OU Institute for Quality Communities

The mission of The University of Oklahoma is to provide the best possible educational experience for our students through excellence in teaching, research and creative activity, and service to the state and society.

The Institute for Quality Communities is a community engagement program in the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. The program was founded in 2008 by former OU President David L. Boren and First Lady Molly Shi Boren. IQC partners with Oklahoma communities to address local challenges, and brings best practices to Oklahomans through the biennial Placemaking Conference.

IQC serves Oklahoma’s towns and cities while educating the next generation of leaders.

The community is our classroom for interdisciplinary teams of students. We build partnerships with mayors, city managers, and civic organizations across Oklahoma to identify challenges in the built environment. Students learn by experience to gather community input, analyze existing conditions, and develop conceptual planning and design solutions. These partnerships enhance learning and help Oklahomans reshape their towns and cities in ways that improve health, economy, and quality of life.

We have completed more than 125 projects while involving over 900 students by partnering with communities and non-profit organizations across 60 counties and securing external funding to support our work across the state..

IQC connects Oklahomans with stories and ideas that inspire them to take action.

We host the Placemaking Conference, a biennial event featuring nationally-renowned experts in city design and development. The Placemaking Conference is about how we design and build towns and cities. Design of the built environment is of critical importance to challenges facing Oklahoma, with links to important outcomes in public health, fiscal solvency of local government, economic development, and talent retention.

The Placemaking Conference has attracted a total of 3,000 visitors from 60 Oklahoma counties. Holding this conference is an essential component of our efforts to reach community advocates, civic leaders, and industry professionals.

Staff

Amber N. Wiley, PhD

Amber N. Wiley, PhD

Wick Cary Director

An award-winning scholar, Wiley has over 20 years of experience in teaching, research and professional practice in historic preservation, architecture and community engagement. She has dedicated her career to advancing the history and narrative of design and preservation in Black communities, as well as advocating for theoretically rigorous, thoughtful and inclusive expansions of preservation policy and practice.

Her first book, Model Schools in the Model City: Race, Planning, and Education in the Nation’s Capital was released by the University of Pittsburgh Press in April 2025. Her second book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum is scheduled for release by the Rutgers University Press in May 2026.

Amber received her Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She also holds a Master’s in Architectural History and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and a B.A. in Architecture from Yale University. She is a native of Oklahoma City with roots in Washington, DC, Maryland, North Carolina, and Arkansas. A graduate of Oklahoma public schools, she currently serves on the board of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

Molly O'Connor

Molly O'Connor

Program Manager

A proud alumna of the University of Oklahoma, O’Connor earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3-D Design in 2001. With over two decades of experience in Oklahoma’s arts and cultural sector, she has dedicated her career to supporting creative community development across the state.

Before joining OU IQC, Molly served as Director of Rural and Creative Community Outreach for the Oklahoma Arts Council, where she worked to connect artists, organizations, and rural communities through innovative programming and partnerships.

A multidisciplinary artist, Molly’s practice combines storytelling, visual art, performance, and creative writing. In 2005, she founded OKC StorySLAM, a monthly storytelling event that celebrates diverse personal narratives centered around a shared theme.

Molly is fascinated by artist-built environments and Oklahoma history. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Professional Community and Economic Development through the Community Development Institute.

Wei Liu, PhD, AICP, CNU-A

Wei Liu, PhD, AICP, CNU-A

Assistant Professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design

Wei Liu, PhD, AICP, CNU-A,  is an Assistant Professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches environmental design capstones and seminars on sustainable urbanism, design resilient communities, and urban real estate development. He also serves as a faculty affiliate with the Institute for Quality Communities at OU.

Wei’s current research explores sustainable and resilient design as a way to strengthen cohesion and navigate urban transformation in today’s increasingly polarized society. He has presented his scholarship at conferences hosted by the American Planning Association, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the American Association of Geographers, the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, and Tongji University.

Wei earned a doctorate in sustainable urbanism from Washington University and a master of urban design from the University of Miami. He was a Mellon Fellow with the Divided City Initiative at Washington University, where he studied the role of public space in mediating urban segregation in St. Louis. He is also a recipient of the Gina Tirinnanzi, AICP Memorial Scholarship awarded by the American Planning Association.

In professional practice, Wei worked as an urban planner, collaborating primarily with public sector clients. His projects included county-wide future land use plans, municipal small area plans and design guidelines, retrofitting historic redlining neighborhoods, corridor and main street revitalization, master-planned communities, and HUD Choice Neighborhoods projects.

Andrew Stone

Andrew Stone

Lecturer of Architecture

Andrew Stone is a designer with a focus on rural projects that intricately engage public groups and their role, interactions, and experiences within the built and natural environments. Andrew is also the founder of Ocra-Projects, a design-build office located in Clinton, OK. Through art and architecture, Ocra-Projects explores the tension between natural and artificial elements. His work seeks to create innovative diagrams for traditional tectonics, shifting from a technical to an intuitively oriented approach to craft.

