By: Kyle Niblett
University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning Dean Chimay Anumba welcomed influential alumni back to campus for the Fifth Annual DCP Leadership Summit this past Thursday. Taking place in person for the first time since 2019 due to the challenges related to COVID-19, the event was attended by the following unit advisory boards:
- Dean’s Advancement Task Force (ATF)
- School of Architecture Advisory Council
- Rinker School Industry Advisory Board (RSIAB)
- Department of Interior Design Advocacy Board
- Department of Landscape Architecture Advisory Council
- Department of Urban and Regional Planning Advisory Council
- Green Building Learning Collaborative (GBLC)
At the beginning of Anumba’s “State of the College” address, a thunderous applause enveloped the room when the Dean reminded the individual advisory boards UF was recently named a top-five public university by U.S. News & World Report’s Rankings.
“Our goal as a college should be to help UF strive toward the top spot,” Anumba said. “Our college is focused on continuous improvement.”
Anumba spent the next part of his speech laying out his plan to help UF rise in the rankings, detailing DCP’s plan to enhance UF’s AI initative and their increased focus on research and scholarship.
“Since 2019-20, our number of research proposals has gone up by 42.9 percent and our value of research awards has risen by 52 percent,” Anumba explained.
Since the Dean joined DCP, total enrollment has gone up 25 percent as well.
Overall, the goal of the day was to push for more collaborative activities between disciplines as DCP pushes closer to its centennial anniversary in 2025.
