Faces of FAY: Melinda Smith
Melinda Smith joined the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design’s student services staff in 2001. She is the director of student services for the Fay Jones School and assists the departments with curriculum management, coordinates student scholarships, aids in the organization of the Fay Jones School commencement and oversees the advising center staff.
Faces of FAY: Eric Dempsey
Eric Dempsey, a 2005 graduate of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, is the founder of Dempsey Design, a growing architecture studio based in West Palm Beach, Florida. After spending 14 years living and working across Asia, most notably in Shanghai, he returned to the United States in 2022 to establish his practice and reconnect with his roots. Today, he blends his Southern upbringing with global experience to create meaningful, story-driven spaces.
Faces of FAY: Katie Dunn
Katie Dunn, teaching assistant professor, joined the landscape architecture faculty in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 2023. Dunn has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the Fay Jones School and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Between 2015 and 2020, Dunn worked in Dallas, Texas, and Asheville, North Carolina, before pursuing her master’s degree. After completing that degree in 2022, Dunn worked at a landscape architecture firm in New Orleans.
Faces of FAY: Greg Herman
Greg Herman is an associate professor of architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. Herman received a Master of Architecture from Rice University, where he was awarded the William Dunlap Darden Medal, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. He worked in professional practice in Boston, Massachusetts, while also teaching at the Boston Architectural Center. He has served as visiting faculty at Auburn University’s School of Architecture.
Faces of FAY: Robyn Lane
Robyn Lane, teaching assistant professor of landscape architecture, joined the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design as adjunct faculty in the fall of 2022. Before joining the school, Lane worked as a research assistant at the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) for 12 years. As a CAST associate, her time was primarily allocated to education and outreach in applied geospatial technologies for K-12, post-secondary, and adult continuing education.
Faces of FAY: Torrey Tracy
Torrey Tracy, assistant professor of interior architecture and design, came to the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 2017 as a visiting professor. In 2019, he became a tenure-track professor. Tracy has a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, both from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Tracy is a licensed architect in Arkansas and Nevada. He primarily teaches first-year studio and the building systems course.
Faces of FAY: Randal Dickinson
Randal Dickinson has been the Digital Fabrication Specialist at the Fay Jones School since February 2017. Prior to joining the school, he was a career and technical education instructor at Fayetteville High School from 2011 to 2017. Dickinson also taught in Korea. He received a Bachelor of Arts in art (graphic design) and a Master of Education in career and technology education, both from the U of A.
Faces of FAY: Laura Terry
Laura Terry joined the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 1998. Since then, she has taught primarily in the beginning design studios. She strives to foster curiosity in her students through iterative drawing and making practices. Terry also maintains an active studio art practice. Her work explores the landscape as subject and through drawing, painting and printmaking.
Faces of FAY: Tony Patterson
Tony Patterson (B.Arch. ’00) is a founding partner at Patterhn Ives in St. Louis, Missouri. Raised in Kansas and Missouri, Patterson said it was an easy decision to attend the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. Following graduation, Patterson worked at Cromwell Architects Engineers and Marlon Blackwell Architects, both in Fayetteville. He completed graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Faces of FAY: Noah Billig
Noah Billig is an associate professor of landscape architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, where he’s taught since 2011. From 2011 to 2013, he served as the Verna C. Garvan Distinguished Visitor in Landscape Architecture. He joined the school’s faculty in 2013. He has taught design studios and courses in public participation, urban design, environmental design and planning, the American landscape, and study abroad in Italy and Turkey. He serves as the Honors Program director for the Fay Jones School and as chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Minor. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.