CAPPA Celebrates the Promotion of Three Distinguished Faculty Members
The College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) is proud to announce the promotion of three outstanding faculty members whose scholarship, teaching, and service continue to strengthen the college’s academic mission and community impact.
Effective September 1, 2026, Dr. Evan Mistur, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Affairs & Planning, and Prof. Julia Lindgren, Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture, have been promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure. In addition, Dr. Austin Allen, Associate Professor of Practice in the School of Architecture, has been promoted to the rank of Professor of Practice.
These promotions reflect CAPPA’s continued commitment to academic excellence and to advancing innovative, impactful work across disciplines.
Since joining CAPPA in September 2020, Dr. Evan Mistur has established a dynamic research agenda centered on environmental policy and management. His work examines how societies organize and govern socio-ecological systems to produce outcomes that are not only effective but also sustainable and just.
Dr. Mistur’s research explores a wide range of topics, including conservation management, environmental justice in both natural and built environments, and the policy mechanisms that guide environmental change. His scholarship is driven by the fundamental belief that society does not need to accept the loss of essential environmental systems. It can instead design thoughtful, informed approaches to respond to ecological challenges.
Prof. Julia Lindgren, who also joined UTA in September 2020, is a trained architect and builder and the co-founder of COOPERATIVE works. As Director of the Undergraduate Architecture Program, she has played a transformative role in shaping design education at CAPPA through her leadership of design-build studios and community-centered initiatives.
Her work centers on social equity and community engagement, exploring how design processes can redistribute power within cities and elevate the voices of historically marginalized communities. Through partnerships with low-income, immigrant, and black and brown communities, Lindgren advances collaborative approaches to solving complex urban problems.
During her time at UTA, her leadership in the Community Design Build Program has earned numerous honors, including the Presidential Commendation for Outstanding Leadership from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Dallas Chapter and the 2023 Citation of Honor Award from the Texas Society of Architects. Her studio projects have also received widespread recognition, including the 2024 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Design Build Award.
Dr. Austin Allen’s promotion recognizes a distinguished career that bridges landscape architecture, documentary film, and mass communication. Fields that collectively inform his interdisciplinary approach to urban and environmental challenges.
Since joining UTA in 2018 and serving as Associate Professor of Practice since 2019, Dr. Allen has contributed extensively to CAPPA’s academic and administrative leadership, including more than two years as Interim Associate Dean. His prior appointments include faculty and leadership roles at Louisiana State University, Cleveland State University, and the University of Colorado Denver.
A recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and a John Bracken Fellow at Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Allen brings national recognition to his work. He also serves on the Emeritus Council of the Landscape Architecture Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Olmsted Council for the Frederick Law Olmsted Network.
CAPPA congratulates Dr. Mistur, Prof. Julia Lindgren, and Dr. Allen on these well-earned promotions. Their achievements exemplify the excellence and impact of CAPPA’s faculty and underscore the college’s role in addressing the complex challenges shaping our built and natural environments.