Professional Profile
Dean of the College of Architecture & Design at Belmont University; architectural historian whose disciplinary research specializes in nineteenth-century design, theory and technology; professor with teaching experience in professional schools of architecture, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels and in a liberal arts college; enthusiast for digital humanities, distance learning, and hybrid classrooms; former architect.
Contact
Belmont University
1900 Belmont Boulevard
Nashville TN USA
Jhennifer.Amundson@Belmont.edu
Education
2001 Ph.D., University of Delaware
Dissertation: “Thomas Ustick Walter’s Lectures on Architecture”
1993 M.Arch., University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign
Thesis: “Thomas Jefferson’s Educational Philosophy and Collegiate Architecture”
1990 B.S.A.S., University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign
Faculty and Administrative Appointments
2019+ Belmont University
Dean, O'More College of Architecture and Design
Chair, Department of Architecture (2019-21)
Professor of Architecture
2017-19 Judson University
Associate Provost of Faculty
2015-17 Judson University
Interim Dean & Dean of the School of Art, Design, and Architecture
2001+ Judson University (formerly Judson College)
Professor of Architecture (from August 2009)
1999-01 North Carolina State University
Assistant Professor of Architecture
1997-98 University of Delaware
Instructor, History of Architecture
1991-94 University of Illinois
Visiting Instructor (1993-1994), Teaching Assistant (1991 – 1993), History of Architecture
Related Professional Experience and Service
2022 Daybreak Arts
Board of Directors
2021 Metro Nashville Historical Commission
Mayoral appointment
2019 Professional Certificates in Online Education & Administration
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2019 The Art Historical Image in the Digital World Summer Program
American Academy in Rome
2018, 2021-22 Peer Review Corps
Higher Learning Commission
2014 Digital Humanities for Art Historians Summer Institute
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History in New Media, George Mason University (funded by the Getty Foundation)
2014 Study Türkiye Program
Two-week in-country intercultural curriculum development program for university faculty
(funded by the Niagara Foundation, Chicago)
2013 "Architecture and Improvement in Antebellum America"
Session Chair, Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting, Buffalo NY (April)
2012 Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts
Founding Faculty Advisor for the Gamma Xi Chapter
2010 Society of Architectural Historians
Nominating Committee
2005 Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois
Consultant for University Programming at Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (summer, fall)
2004-07 Architecture Dept., Judson University
Assistant Department Chair
2004 American Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
Co-Chair, Central Regional Meeting
2004 Athenæum of Philadelphia/Exhibition “T. U. Walter: Historical Architecture for a Modern World”
Guest Curator (exhibition April 3-August 27; see http://www.philaathenaeum.org/tuw/)
1997-98 Athenæum of Philadelphia
Charles E. Peterson Intern (two summers)
1996-97 Society of Architectural Historians, Buildings of the United States Series
Research Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief (May-May)
1995 Licensed Architect
State of Illinois, Registration # 001-016067 (inactive status)
1994-95 Unteed Nelson Slack Anderson Associates, Elgin and Champaign, Illinois
Intern Architect (January 1994 - July 1995)
1989-91 Dahlquist and Lutzow Architects, Ltd., Elgin, Illinois
Intern Architect (1989 – 1991)
Publications
2020 “The Jayne Building, Philadelphia (1851): The First Skyscraper as Consumer Spectacle"
Chapter in First Skyscrapers: Skyscraper Firsts (ed. Lee Gray, et al.)
