| Concepts of sustainability have emerged since the last major reform initiative in architectural education. These concepts have powerfully reshaped discussions within many disciplines, yet they have had little impact on the pedagogy, curriculum, and espoused values of architectural education across the United States. This dissertation examines efforts to implement sustainability initiatives in architectural education through a case study of Ball State University's Architecture Program. The period of study is from the early 1990s, when transformative activities occurred there, through 2005.; By examining this richly complex case, I clarify ways in which efforts around sustainability are understood and advanced. I also identify resistance and constraints that these efforts encounter. I focus on cultural factors as a level of analysis and build an argument emphasizing the importance of culture for explaining change, and resistance to change, in architectural education. Data have been collected from interviews, artifacts, and observation.; Barriers to sustainability initiatives include a poor fit of mutual values, unresolved ambiguity around defining sustainability principles, and inattention by all but the most invested faculty and students. Efforts often lack linkage to one another, indicate different conceptualizations of sustainability and exemplify an individual mindset prevalent in the culture of architectural education. Successful advancement of sustainability initiatives were the result of individual efforts, collaboration with faculty from allied disciplines, mentoring, and support from related centers.; This dissertation challenges the notion that initial efforts to implement sustainability should be directed to curriculum reform. Early efforts to produce sustainability curriculum for architectural education have borrowed heavily from other disciplines---a situation that architecture faculty have resisted in the past. Without coming from within a discipline and resulting from internalized conceptions, this strategy lacks legitimacy and is likely to face continued resistance.; Opportunities to further advance initiatives have been identified in changing conditions within the academy and profession. These include the need to replace numerous retiring faculty members, financial constraints at public universities that increasingly mandate fundable research agendas for faculty, and increasing demand within society and the profession for people who can address issues of sustainability. |
