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.
What brought you to the University of Arkansas?
I started as a student in 2010. Even then, I knew I wanted to teach and thought that would be a path I would take. I enjoyed learning things and learning more about landscape architecture as the program went on. I enjoyed learning about the theory and the practical knowledge that is needed to be a successful landscape architect. But I also knew I wanted to practice for a couple of years before teaching. Even while practicing, I was trying to find the right time to go back and pursue a master’s degree. Of course, I ended up doing it at the most inopportune time, in 2020. However, I was lucky because I had the practical knowledge as well as institutional knowledge that I received here at the U of A.
I am also from Muskogee, Oklahoma, so being closer to home has always been a goal as well. I wasn’t sure how I would do that and didn’t have a real timeline at all, but then this opportunity came up, and I jumped on the chance to do this. I think it was always down the road in some sort of way. I am enjoying my time here and getting to see how the university has grown and how the town has really transformed.
Why did you choose to study landscape architecture?
I was originally enrolled in architecture. I got here for orientation and heard about landscape architecture from the department head. I was immediately drawn to the human aspect of design and how it plays such an important role in our environments and how we interact with the landscape. Ultimately, I see design as a tool for helping people and making places enjoyable and meaningful for people. I know people have such strong memories attached to place, and that is exciting to be able to do something like that.
It is such a small profession. I know people everywhere, and it is so fun to keep up with former colleagues and two sets of classmates now. I get to talk to these people who are working everywhere, doing everything, but we have that shared connection of what we do and why we do it, which is very rewarding.
I was an outdoor kid for sure. My sisters used to say that I would catalog rocks, and I caught a lot of frogs and toads. It’s clearer now that I would end up in landscape architecture. But I think people know architecture so well, and they might miss out on the other design fields. When I heard about landscape architecture, I realized how close it is to what I wanted to do, and it suited my personality.
What attracted you to teaching?
I get excited when the students get excited about things that I love. I have such a love for the landscape and region. This is where I grew up, and I love seeing people get excited about it, and I want to share all the things that I love about it. A big strength of the Department of Landscape Architecture faculty is that everyone is such a nerd. Everyone is so excited about different aspects of landscape architecture, which I think is important for students to get to see all the different aspects that come out of it. I think a lot of students come in with a very limited view of what landscape architecture is. It is cool to see how they open up and find themselves in the world of design.
Another thing I love about landscape architecture is that, although you are the designer, you are never in control completely. You are working with ecological systems and processes that you need to be able to work with in your environment. Even from a practical point of view, everything is trying to get back to what it wants to be. Having that reverence is something that I appreciate about it.
How do you help students recognize the complexity of landscape architecture?
In the first semester, students are trying to understand design principles and composition, space and scale, and the skills to communicate their projects. This year, I had the second-year students go back to the same sites and do site analysis. I was talking to a couple of them later, and they were talking about how they see it totally differently even after only a year of learning about design principles and composition principles, and spatial understandings. Even lightly into construction aspects. They talked about how they didn’t even consider these aspects on their first round through the project. It helped them realize that there’s a thought behind everything a landscape architect does. It’s very easy to see it in a building, but it’s also happening in the landscapes. It’s interesting to see how quickly that idea starts to turn for students.
What is something about your job that people might not realize?
There is a lot of information to cover, and I think some students can get a little overwhelmed. Sometimes some students are not super design-orientated, which is great because there’s so much opportunity for other aspects of the profession. Sometimes instruction needs to be uniform in a way, but at the same time, allowing for a lot of exploration. It can be exhausting, but there’s nothing more exciting than seeing a student who gets really excited about something.
How many students are you interacting with during the semester?
There are about 50 landscape architecture students spread out between three classes. I also taught first year studio over the summer for the three disciplines. I joke that there are some Dunns throughout the whole second year now. I love seeing them in the hallway. They look happy, and I hope they’re doing well.
What is the most difficult part of your job?
Lecturing does not come naturally to me. I would rather have a conversation and really enjoy desk critiques where I can sit next to students.