2020 “Purity and Progress: The First Maternity Hospitals in the United States”
Chapter in A Matter of Life and Death: Spaces for Healing in the Premodern Era (ed. Mohammad Gharipour)
2014 “ ‘Ancient taste perfected by modern hands’ : Thomas U. Walter’s Theory and Practice of the Orders”
Article in The Classicist No. 11 (Institute of Classical Architecture and Art)
2013 “Staging a Triumph, Raising a Temple: Philadelphia’s ‘Welcoming Parade’ for Lafayette, 1824”
Chapter in Commemoration in America: Essays on Monuments, Memorialization and Memory, eds. David Gobel and Daves Rossell (University of Virginia Press)
2007 “‘Vast Avenues to Knowledge:’ Thomas U. Walter’s Books”
Chapter in American Architects and Their Books, 1840-1914, ed. James O’Gorman (Univ. of Mass. Press)
2006 Thomas Ustick Walter: The Lectures on Architecture, 1841-1853
Book with annotations, transcription and essay (Athenæum of Philadelphia)
2004 "D. H. Burnham," "Classicism" (with Christopher Miller), "Demolition," "Glass Skyscraper, 1921, L. Mies van der Rohe," "L. Hilberseimer (1885-1967)," and "Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia"
Essays in the Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Architecture, R. Stephen Sennott (3 vols, Fitzroy Dearborn)
Book Reviews
2015 “Isaiah Rogers: Architectural Practice in Antebellum America by James F. O'Gorman"
(Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2015)
Book review in upcoming issue of The Nineteenth Century
2014 “George Washington’s Eye: Landscape, Architecture and Design at Mount Vernon by Joseph Manca”
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012)
Book review in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (December)
Work in Progress
Thomas U. Walter: Architecture of Civility in an Age of Barbarism (working title)
Book-length manuscript
Presentations
2021 "Nashville's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Imperative"
Panelist, AIA Middle Tennessee (November)
2021 "Steps toward Inclusion"
Panelist, NOMA/AIA Tennessee JE+DI Talks (October)
2020 "Digital Pedagogies for Architectural History"
Session Chair, Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting, Seattle WA (May)
2019 "The Jayne Building (Philadelphia, 1849): The First Skyscraper as Consumer Spectacle"
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat World Conference, Chicago (October)
2018 "Principles of Purity and America's First Maternity Hospitals"
Society of Architectural Historians, Annual Meeting, St. Paul MN
2016 "Historical Reflections on Psychological Assumptions, Male Norming, and Feminine Potential in Contemporary Architectural Practice"
Conference, “Architecture & Feminisms: Ecologies, Economies & Technologies," Architectural Humanities Research Association, Royal Institute of Technology
, Stockholm, Sweden
2016 "Hand Drawing and the Genesis of the Architecture Profession in the United States"
Conference, “The Art of Architecture: Hand Drawing and Design,” Notre Dame University (September)
2014 "The Inexorable Influence of Christopher Wren and the Design of the US Capitol Dome"
Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Annual Symposium, “The Afterlife of Sir Christopher Wren, 1800-1923,” St. John’s College, Oxford University
2011 "American and European Architects in China: Global Practice in Historical Context"
Judson University Global Practices Symposium, “China: Architecture and Urbanism”
2010 "’Promiscuous’ Competitions, the First American Professionals and Thomas U. Walter"
Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting (April)
2007 "Nineteenth-Century Views of the Past and the Future: Thomas U. Walter and the Founding of the Architecture Profession in America"
AIA Illinois Symposium, “Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future” (October)
2006 "Monuments of the American Republic and its Technology"
Conference “Inventing America: The Interplay of Technology and Democracy in Shaping American Identity,” co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Virginia Department of Science, Technology and Society (November)
2004 "‘Vast avenues to knowledge:’ Thomas Ustick Walter’s Books"
Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting, Providence RI (April)
2004 "Thomas Ustick Walter’s Lectures: America’s First Architectural Theory"
Athenaeum of Philadelphia Symposium “Thomas Ustick Walter” (April)
2003 "Thomas Ustick Walter’s Architectural Alchemy: The Congressional Library and Capitol Dome"
