Curtin University announces the appointment of Professor Joseli Macedo as their new Head of School of Built Environment (SoBE).
Professor Macedo has a strong academic background in architecture and urbanism, and brings over 20 years of international higher education experience to her new role. Her areas of expertise include sustainable cities, urban design and international development planning.
Previously, she was Chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and Director of the Center for International Design and Planning, and Faculty Affiliate in the Center for Latin American Studies and the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Florida in the United States. She has also served as a consultant to the World Bank.
Apart from conducting extensive research in urban areas in Brazil, and more recently in India, Professor Macedo has authored more than 30 articles and book chapters on wide-ranging topics including land policy and land tenure, housing policy, city design, and urban form and urban planning history.
Humanities Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Dench is pleased that Professor Macedo would bring her vast international and multicultural teaching and research experience to Curtin.
Professor Macedo said she was honoured to have been chosen as the new Head of SoBE and looked forward to furthering Curtin’s reputation as a leader in sustainable urban design and planning. She plans to use her experience in technology and art to help SoBE disciplines collaborate with other faculties to extend the reach of sustainable design into the wider community.
Having worked closely with alumni and established several beneficial relationships with practitioners and former students linked to industry when she was at the University of Florida, she intends to do the same for Curtin by reaching out to SoBE alumni and industry partners to explore opportunities for collaboration.
Professor Macedo has also completed a Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism at the Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil; a Master of Community Planning at the University of Cincinnati; and a PhD at the University of Florida.
