Does Kent State have the stomach to compete as an architecture school?

Yesterday the New York Times reported that Robert Stern has been appointed to his third term at Yale. Named as Dean of Yale School of Architecture in 1998 Mr. Stern has since overcome the reputation of a traditional "comfort" architect to a Dean with a acceptance to varied, multiple styles and as an educator that "encourages risk and experimentation at Yale..."

While still a practicing architect Robert Stern is best known for his traditional style buildings where the concentration is on client needs, expectations and fine detail instead of the current (starchitecture) emphasis for iconic avant garde form. Stern comes from an educational background which was rooted in the importance of understanding history and architectural precedence of multiple cultures, not just the traditional Eurocentric views concentrated on by many current educational institutions.

Currently Kent State University shall begin another search for the Dean of Kent's College of Architecture and Environmental Design as Steven Fong, the most recent dean, has left the school. This leaves the college in quite the predicament. For the second time in as many years the college falls back under the control of an interim dean while precious resources are allocated to finding a new figurehead to shape and mold the curriculum of Kent's architecture department while still attempting to create a pathos for the current flock of students to follow. The question haunts the city closest to the institution. Will Kent be able to discover a strong willed and bold figure willing to guide Kent's program to face the challenges of the new millennia, or will the school flounder in indecision and what may be described as complacency?

As a Kent graduate and someone with close ties to the city my concern is that the program may not be up to the task of cultivating the intent and thought necessary to capitulate a design culture in this shrinking city, where creative and bold ideas are more than necessary to turn Cleveland's path around, where it is all too easy to give up and leave for the greener pastures of other cities saturated with design talent and the will to brandish it.

I would hope Kent takes this opportunity to re-examine the CAED's intent and whether they have the tools and the will to achieve their goals. If they find the tools lacking, I suggest they do all they can to rebuild their educational foundations (design theory and history), if they lack the will, I ask that they (the school) concentrate on what they have a passion for instead of over saturating the profession with contemporaries who have never been exposed to a desire to explore design. There are plenty of fine technical schools out there where one can learn to draft a window detail, a Master's degree seems a touch overkill.