US Capitol Historical Society Symposium “Additions to the Capitol, 1850-Present” (November)
2003 Only Savages Disregard the Past
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture (April)
2003 "Republican Triumph, Civic Arch, and Philadelphia’s Capitoline: A Parade for Lafayette"
Biannual Symposium “Commemoration & the City,” Savannah College of Art and Design, GA (Feb)
2002 "The Civic Function of William Rush’s Architectural Sculpture in Federal-Era Philadelphia"
College Art Association, Annual Meeting, Philadelphia PA (February)
2002 "Literature, Architecture, and Meaning: Thomas Ustick Walter's Books and Buildings" Winterthur Museum and Library, Winterthur DE (February)
1998 "Thomas U. Walter, Iron, and the Congressional Library, 1851-53"
Society for the History of Technology, Annual Meeting, Baltimore MD (October)
1998 "Mediating Historical Precedent and New Technology in “Modern” American Architecture"
MEPHISTOS Conference, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN (September)
1997 "Republicanism Past, Present, & Future: The Philadelphia Waterworks, 1801 - 1824"
American Culture Association, Annual Meeting, San Antonio TX (March)
Honors and Awards
2014 Dibner Library Resident Scholar, Smithsonian Institution
2014 United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship
2013 Charles E. Peterson Senior Fellowship, Athenæum of Philadelphia
2013 Homer and Margaret Surbeck Summer Research Stipend, Judson University
2011 Charles E. Peterson Senior Fellowship, Athenæum of Philadelphia
2011 Excellence in Teaching Award, Judson University
2008 United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship
2008 Research Fellowship, Winterthur Library and Museum
2006 Homer and Margaret Surbeck Summer Research Stipend, Judson College
2005 Scholarship,Victorian Society in America Summer School: “London and the Industrial North”
2003 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend
2003 Winterthur Museum and Library Research Fellowship
2003 Graham Foundation Grant (with Athenæum of Philadelphia)
2003 Athenæum of Philadelphia Charles E. Peterson Fellowship
1998 Henry Luce Traveling Grant for Dissertation Study
1998 Mellon Research Grant, Virginia Historical Society
1998 United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship
1998 Charles E. Peterson Fellowship, Athenæum of Philadelphia
1997 Charles E. Peterson Fellowship, Athenæum of Philadelphia
1998 Allen Dissertation Research Travel Grant, University of Delaware
1997 Allen Dissertation Research Travel Grant, University of Delaware
1997 Hagley-Winterthur Arts and Industries Fellowship
1997 Winterthur Research Fellow
1995 University Fellowship, University of Delaware
1993 Rexford Newcomb Award (History of Architecture), University of Illinois School of Architecture
1992 AIA American Architectural Foundation Scholastic Award
1992 Frank and Jennie Long Traveling Fellowship, University of Illinois School of Architecture
1990 N. Clifford Ricker Award (History of Architecture), University of Illinois School of Architecture
Courses
Belmont
ARC 1015: Craft, Profession, Vocation: Architectural Practices Past, Present, and Future (3 hrs.)
Histories and current condition of architectural education and the profession. Investigates options for career goals within a study of Christian vocation. In addition to regular course work, students will attend guest lectures and field trips. They will also be introduced to the ePortfolio concept that will serve as a unifying foundational requirement through all ARC courses to foster opportunities for self-critique and the development of reflective practices that bring coherence to, synthesize, and integrate learning inside and outside of the classroom.
ARC 2031 History of Architecture before 1400 (3 hrs.)
Architecture from Prehistory to ca. 1400, emphasizing Western and Christian culture with an introduction to Asian, African, Pre-Columbian American, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. Underscoring the traditional values that shape the arts and architecture and investigating connections between culture, ecology, and buildings.
ARC 2032 History of Architecture after 1400 (3 hrs.)
The historical development of architecture after ca. 1400 in locations around the world, including Europe, the Americas, Persian Gulf, and East Asia. Emphasizing aesthetic and architectural theory, building technology, and values that shape architecture; investigating connections between culture, ecology, and buildings, especially related to global building traditions introduced in ARC 2031.
