On January 8, Donald R. Gordon was made Cornell’s interim university architect. Before this appointment, Gordon was associate university architect. Working in this position, Gordon oversaw the expansion of Lynah Rink, the additions on to the Beck Center and Schoellkopf Stadium and the renovation of the School of Hotel Administration.
Peter Karp previously held the position; he retired on November 10 after 10 years at Cornell. Gordon will report to Kyu Whang, vice president for facilities services.
As interim university architect, Gordon will work extensively in campus planning and in maintaining consistency of campus buildings and style. He also is responsible for selecting, managing and mentoring outside architects on capital projects, as well as presenting designs to the university and the board of trustees.
In a statement Whang said that “we are fortunate that Don is able to step in and fill this very important position at such a critical time in the development of our campus … Don will be able to provide the leadership we need to guide us through the foreseeable future.”
Gordon received his Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1981. He then worked in corporate design. Before coming to Cornell four years ago, Gordon worked as manager of construction services and facility planning manager at Ford Motor Land Development Corp. in Grosse Pointe, Mich. At Ford, Gordon helped construct and design facilities worldwide and also was involved in creating a strategic master space plan and corporate space guidelines for all non-production corporate facilities.
Cornell is still looking for a permanent successor to Karp.