Endowments

Myer R. Wolfe’s family established this endowment in his name to further his work in urban design at the University of Washington. The fund is used for professional, interdisciplinary purposes within the College of Built Environments, particularly the establishment of the lecture series and scholarship and thesis awards for outstanding students in the Urban Design Program.

Professor Myer R. (“Mike”) Wolfe was a Professor of Urban Design at the University of Washington from 1949 to 1989, and Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (now the College of Built Environments) from 1979 to 1982. He believed first and foremost in thinking about and creating good environments, and was one of the founders of urban design, an interdisciplinary field that includes urban planning, architectural and landscape design considerations. Professor Wolfe saw urban design as humanistic and working toward the good of our built environment. He felt the alliance of the design and planning professions was essential for the betterment of our environment and so, too, was constant questioning and even shattering of established beliefs about them. Professor Wolfe sought to expose planning and design to the social sciences, which to him were a necessary addition (though not a replacement) to concerns for the physical dimension of the environment. His personal interests were in urban form, the town as artifact, the urban design process, and comparative urbanism.

See Archives West’s information on Myer Wolfe’s papers.

Lee Copeland and his wife Rolaine established this endowment in their names to support urban design at the University of Washington.

Lee Copeland is a nationally renowned architect and urban designer, who specialized in campus and civic design. He was Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (now the College of Built Environments) from 1972 to 1979, and Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts (now PennDesign) from 1979 to 1991.

He was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1979, and won the AIA Seattle Chapter Medal in 2000. In 2001 he received the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.

He is currently Principal Emeritus at Mithun.

The Myer R. Wolfe Endowment funds lectures by eminent figures in the field of urban design:

• Roderick J. Lawrence, Centre for Human Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the University of Geneva: “Sustainable and Healthy Cities: The WHO and European Community Agendas.”
• François Claessens & Susanne Komossa, Delft University of Technology: “Transformations of the Dutch urban block—urban form studies in the Netherlands”
• Brian Sullivan, Mithun Architects and Planners: “Hong Kong, the City and its New Towns”
• Professor Roger Trancik, Cornell University: “Z-Files: 3-D Technology in the Urban Design of Rome”
• Professor Tridib Banerjee, University of Southern California: “Learning from Los Angeles: Dream or Nightmare?”
• Professor Richard L. Morrill, University of Washington: “Cities, Plans and Markets: The Future Evolution of the City”
• Professor Norman J. Johnston, University of Washington: “The Perils of Peripatetic Planning and Its Protagonists”
• Professor Jeremy W.R. Whitehand, University of Birmingham, England: “A Morphologist View of the Twentieth-Century City”
• Dean and Professor Lee Copeland, University of Pennsylvania: “Urban Design”
• Professor John Reps, Cornell University: “Mormon Town Planning”

The Myer R. Wolfe Scholarship and Lee and Rolaine Copeland Endowed Fellowship in Urban Design are awarded to outstanding students in the University of Washington’s Urban Design Certificate Program, based on:

• academic excellence
• developing design abilities
• commitment to/experience in urban design
• potential future effectiveness in the field of urban design
• interest in specific urban design issues

Myer R. Wolfe Scholarship winners include:

• 2024—Rebecca Zaragoza (MUP exp. 2025)
• 2023—Veronica Restrepo (MArch 2023)
• 2022—Constantine Chrisafis (MLA/MUP exp. 2025)
• 2022—Kate Wellens (MLA/MUP 2023)
• 2021—Yuqing Zhang (MLA 2021)
• 2020—Alexandra Burgos (MLA 2021)
• 2020—Clara Cheeves (MUP 2020)
• 2019—Yuansi Cai (MLA/MUP 2020)
• 2019—Asela Chavez Basurto (MUP 2020)
• 2018—Hayden Campbell (MUP 2019)
• 2017—Katie Poppel (MLA/MUP 2018)
• 2016—Justin Panganiban (MLA/MUP 2017)
• 2016—Jingchen Liu (MUP 2016)
• 2015—Amit Chandy Ittyerah (MArch 2016)
• 2013—Ian Garnier (MUP 2015)
• 2013—Victoria Kovacs (MArch 2014)
• 2012—Lawrence Chung (MUP 2013)
• 2012—Wuttiporn Taksinavarajarn (BLA 2012)
• 2011—Lauren Rock (MArch 2012)
• 2008—Yosoke Oi (MUP 2009)
• 2008—Tessa Greegor (MUP 2008)
• 2008—Maya Hadlock (MUP 2009)
• 2007—Ian C. Macek (MUP 2012)
• 2006—Katherine Idziorek (MArch 2007, MUP 2008)
• 2006—Lee Roberts (MArch 2007, MUP 2008)
• 2005—Aaron Asis (MUP 2008, MArch 2009)
• 2005—William McGurk (MUP 2010)
• 2004—Paul Chasan (MUP & MLA 2007)
• 2003—Lora Lillard (MUP 2004)
• 2002—Nicholas Pergakes (MUP 2002)
• 2001—Michael S. McCarty (MUP 2003)
• 2000—Sadaf Quddusi (MArch 2000)
• 1999—Thanasorn Kamolratanayothin (MArch 1999)
• 1998—Kent Greene (MUP 1998)
• 1997—Charles Wenzlau (MArch 1997)
• 1996—Christopher E. Craig (MUP 1996)
• 1995—Douglas Devlin (MUP 1995)
• 1994—Jiang Liang (MUP 1993)
• 1993—Michael Cannon (MUP 1993)

