After an international search, New Jersey Institute of Technology has announced the appointment of Dr. Branko Kolarevic as dean of the College of Architecture and Design, effective July 1, 2019. Kolarevic received his Diploma Engineer of Architecture degree from the University of Belgrade in 1986 and his Master of Design Studies and Doctor of Design degrees from Harvard University in 1989 and 1993, respectively.
“Dr. Kolarevic is a leader in his field with a superb record of accomplishments in education, research and administration,” said NJIT Provost and Executive Vice President Fadi P. Deek. “Working with our faculty, and building on the strong reputation we already have, Dr. Kolarevic’s insight, stature and vision are certain to bring distinction to the College of Architecture and Design at NJIT.”
Kolarevic is an innovator, researcher and educator. He was one of the founding directors of the Laboratory for Integrative Design at the University of Calgary, where he held a Chair in Integrated Design from 2007 to 2016. He also has served in various administrative roles in Calgary, first as associate dean and then as co-director of the Computational Design Media program.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Calgary, Kolarevic taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where he founded the Digital Design Research Lab in 2000. He also taught at the University of Hong Kong, University of Miami, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Northeastern and Harvard University, where he started his academic career in 1990 as a Teaching Fellow. Kolarevic also has held a distinguished visiting professorship at Ball State University and was a visiting professor at North Carolina State University.
Kolarevic is active in research related to the use of digital technologies in design and production. He has authored, edited, or co-edited several books over the past two decades, the most recent being “Mass Customization and Design Democratization” (with José Duarte), which was just published by Routledge. Kolarevic has delivered more than a dozen keynote lectures at various conferences and symposia, and more than 80 invited lectures over the past decade alone. He is the recipient of the 2007 Award of Excellence for Innovative Research by the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) and the 2015 ACADIA Society Award of Excellence, which is given for overall contribution to the field and to society.
Kolarevic currently serves as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, which has more than 200 member schools representing more than 6,000 architecture faculty members. He also held elected leadership positions as president of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board and as president of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture.
As an educator, Kolarevic has a strong interest in improving design teaching and student learning, and was recognized twice for teaching excellence early in his career. In 1996, at the University of Miami School of Architecture, the students voted him Professor of the Year; three years later he was awarded one of five teaching fellowships at the University of Hong Kong given in recognition of excellence in teaching.
