the Purple Line; an interdisciplinary design-build studio with community-serving purpose; an “airy” new lounge for students to congregate.
This fall, MAPP faculty, staff and students joined forces to develop and pitch cross-disciplinary proposals for new coursework, initiatives, research and capital improvements to forward the school’s mission. Now, ten winning proposals have earned seed funding as part of MAPP’s Strategic Initiatives Fund to create meaningful steps in advancing its 2026 Strategic Plan, Building Tomorrow Together.
Nearly $100,000 will kickstart projects that enhance academic opportunity, further the public good, cultivate research and practice, and invest in the school’s community.
“These projects will have a transformational impact on our school’s reach, reputation and programming,” said Dawn Jourdan, dean. “We were thrilled to see our community come together to develop thoughtful, exciting and innovative proposals that were aligned with our values as a leader in built environment education.”
Launched by Jourdan in August, the one-time funds must be used within the academic year; projects will begin as soon as this semester. The winning projects were selected for their alignment with one (or more) of the three strategic planning pillars, but also for their potential for impact. This initial funding, said Jourdan, will help build a foundation for the projects to operate long-term by cultivating partnerships and additional funding outside the school.
“Our goal as a committee was to elevate projects that we think could result in lasting impact for our student, faculty and staff community,” said Lindsey May, associate dean of academic affairs and one of the jury members. “It’s incredible to have this kind of opportunity. The projects directly involve interdisciplinary groups of students, community members, faculty and staff, and in different ways, each project creates ripples of change that impact others beyond the grant team.”
The winning projects are:
- Jolene Giampietro Interdisciplinary Design Competition (PI: Kristen Stack; Co-PIs: Lindsey May, Jesse Saginor, Maggie Haslam, Tanya Bansal, Jen Sanderson, Lena Redisch)
- Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) Course and Workshop Development (PI: Dan Curry; Co-PIs: Joseph Williams, Stefan Woehlke, Susan Kern)
- Purple Line Placemaking Lab: A Community-Engaged Pilot for Long Branch Legacy Food Trucks (PI: Edgar Alvarado; Co-PIs: Ken Filler, Sheila Somashekhar)
- An Interdisciplinary Scaffolding for the Future (PI: Clara Irazabal; Co-PIs: Georgeanne Matthews, Mansur Abdul-Malik, John Park, Chester Harvey, Michelle Magalong)
- Increasing UMD Students’ Opportunities with Improved Transit Access via the Purple Line and Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) (PI: Hiro Iseki; Co-PI: John Park)
- CAMP: Cross-Disciplinary Design-Build Studio (PI: Peter Noonan; Co-PIs: Ryan Muir, Kate Howell)
- MAPP Interdisciplinary Confectionery Construction Challenge (MIC3) (PI: Maggie Haslam; Co-PIs: Kate Howell, Cindy Frank, Lena Redisch, Marty Koelsch)
- MAPP Commons Patio (PI: Jen Sanderson; Co-PIs: Ignace Batsuli, Brian Kelly)
- Buildings and People: Book Group on Gender in Place and Practice (PI: Susan Kern; Co-PIs: Cindy Frank, Clara Irazabal, Tanya Bansal, Lindsey May, Kate Howell, Hiro Iseki)
- Closing the MAPP Gap: An AI Visibility and Content Initiative for Elevating MAPP Recruitment and Digital Identity (PI: Jelena Djakovic; Co-PI: Jesse Saginor)