Lee G. Copeland Fellowship winners include:

• 2024—Jaxson Roller (MLA exp. 2026)
• 2023—Malka Hoffman (MLA 2024)
• 2023—Sarah Udelhofen (MUP 2024)
• 2022—Dominique De Gracia (MLA 2023)
• 2021—Jake Woll (MArch 2022)
• 2020—Lauren Corn (MLA/MUP 2023)
• 2019—Rawan Hasan (MUP 2020)
• 2018—Jessica Vetrano (MLA 2019)
• 2017—Kaylie Duffy (MUP 2018)
• 2016—Jialing Liu (MUP 2016)
• 2015—Sylvia Janicki (MLA/MUP 2018)
• 2014—Katie O’Lone (MUP 2015)
• 2013—Stacy Cannon (MUP 2014)
• 2012—Lauren Rock (MArch 2012)
• 2011—Tera Hatfield (MLA 2012)
• 2010—Elizabeth Jacobson (MUP 2012)
• 2009—Rachel Miller (MLA/MUP 2011)
• 2009—Jordan West Monez (MLA 2011)
• 2008—So Ra Baek (PhD 2013)
• 2008—William G. Payne III (MArch 2009)
• 2007—Aaron Asis (MUP 2008, MArch 2009)

At the discretion of the Urban Design Program faculty, exemplary theses from students graduating from the Urban Design Certificate Program are awarded the Myer R. Wolfe Thesis Award. Previous winners include:

• 2010—Yosuke Oi (MUP 2009) for “Street Design Components in Hub Urban Villages of Seattle: An Analysis of the Relationships between Street Design and Context.”
• 2010—William Payne (MArch 2009) for “Cultivating the Lawn.”
• 2009—Tessa Greegor (MUP 2008) for “An Assessment of the Seattle Green Factor: Increasing and Improving the Quality of Urban Green Infrastructure.”
• 2009—Katherine Idziorek (MArch 2007, MUP 2008) for “A conservation framework proposal for XiJie, a street in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China.”
• 2004—Jeanine Cavalli (MUP 2003) for “Urban plazas and waiting for the bus: case studies in downtown Seattle.”
• 2004—Howard H. Wu (MUP 2003) for “Urban design strategies for lower downtown, Seattle: an analysis for the pedestrian environment.”
• 2003—Jennifer Hefferan (MLA 2002) for “Implementation of a pedestrian safety crosswalk program in Seattle.”
• 2002—Michael Schuler (MUP 2001) for “The new urbanism and critical regionalism: a grounded theory analysis of regionalist design.”
• 2001—Benvenuto Bortolazzo (MArch 2000) for “An urban design framework for the University Gardens, Seattle: an opportunity to bring together urban design and architecture in the University District.”
• 1995—Margaret Mentor (MArch 1994) for “Hybrid houses: historic precedents and infill strategies for low-density neighborhoods.”

If you would like to support urban design at the University of Washington, please make checks out to the University of Washington, clearly marked “Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund” and send to Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund, Urban Design Program, University of Washington, Box 355740, Seattle, WA 98195. If you already donate to the University of Washington through another method, please earmark funds to the Myer R. Wolfe Endowment Fund. Thank you for making these lectures and awards possible and for helping Mike’s legacy to grow.

Email Neile Graham at ud@uw.edu with any questions about the Urban Design Program, or email Alexandra Haslam at alexeck3@uw.edu with questions about donations and how to support scholarships and other activities at the College of Built Environments.