Thomas R. Fisher is a professor of architecture and the Dean of the College of Design. Educated at Cornell University in architecture and Case Western Reserve University in intellectual history, he previously served as the Regional Preservation Officer at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, the Historical Architect of the Connecticut State Historical Commission, and the Editorial Director of Progressive Architecture magazine. He has lectured or juried at over 40 schools and 60 professional societies, and has published 35 book chapters or introductions and over 250 articles.

Current articles, publications, presentations and interviews

• The most recent communications from and about Dean Fisher are available on the
  D@MN Design at MN News Web site.

Published books

• Designing to Avoid Disaster: The Nature of Fracture-Critical Design (Routledge, 2012)
• The Invisible Element of Place: The Architecture of David Salmela (U of MN Press, 2011)
• Ethics for Architects: 50 Dilemmas of Professional Practice (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010)
• Designing for Designers (Co-edited with Wolfgang Preiser and Jack Nasar, Fairchild Books, 2010)
• Architectural Design and Ethics: Tools for Survival (The Architectural Press/Routledge, 2008)
• In the Scheme of Things: Alternative Thinking on the Practice of Architecture (U of MN Press, 2006)
• Lake Flato: Buildings and Landscapes (Rockport Press, 2005)
• Salmela Architect (U of MN Press, 2005)

Publications archive

• "The Future of America's Transportation Infrastructure," Scholars Strategy Network: Basic Facts, March 2012
• "Making a Place's Invisible Elements Visible: The Architecture of David Salmela," U of MN Press Blog, 2011
• "Practice with a Larger Purpose," Architecture MN, Jan./Feb. 2007
• "Signs and Symbols: St. Croix Lutheran High School Chapel" and "True North: University of Alaska Museum of the North," Architecture MN, March/April 2007.
• "Design in your future," M Magazine, Winter 2007
• "Innovation in Higher Education," Design Intelligence, Dec. 13, 2006
• "Dean Fisher on Emergence," Emerging, Fall 2006
• "Divine Plan Book," Faith and Form, Vol. 39, No. 4
• "Design Futures," Design Intelligence, November 2006 (also wrote the catalog introduction)
• "Reconciling Art and Design," for the Praxis/Practice faculty/student exhibition, Nash Gallery

Presentations archive

• Citizen's League, "Can Design Change the World?" public discussion, Saint Paul, MN, Nov. 14, 2011
• Yale and Auburn Universities, "Creating Resilient Communities," Oct. 1, 2011
• Go2030 Speaker Series, "The Role of Design in Creating Resilient Communities," Fargo, ND, Julyy 22, 2011
• University of Minnesota Alumni Association, January 2007
• Chronicle of Higher Education, "The Sustainable University," panel discussion, Boston, MA, 2006
• Chronicle of Higher Education, "Technology and Higher Education Facilities" symposium, Las Vegas, NV, 2006
• Build Boston, "BSA Research Awards, Iconic Buildings in Boston," panel discussions, Boston, MA, 2006
• AIA California Desert Practice Conference, "Architectural Practice and the Paradigm Shift," keynote address, Palm Springs, CA, 2006
• American Society of Landscape Architects Convention, "F. L. Olmsted and Public Health" lecture, Minneapolis, MN, 2006

Interviews archive

• The College of Design and Dean Fisher factor heavily in Minnesota Public Radio's feature package, "Life by design," February 2, 2007