The other part is my design ideas. I want them to try something without the thought of thinking I won’t like it.
I think a lot of people might see design as very subjective, but there are things that we see objectively. We talk a lot about composition and whether spaces are functioning correctly. I often say that if a space functions correctly, you should be able to test different geometries and organize the way things are spaced out. If you have a good function and program, you can embody different forms.
I am also learning to understand that there are things that students don’t know. Sometimes I assume they understand something, but they don’t. Coming from practice and from being around people who are practicing, there is this shared understanding. Then coming to teaching, I am interacting with students who are in this field for all of about two months. I try not to use the jargon too much, but sometimes, it is necessary to understand so all the design disciplines can talk together. I try to keep it accessible.
What is a project you’ve worked on that you are proud of?
In my last job, I did a lot of community work with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. We were doing a lot of climate resiliency work. We finished a project in Montana with the Fort Peck Tribes. The big thing with it was community engagement and working with communities, which is something I found I was inching toward in everything that I was doing, including graduate school. I was at a firm working with tribes and with the public government offices. It encapsulated pretty much everything I have ever been interested in. The human aspect that came into it was when talking with the tribes, how they viewed what we considered hazards like flooding or wildfires. Those aren’t necessarily bad; it’s just within the process of being here. You need floods for sediment distribution on riverbanks; you need wildfires for things to grow because certain seeds can’t germinate unless they’ve been burned. It’s all there. It always goes back to not working against what you’re working toward. With landscape architecture, you are constantly needing to work with what you have and where you are.
What are accomplishments that you are proud of?
I’ve lived in a lot of places, and I feel like I’ve always been described as courageous. But I am so proud that I was able to get back to Northwest Arkansas. This is one of about three places where I never felt like I didn’t belong. I’ve loved a lot of places that I’ve lived, and I love to visit them. But being back here is where I am most comfortable, and I hope I never take it for granted.
What is it that you love about living here?
I was here for very formative years of my life, and I was here for five years. That was the longest I had lived in one place aside from home since graduating. I love being here and doing what I am excited about. I feel very fulfilled in that. It is a familiar setting, even though it has changed so much since I was here as a student. My friends and family are here.
Moving here was a career change. I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I think I am a good teacher, and I wouldn’t be in the position that I am without the faculty that I have here. Some of my colleagues were my professors, and the colleagues I haven’t worked with have been so gracious and allowed me to find my footing with a perfect amount of support. I never feel like I am under my co-instructors. Everyone has been incredibly supportive, which is so cool. I came into a very specific, very comfortable place where I knew so many people and felt very welcomed. I think that’s a big part of the success of that scenario.
What is a talent or skill you are trying to master?
I need to get back into sketching. I always tell my students that it doesn’t have to be beautiful. It doesn’t have to be fine art; we’re not artists, we’re designers. If you get the point across, if I can read it, and if it’s compelling, then you succeed. It doesn’t have to technically be a beautiful drawing. But at the same time, I don’t always believe that applies to me. I need it to be perfect. I am trying to expand how I sketch. It’s easy to get into drawing a plan, a section, a perspective. Those are great, but what are they saying? How can you be as efficient as possible?
I’m trying to get back to doing things for fun, not just for work. Reading and sketching for fun was largely lost when I started practicing and in graduate school. I am trying to get back into doing things just because I want to rather than having to. And exploring the rivers this summer; I’m ready to be in and along the water for a good amount of summer.
What is something you wish students about you?
I tend to look mad or blankly a lot, but I’m rarely feeling that way.
I also hope they know how much I care about them. both as a person and as a burgeoning landscape architect. It’s that idea of belonging again; I want them to feel like they belong here as much as I have. And I care enough about them finding where they want to be and helping them get there. I just care about them, like annoyingly. I remember Spring Break last year; they asked me if I had a good Spring Break. I said, “No, I was worried about you the whole time.” It was in between projects, and I was worried about them getting everything done. We’re here to help students. That’s where I am coming from, and I always am trying to help them get better and more comfortable.