Richard Thurmond | A Story of Discovery - Ep. 100
On Life and Meaning
Richard Thurmond is a community and economic development executive for a place-making organization. In this episode we explore basketball, editing and publishing a city magazine, staying and leaving, and the values of curiosity and humility.
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Claude Alexander, Jr.| The Park Church - Ep. 99
On Life and Meaning
Claude Alexander, Jr. is bishop and senior pastor of a Baptist church. In this episode we explore the mission of the church, racism, misogyny and homophobia, segregation on Sunday mornings, the death of a brother, a crisis of faith, living with mystery, and the love of God.
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Jess George | Hope and Optimism - Ep. 98
On Life and Meaning
Jess George is a government and community affairs manager for a fiber optic company. In this episode we explore the digital divide, confronting bullies, being an ally to immigrants, and dropping keys to beautiful rowdy prisoners.
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Sonya Pfeiffer | A Life in Full - Ep. 97
On Life and Meaning
Sonya Pfeiffer is an art gallery owner and criminal defense attorney. In this episode we explore story-telling, standing up to the power of the state, unconventional paths, the Owl theory, the practice of Ahimsa, and the one chance we have in this life.
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Beatriz Friedmann | Conscious Evolution - Ep. 96
On Life and Meaning
Beatriz Friedmann is a school counselor and information technology consultant. In this episode we explore emigrating from Brazil to North America, a corporate career, a summer of loss and pain, finding new purpose, and becoming present one step at a time.
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Ken Lambla | Interdisciplinary Design - Ep. 95
On Life and Meaning
Ken Lambla is founding dean of a college of arts + architecture. In this episode we explore returning from Patagonia, merging fields of study, interdisciplinary design, stewardship, community, and how arts inform a life
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Clarence Armbrister | A Nurturing Place - Ep. 94
On Life and Meaning
Clarence ‘Clay’ Armbrister is president of a historically black college and university. In this episode we explore strategic goals, the benefits and challenges of HBCUs, a family story of defiance, the power of education, public service, and the value of relationships.
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Liz Clasen-Kelly | The Sacredness of Human Life - Ep. 93
On Life and Meaning
Liz Clasen-Kelly leads an agency serving men experiencing homelessness. In this episode we explore helping people needing shelter, working to end homelessness, abundant love, and encountering Christ in the in-between.
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Natalie Frazier Allen | Art Empowered - Ep. 92
On Life and Meaning
Natalie Frazier Allen leads an organization that connects youth to the arts. In this episode we explore adverse childhood experiences, the power of the arts to heal trauma, telling the truth, Spelman College, and reflections on career, family and faith.
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Tom Warshauer | Neighborhood Development - Ep. 91
On Life and Meaning
Tom Warshauer leads a municipal community engagement team. In this episode we explore neighborhood development, Wilmington and New Orleans, home restoration, planting ideas, and enjoying diverse and authentic lives.
info_outlineKen Lambla is founding dean of the College of Arts + Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has served on the faculty since 1983. The College of Arts + Architecture is comprised of academic units in Architecture, Art, Art History, Dance, Music and Theater. Ken’s teaching has focused on architectural design, design process, and social history. He has worked as an architect and urban designer in Belfast, Chicago, San Francisco and throughout North Carolina. Ken received a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
This episode is perfect for anyone interested in arts and architecture, interdisciplinary design, community development, stewardship, and how arts inform a life.
IN THIS EPISODE
- Ken reflects on a 3-month camping trip to Patagonia and what the trip was about.
- He considers who he found himself becoming in Patagonia and what he is bringing back from his trip.
- He describes the academic units of the College of Arts + Architecture and how the idea for the College began to form.
- He states the case he made to his colleagues to form a new college at UNC Charlotte.
- Ken addresses whether the goals of the College of Arts + Architecture were met during his tenure as dean, what he thinks he and College got right and what he and the College could have done better.
- He answers whether the College of Arts + Architecture is today what he hoped it would be and why the College of Arts + Architecture is important.
- He talks about growing up in New Jersey and what was important to his family.
- He discusses the high school teacher who inspired him, descriptive geometry, being attracted to the abstraction of architecture, and the concept of struggle.
- Ken shares what drew him to Environmental Design at the University of Kansas and how an interdisciplinary approach to learning became a seed for the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture.
- He notes how living and working in Belfast, Chicago and San Francisco intensified the role of arts in his life.
- He shares the core of what he values that he wants his students to learn.
- He talks about what social values should guide what we build and where he goes where is most happy.
- Ken notes what’s on his mind as he passes the baton of leadership to a new dean, whether he has led the life he has wanted to live and what’s next for him.
plus Mark’s Personal Word Essay: A Life Revealed in One Scene
To learn more, visit On Life and Meaning