Harris Steinberg Joins Drexel
September 22, 2014
Harris M. Steinberg, FAIA, executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s PennPraxis and a leading practitioner and teacher of urban planning in our region, will join Drexel University on November 1st as the executive director of the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. In his new capacity at Drexel, Mr. Steinberg will also serve as Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Architecture & Interiors at Westphal College.
Steinberg founded PennPraxis in 2001 at the Penn School of Design, extending the school’s mission of design excellence and innovation beyond the classroom and into the community. PennPraxis serves as the school’s applied research arm, engaging faculty and students with collaborative, real-world projects in architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, historic preservation and fine arts.
Drexel’s new Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for problem-solving and dialogue about urban issues around the world. Fostering local partnerships and innovative projects, it will engage in public policy initiatives, educational programming, and community-based participatory research. Building on the work that he has done at PennPraxis, Steinberg will steer the Lindy Institute’s community development and planning initiatives.
At the forefront of civic visioning for Greater Philadelphia, Steinberg has completed several distinguished and award-winning projects, including the planning process that guides today’s development of the central Delaware River; a 2008 study on “Reimagining the Kimmel Center”; action plans to grow Philadelphia’s park space and increase the vibrancy of Benjamin Franklin Parkway; and a recently released vision and action plan for “The New Fairmount Park.” He is an internationally known lecturer and panelist and served on the Philadelphia Historical Commission, from 2001 to 2006.
As a renowned asset to both the civic and academic communities in our region, we are delighted to welcome Harris to Drexel and to the Westphal faculty.
"The Department and the Faculty of Architecture & Interiors are honored and enthusiastic to have Harris Steinberg, FAIA join our ranks. He and his work will bring breadth and depth to our department, which I have no doubt will result in some very creative and innovative initiatives that will benefit all. We are very fortunate to have such an esteemed colleague and we look forward to interacting and collaborating with Harris," said Rena Cumby, Department Head of Architecture & Interiors.