Louis Nelson, Associate Professor of Architectural History, has been named by Dean Karen Van Lengen as the new chair of the Department of Architectural History. Nelson has taught at the School of Architecture since 2001, primarily in the field of Early American Architecture and related disciplines.

“It is an honor to chair a department that will continue to shape how we understand architecture through the eyes of those who commission, build, design, preserve and occupy buildings and landscapes,” Nelson said.

Nelson succeeds as chair Professor Dell Upton, who is now Professor of Art at the University of California at Los Angeles. While at UVa, Upton played a significant role in shaping the goals of the Department of Architectural History and forming the new shared doctoral program with the College of Arts and Sciences. Dean Van Lengen noted, “Professor Upton’s teaching and research is deeply respected. His national stature as a prominent intellectual leader in cultural and architectural history has added significant breadth to our school …. I have been personally very grateful for his contributions to the school in so many ways. He will be missed.”

During his time at UVa, Nelson has written several articles and two books, American Sanctuary: Understanding Sacred Spaces (2006) and Pulpits, Piety and Power: Anglican Architecture Material in Colonial South Carolina (under contract). He is editor of the journal, Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture (Univ. of Minnesota), and the director of the Falmouth Field School in Historic Preservation in which students spend a month in Jamaica documenting and preserving historic buildings each summer.

Nelson has received several prestigious grants for his work and was the recipient of the University Teaching Award in spring 2007, the highest recognition for excellence in teaching at UVa.

Dean Van Lengen said, “[Prof. Nelson] is a devoted teacher and accomplished scholar and it will be my great pleasure to work with him as the next chair of the department.”