Judson
ARC 231 History of Architecture 1 (Prehistoric through Medieval): annually
The establishment of building traditions throughout the globe, emphasizing the means by which attitudes about environment, ecology, religion, government and leisure contribute to decisions about place, context, materials and methods of structural and ornamental design. Focus on the canon and customs from the ancient Mediterranean to medieval Europe, with additional studies on the Fertile Crescent, India, Japan and China, and Muslim empires.
ARC 232 History of Architecture 2 (Renaissance to the present day): annually
Developments within, and in response to, building traditions that emphasizes the response of architects to changes in intellectual culture, religious belief and practice, technology and social structures beginning in the fifteenth century. Focus on the transformation of architectural literacy and professionalism among practitioners in Europe, its colonies, and the US.
ARC 331 Architectural History: from the Industrial Revolution to the Digital Age: annually
Topics in the history of architecture that spans two periods of significant technological change, investigating the variety of responses by architects to the potentials of industrialization and digitization, including aesthetics, construction, communication, and professionalization, in the midst of social, religious, economic and political change.
ARC 352 Design Studio 4: alternate years
Taught in the third year of the program, this studio course habitually addresses smaller-scale public buildings (community theatres, fire stations, libraries), stressing design fundamentals, contextual relationships, basic code and structural integration.
ARC 381 European Study (study abroad for architecture majors): summer term 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2017 & 2019
This four-week course typically moves among three or four cities; in my tours I have led students through Rome, Florence, Siena, Ravenna, Barcelona, Granada, Córdoba, Vienna, Prague & Budapest. Visits to and analysis of historic sites primarily through a variety of media (pencil sketching, watercolor, pen and ink).
ARC 632 Readings in Architectural Theory (graduate seminar): alternate years
In-depth, discussion-oriented seminar drawn exclusively from primary works. Reading list changes annually to address specific student interests; most recently this list included Alberti, Perrault, Pugin, Viollet-le-Duc, Ruskin, Loos, Sant’Elia, Le Corbusier, Venturi, Foster, Porphyrios, and Murcutt.
ARC 634 Chicago Architecture after the Fire (graduate seminar): alternate years
The history of Chicago’s buildings, spaces and arteries, concentrating on the period following the Great Fire of 1871. Includes design, social and technological history; emphasizes Chico’s diverse architectural traditions, urban planning and the city’s role in the rise of sustainable design.
University Service (significant appointments)
Belmont
2021 Enslaved Persons Memorial, Belmont University
Research & Design Subcommittee
Judson
2017-19 Academic Cabinet
Faculty Development Advisory Board (chair)
Faculty Evaluation Committee (chair)
Professional Policies Committee (ex officio)
Tau Sigma Delta (faculty advisor)
2015-17 Graduate Academic Policies Committee (chair)
Academic Cabinet
Tau Sigma Delta (faculty advisor)
2014-15 [sabbatical]
2013-14 President’s Advisory Committee
Secretary, Faculty Assembly
Honors Program Committee
Tau Sigma Delta (faculty advisor)
International Education Planning Team (Strategic Plan, Objective 1.3)
2012-13 Presidential Search Committee
President’s Advisory Committee
Honors Program Committee
Tau Sigma Delta (faculty advisor)
2011-12 Presidential Search Committee
President’s Advisory Committee
Honors Program Committee
Tau Sigma Delta (faculty advisor)
2010-11 Academic Policies Committee
2009-10 Academic Policies Committee
Grievance Committee
Directed Study (Matt Imburgia)
2008-09 Academic Policies Committee (chair)
Directed Study (Jared Natalino)
2007-08 [sabbatical]
2006-07 General Education Policies Committee
2005-06 General Education Policies Committee
Directed Study (Ben Burgin)
2004-05 Professional Policies Committee
President’s Advisory Committee
2003-04 Professional Policies Committee
President’s Advisory Committee
2002-03 Professional Policies Committee