At the core of Andrew’s intent is to express and reflect the impact of voluntary and forced migrations over the past 20,000 years in the extreme environment of the region. Through today’s advanced fabrication techniques, he aims to unravel the architectural responses of diverse communities, uncovering the unique qualities of life and characteristics that define the Oklahoman identity.

Beyond his commitment to academia and private practice, Andrew is actively engaged in grant-funded projects focusing on the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Viewing these “ghosted” structures as dynamic sites for hybrid expressions of contemporary culture, his projects delve into the intersection of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) with architecture, urban development, and narrative-driven experiences. The ultimate goal is to leverage AR/VR interactions as alternatives to traditional physical infrastructure, potentially revolutionizing resource usage and transforming the conceptualization and construction of our surroundings. In challenging conventional notions of property and real estate, Andrew envisions AR/VR technologies emphasizing architecture as a means of shelter, place-making, and cultural expression, rather than merely a commodity. Andrew believes this approach has potential to reshape the way we perceive and build our environments, marking a step towards sustainable and culturally enriched urban development.

Layne Ferguson

Layne Ferguson

Adjunct Professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design

Layne has over a decade of professional experience where he has performed a variety of roles including urban designer, project director and planner. He is skilled in public space and multi-modal street design. He has extensive experience working with Cities and Districts on placemaking and place-branding initiatives. Layne currently serves at the Activation Team Lead for Yard & Company.

Prior to Yard, he served as the Director of Placemaking for CivicBrand and the Director of Design for Team Better Block, where he worked with cities across the country on engaging the community through pop-up urbanism projects. Most notably, he wrote the award winning ‘Pop-Up Placemaking Toolkit’ in coordination with AARP Livable Communities that has been used as an accessible tool to implement placemaking demonstrations across the United States.

He is an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Affairs and Administration. In 2016, he completed the Master of Science of Architecture degree at the University of Oklahoma.

Sanjita Basnet

Sanjita Basnet

Graduate Assistant

Sanjita is in her final year of a Master’s in Regional and City Planning. Growing up in Nepal, she earned her undergraduate degree in architecture. After becoming involved with some public projects and witnessing her hometown’s persistent need for open spaces, traffic reduction and pollution control, she was subconsciously inclined toward city planning that benefits communities striving for a better quality of life.

IQC’s commitment to improving the quality of communities and supporting community-driven projects has had a significant influence on her perspective. Sanjita sees personal growth in herself and expresses excitement about working again at IQC. She has developed a strong interest in transportation planning within the realm of planning. She is determined to pursue her career in transportation planning with a focus on participatory planning approaches.

Outside of academia, she loves writing poems and her uncooked thoughts. She is a mountain person and looks forward to exploring beautiful national parks of the United States.

Afrah Faheem

Afrah Faheem

Graduate Assistant

Afrah Faheem, originally from the coastal plains of Chennai, India, witnessed the impacts of urbanization, droughts, and floods firsthand experiences that shaped her passion for sustainable development and ecological restoration. She is pursuing a master’s in landscape architecture at the University of Oklahoma, along with a Graduate Certificate in Resilient Planning, Design, and Construction Management.

With a background in Architecture, Afrah developed a strong interest in environmental studies, landscape design, and biophilic principles. Her work centers on stormwater management, green infrastructure, and riparian corridor restoration.

As Co-President of the OU Student Chapter of ASLA, she is dedicated to leadership and advancing the profession. Through her studies and involvement, Afrah strives to design resilient, community-driven solutions that harmonize human needs with ecological systems.

Taylor Fleming

Taylor Fleming

Graduate Assistant

Taylor Fleming is a second-year Regional & City Planning graduate student originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design from the University of Oklahoma in May 2025 with a minor in Geographic Information Science (GIS). Through her GIS experience, Taylor has developed an interest in spatial visualization and analysis.

Some of her other academic interests include placemaking, community engagement, and economic development. Professionally, she has worked in the transportation planning field in both Albuquerque and Seattle, offering her a unique perspective on transportation challenges and opportunities in diverse communities. In both her academic and professional careers, Taylor uses effective communication strategies and a compassionate lens to help communities tackle complex challenges and achieve their goals.

Dez Harris

Dez Harris

Graduate Assistant

Dez Harris is an emerging professional from Texarkana, Arkansas with a background across diverse fields including city planning, criminal justice, nonprofits, and community development. With this background, he has developed experience in community development finance, criminal justice reform, nonprofit management, community engagement, and neighborhood planning.

