Mintai Kim appointed as associate dean of graduate studies for the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design

Krista Timney

29 Jul 2024

Mintai Kim, professor of landscape architecture, has been named associate dean of graduate studies for Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. His five-year appointment began on June 25.

In his new role, Kim will provide leadership and support in all areas related to graduate programs and students within the college, encompassing programs and activities in Blacksburg as well as those taking place at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center in Alexandria.

Immediate priorities for the position are increasing enrollments in the college’s current master’s, doctoral, and graduate certificate programs, which span across four top-ranked schools, and building a sense of community among graduate students and the college faculty and staff who are involved with and invested in the success of these students.

Kim also hopes to maintain a strong presence on campus, serving as an advocate and champion for graduate students. In addition, he will lead efforts to investigate options for developing additional degree programs in the college.

“I am particularly excited about expanding the college’s graduate offerings,” said Kim. “Additionally, I look forward to building strong, supportive communities. As an international student, I greatly appreciated the support from the graduate studies community at my previous institution. My goal is to foster a similar environment at Virginia Tech.”

Kim is a professor in the Landscape Architecture Program in the School of Design, having joined the university in 2007. Since 2022, he has served as co-coordinator of the Ph.D. program in architecture and design research.

“Mintai Kim is a longtime member of the college faculty and has been very successful in his prior leadership roles, including chair of his school’s curriculum committee and co-coordinator of the Ph.D. program,” said Dean Lu Liu. “He has many years of experience supporting and creating productive research collaborations with graduate students, and we are looking forward to his work in enhancing our community and elevating and growing the college’s advanced degree offerings.”

As a researcher, Kim has focused on helping communities deal with disturbances such as climate change and sea level rise, as well as on projects related to controlling light pollution and other factors to improve nightscapes. He started the Climate and Community Resilience Laboratory at Virginia Tech and uses Geodesign, a collaborative framework, to solve complex design and planning problems related to climate change. He has built and sustained strong collaborative relationships with stakeholders in Virginia's coastal region, providing alternative design and planning solutions.

Kim received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence in 2023. He has been recognized with the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s Excellence in Research and/or Creative Works Award at the senior level and the Best Scientific Paper at the 18th International Conference on Information Technology in Landscape Architecture.

Kim earned his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Seoul, Korea, and both a Master of Landscape Architecture and Ph.D. in environmental planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

The position of associate dean of graduate studies in the college has been held by Paul Emmons, the Patrick and Nancy Lathrop Professor of Architecture, since 2018. Based at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Emmons is a registered architect and co-coordinates the doctoral program in architecture and design research.

“We sincerely appreciate Paul’s service and accomplishments, and his work to maintain the high quality of the college’s graduate programs and promote the success of individual students,” said Liu. “He has played a major role in helping us prepare for what will be the next chapter in the college of expanding both our enrollments and degree programs. Paul was a very valuable colleague during my first year as dean of the college, and I remain grateful for his shared strategic insights and acumen.”

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