Bose Named First Administrative Fellow in College of Arts and Architecture

Mallika Bose, associate professor of landscape architecture, is the first Administrative Fellow in the College of Arts and Architecture, as part of a pilot program during the 2017‚Äì18 academic year. The purpose of the program is to provide relevant experience to faculty members interested in exploring academic and administrative leadership and to broaden the range of perspectives within the college's leadership team. "I was interested in the position because it would give me the opportunity to 'test the waters'‚ to find out more about the role of administrators in the College of Arts and Architecture, and to get a feel for if this is something I would like to be involved in and also suited for," said Bose. Bose, a member of the Penn State faculty since 2002, is a trained architect and urban planner with a specialization in environment-behavior studies. Her research is motivated by her interest in understanding how social structures are embedded in the built environment, and how such socio-spatial constructions shape behavior of different groups in society. From 2008 to 2012, Bose was interim director/director of the Hamer Center for Community Design at Penn State. She is the co-editor of the book Community Matters: Service Learning in Engaged Design and Planning. Bose is a former member of the board of the Environmental Design Research Association, serving as chair in 2012‚Äì13. As the college's Administrative Fellow, Bose will work closely with Andy Schulz, associate dean for research, on initiatives and activities related to fostering and promoting undergraduate and graduate research, scholarship, and creative activity, in addition to interacting with the college leadership team. Specific assignments include overseeing the college's participation in Penn State's Graduate and Undergraduate Exhibitions and communicating information about University-wide opportunities and services that relate to research, scholarship, and creative activity. "In the Dean's Office, we see the Administrative Fellows program as a key strategy for creating a pipeline of future leaders in the arts and design disciplines," said Schulz. "Faculty interest is evident in the strong applications that we received. I'm excited to be working with Mallika this year in order to foster and promote student research at the undergraduate and graduate levels."