Greenville Microhouses. Lara Swimmer Photography

Coming in Spring 2025!

Tyler is excited to welcome architect Susan Jones, FAIA, (below) founder and principal of the architecture, planning and design firm atelierjones, as the next speaker in our annual Knowles Architecture Alumni Lecture on February 27, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Photo: Nii Okaidja

Jones has focused on bringing design to drive systemic sustainable change since inception of founding her award-winning female-led/owned architectural firm, atelierjones, twenty years ago. Over the last decade, she and her firm have become national leaders in disrupting 20th century construction practices to introduce environmentally responsible and bio-based material systems at scale, to help address the construction industry's heavy carbon footprint. Her visionary leadership exemplifies how sustainability and design excellence go hand in hand. A national leader in the mass timber community, Jones represented over 90,000 architects on behalf of the American Institute of Architects in 2016 to successfully change American building codes to allow tall mass timber buildings up to 18 stories in the United States. She was elected to the AIA College of Fellows in 2010 and received the 2024 AIA Seattle Gold Medal for lifetime achievement.

Visit Tyler's Calendar of Events for the latest information on upcoming events,

About Our Signature Lecture Series 

Each year, the Tyler School of Art and Architecture welcomes scores of artists, scholars, architects, designers and professionals from the top of their fields. These inspiring individuals connect with students through lectures, readings and demonstrations to encourage further collaboration and excellence both within the Tyler community and the broader public.

The Critical Dialogue Series brings leading practitioners, scholars, curators and other arts professionals to discuss current issues in art and design. Over the last two decades, the program has featured hundreds of speakers.

Architecture and Environmental Design (AED) Presents is a combined series of architecture, landscape architecture and city planning lectures.

The Laurie Wagman Visiting Artist and Artist-in-Residence Series, presented by our Glass program, reflects Tyler's emphasis on interdisciplinarity as a school that marries research with practice. Artists bring their diverse backgrounds, experience, and expertise to the studio—from traditional, to innovative, to experimental—and speak to students, offer demonstrations, and stimulate exchanges of new ideas.

The Knowles Architecture Alumni Lecture was established in 2013 in honor of Brigitte Knowles, professor emerita in Tyler's Department of Architecture and Environmental Design. Initiated by alumni of the program, the lecture series has welcomed renowned visionary creatives from fields across the built environment to share innovative work. Past lecturers include:

• MASS Design Group, Shawn Evans and Garron Yepa, 2024
• Olalekan Jeyifous, 2022
• Sharon Johnston, 2021
• David Adjaye
• Craig Dykers
• Walter Hood
• Clive Wilkinson

The Jack Wolgin Annual Visiting Artist and Lecturer is an endowed visiting artist program that brings one of the nation's most influential artists and thinkers to campus to work with Tyler students and present a free public lecture each year. Previous Wolgin artists include:

• Hito Steyerl, 2023 
• Jennie C. Jones, 2022
• Cecilia Vicuña, 2020 
• Nick Cave, 2019
• Rick Lowe, 2018
• LaToya Ruby Frazier, 2017 
• Judy Pfaff, 2016

The Jackson Lecture in Byzantine Art, generously sponsored by Lynn Jackson and hosted by the Art History Department, is an annual event connecting the Tyler community to cutting-edge research on visual and material culture of the medieval Mediterranean. Previous Jackson Lecture scholars include:  

• Dr. Andrea Achi (Metropolitan Museum of Art): “Byzantium and Africa (4th—15th centuries CE)” 
• Dr. Roland Betancourt (University of California, Irvine): “The Ethiopian Eunuch: Gender and Racialization in Byzantium” 
• Dr. Ivan Drpić (University of Pennsylvania): “Byzantine Pectorals: Piety and Poetry” 
• Dr. Michael W. Cothren (Swarthmore College): “Surveying Islamic and Gothic Art and Architecture: Reflections of a Textbook Author” 
• Dr. Andrea Olsen Lam (Biola University): “The Expectant Icon: Transformation and Ritual in Byzantium” 
• Dr. Amy Papalexandrou (Stockton University): “Listening In: Soundways and Sonic Spaces of the Byzantines” 

*NEW*  The Design & Illustration Speaker Series, presented by Tyler's Design and Illustration Department, features talks by leading designers and illustrators. These events offer students the chance to engage with creative leaders who share their insights, experiences, and work. Each event, whether tied to a course or open to all, bridges classroom learning with real-world creative practice, creating unique opportunities for connection and inspiration.