From: Trevor Young, Vice-President and Provost
Date: June 4, 2025
Re: Update on the Dean, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design (PDAD&C #43)

I am writing to let you know that Professor Juan Du, Dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, has informed me that she will not seek reappointment when her current term as Dean ends on June 30, 2026 in order to focus on her research and return to the professoriate.

Professor Du joined the Daniels Faculty as Dean in July 2021, following an extensive international search. As Dean, Professor Du led the Daniels Faculty through its post-COVID transition and oversaw the Faculty’s Provostial UTQAP External Review, generating support from students, faculty, and alumni, followed by the successful development and approval of the Faculty’s Implementation Plan. Under her leadership, eight new faculty members were recruited across the Faculty’s art, design, and science disciplines. She addressed issues of access, inclusion, and belonging through public programming, hiring and promotion of faculty and staff, and facilitated resources for community outreach and access programs. She established mentoring programs for pre-tenure faculty and championed initiatives fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and global learning opportunities.

Professor Du continued the Daniels Faculty’s commitment to the University Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, including through the establishment of a First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group. In partnership with advancement, industry and alumni partners, Professor Du also facilitated the establishment of the Daniels Faculty’s first endowed scholarship for Indigenous students, as well as long-term funding for the teaching, research, and dissemination of knowledge on affordable housing.

Beyond the Faculty, Professor Du contributed her international perspective and professional expertise on a number of University, regional and international research and scientific committees pertaining to research and scholarship, design innovation, community resilience, and sustainable development. Her decades-long career was recently recognized in 100 Women: Architects in Practice (Royal Institute of British Architects, 2024), which featured outstanding architects from 79 countries worldwide.

Professor Du is presently on medical leave and Professor Robert Levit is serving as Acting Dean. I wish to thank Professors Du and Levit for their contributions to the Daniels Faculty and more information about the Faculty’s leadership will be forthcoming.