Study Architecture 
ProPEL This year’s administrators conference will take place in Fayetteville, Arkansas — November 6-8, 2025 — for current and future educational leaders. The conference will be a series of in-person sessions and roundtables to collaborate, share ideas and discuss.
Bridging Proximities
Redefining Leadership in a Changing Academy
The 2025 Administrators Conference invites academic leaders to engage in a critical exploration of proximity—as a conceptual, spatial, institutional, and ethical condition shaping architectural education and leadership.
In an era marked by rapid transformation in higher education and the profession, architecture administrators are increasingly called to serve as both stewards and bridge-builders. They navigate complex proximities—between the academy and the profession, technology and humanity, immediacy and long-term vision—while championing architecture’s relevance in a world that urgently needs its vision.
This year’s conference foregrounds proximity as a catalyst for mutual influence, friction, reciprocity, and transformation. What boundaries must we renegotiate? What pedagogical forms foster ethical adjacency? How might proximity deepen accountability or open space for adaptive leadership?
Set in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a region defined by its blend of mid-century and contemporary design, and a culture that values philanthropy and community impact, the conference offers a timely context for reflection and forward-looking exchange. Join us as we consider the frameworks, relationships, and proximities that will shape the future of architectural education.
Steering Committee
John E. Folan
University of Arkansas
José L.S. Gámez
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Ethel Goodstein-Murphree
University of Arkansas
Peter B. MacKeith II
University of Arkansas
Michael Monti
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
Robert is director of the Home Region Program at the Walton Family Foundation. In this role, he leads the foundation’s work advancing economic and cultural vibrancy, opportunity and inclusion in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.
Robert has more than 25 years of experience in workforce housing, philanthropy, community development and governmental affairs. Most recently, he led efforts to promote financial inclusion and economic empowerment as senior vice president of Citi. In previous roles, Robert partnered with nonprofit and public agencies to build more inclusive cities; managed a Community Development Financial Institution; directed nonprofit solutions for an affordable housing organization; and served in local government in four states.
Robert has a master’s in public administration from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s in political science from Appalachian State University.
Sharon L. Gaber, Ph.D., serves as the fifth Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Charlotte region’s public research university. Since her arrival as Chancellor in 2020, the University has embarked on a bold 10-year strategic plan that articulates a new vision to drive discovery and innovation for the region as a globally recognized public research university. Charlotte officially earned the nation’s top research designation, Carnegie R1, in February 2025.
Driven by rising student and research success metrics, Charlotte has reached new heights in the national rankings. Since 2020, Charlotte is one of the fastest-rising universities in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, rising 85 spots overall. For 2026, Charlotte ranks No. 74 among U.S. public universities and is the most innovative public university in North Carolina, at No. 38 nationally.
Gaber has been widely recognized for her leadership and innovation. She was named one of the Charlotte Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs in 2021 and was featured on the publication’s prestigious Power 100 list in both 2022 and 2024, highlighting the region’s top innovators. She has earned a spot on Business North Carolina’s Power List for four consecutive years, and in 2025 the American Enterprise Institute named her one of the best college presidents of the century (#25 out of more than 400).
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Deeply engaged in community and regional activities, she serves on the board of Charlotte Center City Partners and is a member of the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, Charlotte’s Leading on Opportunity Council, Women Executives, and the International Women’s Forum – Carolinas. At the national level, she serves on the board of the Coalition of Urban-Serving Universities and on the Executive Committee of the American Athletic Conference.
A native of Southern California, Gaber earned an A.B. in Economics and Urban Studies from Occidental College, an M.P.L. in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. in City & Regional Planning from Cornell University.
Prior to her arrival at UNC Charlotte, Gaber served for five years as president of the University of Toledo. Earlier in her career, she served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas. She has also served as an administrator and interim provost at Auburn University and a faculty member and administrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Officially the first woman to serve as chancellor of UNC Charlotte, Gaber follows the trail blazed by founding educator Bonnie Cone, who led the institution from 1946-66 through several stages of growth.
Gaber is the proud mother of three children: Allison, Peter and Jen (dec).
Conference Partners
Michelle Sturges
Conferences Manager
202-785-2324
msturges@acsa-arch.org
Eric W. Ellis
Sr. Director of Operations and Programs
202-785-2324
eellis@acsa-arch.org
