Dawn Jourdan is the Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She was previously appointed Executive Associate Dean for the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. In that capacity, she served as Dean of Faculty, Research and Graduate Programs. She held the rank of professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. Previously, Dawn was as associate professor and Director of the Division of Regional and City Planning at the University of Oklahoma (2012-2016). Dawn held a joint appointment between the Colleges of Design, Construction, and Planning and the Levin College of Law from 2008-2012. She began her academic career in 2003 at Texas A&M University.
Dawn studies issues at the intersection of urban planning and law. Her book (with co-author Eric Strauss) Planning for Wicked Problems: A Planner’s Guide to Land Use Law, is used to train undergraduate and graduate students who pursue degrees in urban planning in applicable legal principles. She has taught courses in land use law, growth management, affordable housing and planning history and theory, among others. An interdisciplinary scholar, Dawn was awarded the Harold Adams Interdisciplinary Professorship in Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning by Texas A&M University.
Dawn is well-known for her work in the field of on-premise sign regulation. With an interdisciplinary group of scholars, she crafted a model sign code for the International Sign Association (ISA). She founded the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education and served as the editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding. She currently serves as the chair of the Planners Outreach Subcommittee for ISA.
Dawn earned a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Florida State University in 2004, a joint degree in law and urban planning from the University of Kansas in 2000, and a B.S. in Social Services and Theatre Arts from Bradley University in 1996.