News

Professor Marta Gutman has stepped in as the Interim Dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture. Bradley Horn, according to the plan agreed to when he was appointed almost a year ago, has stepped aside to return to his faculty position in the Spitzer School of Architecture.

Professor Gutman, a historian and licensed architect, has been at City College since 2004. She earned her B.A. at Brown University, her M Arch at Columbia University, and her doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches architectural and urban history at both the Spitzer School of Architecture and CUNY Graduate Center. She is a prolific author and the 2021 recipient of the Catherine W. Bishir Prize, which is awarded to the scholarly article that has made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes. Professor Gutman is the president-elect of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History and a founding editor of PLATFORM, the online forum for conversations about buildings, landscapes, and spaces. For a recent interview, please see the “Member of the Month” post on the Metropole blog.

In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Professor Gutman is dedicated to the City College mission. (She was born to parents who met at Queens College, and her father was a history professor at CCNY and CUNY Graduate Center.) She represented the architecture school on the Faculty Senate from 2008 to 2020 with three years on the Senate’s Executive Committee. She has served on many other committees college-wide and in the Spitzer School, where most recently she chaired the school’s committee on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Spitzer School is deeply indebted to Professor Horn, who interrupted his sabbatical plans to step into the Interim Dean position at a difficult moment for the school and the college. Professor Gutman will advance Professor Horn’s initiatives, advocating for students and faculty from each and every program; working with faculty , students, and staff as Spitzer resumes in-person operations; and helping to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the Spitzer community. She is also committed to making the academic environment even more inclusive and equitable, and to encouraging new initiatives that push the boundaries of design thinking and research.

A few words of thanks: Professor Gutman would like to express her gratitude to Professor Horn; Professor June Williamson, the department chair; and all of the staff at Spitzer who extended themselves to ensure that the transition to her tenure as interim dean was as smooth as possible. She is very grateful for all of the help and counsel that she’s received, and the generosity of spirit with which it’s been offered. Professor Horn many, many thanks for all that you have given to the SSA in the past nine months, and we wish you good speed as you return to your sabbatical!