Nader Chalfoun Professor and ALRS Alumnus Retirement

July 14, 2020
nader

Dear University of Arizona Community,

With a very heavy heart I am announcing that on May 2020, I retired from the University of Arizona after a tenure of 36 years.  I Started as a Master of Architecture student in 1983 and continued to the current position of distinguished professor of Architecture and Environmental Sciences.  In the last three decades, I had the honor to collaborate with different entities at the university while serving under eight presidents.  Because my research is focused on energy and environmental sciences in arid regions, after completing my master’s degree I was passionate to seek the degree of Ph.D. at the Office of Arid Lands Resource Sciences (ALRS).  This program shaped the person I am today because while I was able to pursue an interdisciplinary research, I was also mentored by top professors in their different fields.  ALRS program provided me the opportunity to combine arid lands, geography, atmospheric sciences, natural resources, oriental studies, with architecture in a comprehensive Ph.D. study.  And that was really the strength of this program and the most rewarding to my career.  I am also privileged to state that I was the first architecture student in the history of the University of Arizona to obtain a Ph.D. degree from Arid Lands Resource Sciences.  Recently I have been honored to serve as a GIDP faculty in this program, working with many students and collaborating with program director professor Molnar as a member of the executive committee.  I will forever love and cherish every aspect of this program and every faculty, administrator, and student that I worked with.  I hope we continue to stay connected after my retirement as I will always be available to all of you.

My contribution to the program:

  1. Organized efforts to recruit top international candidates
  2. Streamlined the transfer of architecture master’s students to study PH.D. in Arid Lands Resource Sciences
  3. Secured a 50% GTA for one year to selected candidates
  4. Served on several ALRS Ph.D. committees as chair and member.
  5. Served on the ALRS Executive Committee