Linda C. Samuels Named Director of Sustainable Design and Environmental Justice for WashU Sam Fox School

Linda C. Samuels, professor and chair of urban design at the Sam Fox School at WashU, has been named the inaugural director of sustainable design and environmental justice at the school.

Among Samuels’ first priorities is to build a collaborative network across the school and broader university to address the global climate crisis and environmental equity. That work will include partnering with leadership to prioritize climate resiliency, healthy environments, and equitable urban systems as foundational to the school’s academic mindset. She will also expand curricular and research collaborations throughout the school and engage with partners across the university, St. Louis, and the Midwest.

“Linda’s leadership has been tremendous and I’m excited for the energy she will bring to this new role,” Carmon Colangelo, the Ralph J. Nagel Dean of the Sam Fox School shared. “I look forward to our graduates being even better prepared to navigate and tackle environmental challenges and sustainable practices in their respective fields and contribute to a more equitable and just world through design.”

The position will advance both the Sam Fox School’s and WashU’s strategic plans. The school’s plan, “Shaping the Future,” includes exploring resilient design solutions, committing to environmental justice, disseminating creative work that promotes awareness and action around climate and the environment, and educating sustainable design leaders. WashU’s “Here and Next” plan led to the creation of the university’s Center for the Environment, an interdisciplinary hub committed to generating solutions to challenges like climate change, air pollution, clean water access, food insecurity, and more.

“Many of my colleagues in the Sam Fox School are already doing significant work around environmental justice and sustainability. This position will add to and amplify those existing commitments by creating greater visibility, connectivity, and impact,” Samuels said. “This role is key to WashU’s climate-related goals, and I’m honored to be the inaugural director.”

Samuels came to WashU in 2015 as an associate professor, achieved tenure in 2016, and was promoted to professor and chair of the Master of Urban Design program in 2023. In the 2023-24 academic year, she served as interim director of the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design. Samuels is the founder and director of Infra_OPTS, an independent infrastructural consulting firm working to create more environmentally conscientious and equitable cities. Her most recent publication, “Infrastructural Optimism,” explores and encourages a broader understanding of the interdependence of resources and agencies, a rightfully accelerated need for equitable access and distribution, and rising environmental diligence across the design disciplines.

Prior to WashU, Samuels worked as a project director of the University of Arizona’s Sustainable City Project and a senior research associate at cityLAB at UCLA. Before pursuing doctoral studies, she taught at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned a bachelor of design in architecture from the University of Florida, a master of architecture from Princeton University, and a doctorate in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.