At his core, Dez is an advocate for justice and human rights, dedicated to improving the quality of life for low-resourced communities, people-experiencing-homelessness, and the Global Majority. Dez was named The University of Oklahoma’s Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design (PLAD) 2025 Inaugural Ralph Ochsner Fellow, a prestigious award created to support students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, character, and a commitment to community-focused planning.

A quote that captures Dez’s life philosophy is by Quaker Abolitionist, Stephen Grellet, “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Dez is a 2nd year Master’s in Regional + City Planning student, concentrating in Economic and Community Development. He received his B.A. in International Community Development at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

David McPherson

David McPherson

Graduate Assistant

David McPherson is a second-year Master of Regional & City Planning student at the University of Oklahoma, where he also earned his B.S. in Environmental Design. Having grown up in Norman, Oklahoma, he has deep roots in the state and is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. His academic interests center on how community and economic development can promote social mobility and equity.

He is highly engaged in both academic and local communities, serving as president of the Student Planning Association and as a senator in the Graduate Student Senate. Beyond campus, David is devoted to service, volunteering with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Gospel of Life Dwellings. These experiences have strengthened his commitment to caring for the vulnerable and reinforced his desire to advance equity and opportunity through planning.

In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, traveling, and staying active in the gym.

Special Recognition

Ronald H. Frantz, FAIA

Director of Small Town Studios, Associate Professor Division of Architecture, Environmental Design Coordinator, Wick Cary Professor (Emeritus)

For 41 years, Ron Frantz focused on the historic preservation of Oklahoma’s landmarks and the revitalization of the State’s Main Streets, neighborhood commercial districts, and streetcar suburbs.  As an architect intern, he first worked in the small towns of Guthrie, Chandler, and Pawhuska, Oklahoma, while restoring a bungalow in the Paseo Neighborhood of Oklahoma City.  As a licensed architect, much of his professional career was with the Oklahoma Main Street Center at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at The University of Oklahoma.  Through this work, Ron worked with community organizations and revitalization programs in almost 200 cities, towns, and neighborhoods in Oklahoma including Oklahoma City’s Automobile Alley and Plaza District, Okmulgee, Ponca City, Altus, Newkirk, Cordell, Hobart, and Woodward.  He serves on advisory committees with the state agencies or programs ranging from the Oklahoma Main Street Center and the Oklahoma Arts Council to the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office. Ron has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from The Tulane University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hope Mander

Associate Director, 2008-2019

Umit “Hope” Mander is a founding member of IQC, who dedicated over a decade to shaping the vision and programs of IQC. She served as Associate Director until retiring from OU in 2020. Hope is a beloved mentor to dozens of IQC Graduate Assistants and many more students at the Gibbs College of Architecture. During her time at IQC, she was a key leader shaping IQC’s programs, especially the biennial Placemaking Conference. Hope holds degrees in Environmental Design and Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma. Today, she and her husband Clive live in Istanbul, Turkey.

IQC Students & Alumni

The IQC works with talented students, interns, and graduate assistants throughout each academic year. Here are current students who are helping the IQC and alumni who have moved on to promising careers and further education.

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

  • Alice Calmon, M. Landscape Architecture candidate
  • Taylor Huizenga, M. Regional and City Planning ’20
  • Matthew Kessler, M. Landscape Architecture candidate
Graduate Assistants

Undergraduate Assistants

  • Amy Hostetter, B. Architecture ’18
Graduate Assistants

Undergraduate Assistants

  • Amy Hostetter, B. Architecture ’18
Graduate Assistants

Undergraduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Undergraduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants

Classroom

Graduate & Undergraduate Assistants

Classroom

  • Virginia Addleman, B.S. Environmental Design ’14
  • Grant Bankson, B. Architecture ’15
  • Amber Conwell, B. Architecture ’14
  • Connor Cox, B. Public Administration ’15
  • Layne Ferguson, B. Public Administration ’15
  • Barbara Luiza Franco, B. Architecture
  • Luan Vinicius Juliao das Virgens, B. Architecture
  • Kyler Hallmark, B.S. Environmental Design
  • Ying Li, M. Regional & City Planning ’14
  • Aaron Lout, B. Architecture ’15
  • Zac Miller, M. Architecture
  • Scott Mitchell, B. Film & Video Studies ’14
  • Michelle Oliphant, B. Architecture ’15
  • Justin Phillips, B.S. Environmental Design
  • Amy Shell, B. Architecture ’14
  • Gabe Sevigny, B. Environmental Design
  • Garrett Stouffe, B. Architecture ’14
  • Caty Townsend, B. Architecture ’15
Graduate & Undergraduate Assistants

  • Shane Hampton, M. Regional & City Planning ’13
  • Julie Tran, B. Architecture ’13
  • Sam Day, B. Architecture ’13

Classroom

Graduate Assistants

Classroom