Architecture Faculty

Jhennifer A. Amundson, Ph.D., holds two inaugural positions at Belmont: Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Design and Chair of the Department of Architecture. Prior to joining Belmont in 2019, she served as Associate Provost of Faculty, Dean of the School of Art, Design, and Architecture, and Professor of Architecture at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois.

Dr. Amundson completed her doctoral studies at the University of Delaware after receiving the M.Arch. and B.S.A.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a former architect, she studies architectural history with a particular interest in 19th-century style, theory and technology, the history of the profession of architecture, and the education of architects. Supported by grants and fellowships from such institutions as the National Endowment for the Humanities, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Capitol Historical Society, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Graham Foundation and Winterthur Museum, she has published extensively, especially in connection with the topic of her dissertation and first book publication, Thomas U. Walter. Her recent research focuses on the architectural and social histories of maternity hospitals in the United States and her broader interests include the science of learning, distance education and digital humanities.

In addition to her general responsibilities as Dean, Dr. Amundson is developing the curriculum for Belmont’s new programs in architecture, with special focus on the five-year B.Arch.., for which Belmont will seek accreditation by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Dr. Amundson’s teaching responsibilities as a Professor of Architecture will include the freshman Introduction to Architecture and Senior Capstone courses, as well as coursework in the history and theory of architecture.

Thomas Lowing is a licensed architect in the State of Michigan and a LEED Accredited Professional actively engaged in professional consulting services while serving as an educator in accredited programs of architecture. As a graduate of the University Of Michigan (M. Arch), his own graduate studies’ concentration in building sciences and energy conscious design have grounded his work in genuinely sustainable design principles. As an educator, his concurrent roles in Christian education as a fulltime faculty member at Andrews University and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Notre Dame focused on the traditional values of design and sustainable construction as informants for the integration of advances in technology and design in numerous courses. These combined experiences as both educator and architect serve as a bridge to the profession and practice of architecture. His professional involvement in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has contributed to work in national membership groups as well as regional and local chapters. His professionalism underscores a strong commitment to students and emerging professionals on their path to licensure.

“I am thrilled to be joining the new architecture program at Belmont University! The news of Belmont’s mission-driven program in my profession attracted me immediately. The message of hope for innovative ways to address problems and care for each other in the College of Architecture & Design at Belmont University is a breath of fresh air for students’ journeys in creating a resilient future together. The generous welcome I have received in Nashville inspires me to engage in collaborative missions for the community and throughout Middle Tennessee.”

Barry Ballinger has over a decade of wide-ranging design experience on diverse building types including healthcare, hospitality, K-12, multifamily residential, and higher-ed. He has worked on all phases of project deliver in firms in California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Oklahoma State and a Master of Arts from the University of Kansas. As a PhD student at the University of Kansas, Professor Ballinger has studied the confluence of architecture, social movement, and contentious politics. His research earned him a Fulbright Research Grant to do fieldwork in Ankara, Turkey’s informal settlements. He has presented his research on informal settlements, politics of space, and knowledge management at international conferences in the USA, Turkey, and Portugal. Professor Ballinger has four years of experience teaching architecture studio where he shares his love of freehand drawing and the design process with his students.

“I’m eager to begin working with the dedicated staff, faculty, and students at O’More College of Architecture & Design. Through interdisciplinary research, teaching, and community engagement we’re going build an architectural profession that’s more responsive to society’s spatial needs. Belmont’s Mission, Vision, and Values offer the profession the missing mechanisms for creating better places. The way O’More embraces these values and integrates them within the curriculum shows it’s uniquely positioned to make real change in Middle Tennessee and around the world.”

Dr. Fernando Lima is an architect, urban planner, and computational designer with fifteen years of teaching experience in architecture and urban design programs. Prior to joining Belmont in 2022, he served as Postdoctoral Scholar in Design Computing at the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing, Penn State University, and as vice-director of the School of Architecture and Urban Design, Head of the Department of Design, Representation, and Technology, Digital Fabrication Lab Coordinator and Professor of Architecture at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in Brazil.

Dr. Lima has a Ph.D. in Urban Design from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, having attended a one-year doctoral exchange at the Faculty of Architecture - University of Lisbon, Portugal. In 2018, he was awarded the Fulbright | CAPES Foundation Thesis 2018 Honorable Mention for his Ph.D. thesis. Dr. Lima holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Fluminense Federal University and a specialist degree in Construction Management from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2008), where he also graduated Architect and Urbanist (2003). Dr. Lima is a member of the International Executive Committee of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics (SIGraDi) and a reviewer of several journals in the field of architecture, urban design, and computational design.

“I am thrilled to be joining the O'More College of Architecture and Design! The College's supportive, mission-driven, and innovation-seeking environment makes me enthusiastic about serving as an architecture educator while addressing technology to explore, develop, and present design ideas that seek to contribute to more resilient, equitable, and beautiful buildings and communities.”

Anthony Monica is a registered architect with deep experience in professional practice. Having worked for distinguished design firms including SOM and KieranTimberlake, his professional work has allowed him to continually push boundaries in the contemporary norms of practice. Having led the design, management, and execution of thoughtful, highly-crafted and complex projects, Anthony brings rich experience to the classroom from every facet of the profession. At the O’More College of Architecture and Design, Anthony will strive to create an engaging studio environment for students with a pedagogy focused on the freedom of iteration within a framework of inquiry. With an interest in architecture deeply rooted in place and culture, Anthony continues to reconsider the notions of process, tectonics, materiality, sustainability, and vernacular fabrication methodologies in contemporary design theory and practice. With a passion for community involvement and development, Anthony believes architects and designers can help shape the force of change in our cities. He has helped develop Community Involvement initiatives within multiple architecture firms and led an AIA award-winning community center pavilion volunteer project in Philadelphia. Anthony is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Building Construction Science and Management.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to join Belmont and the O’More College of Architecture and Design. I can’t wait to jump into this community and contribute to advancing the mission and culture that makes this place so special.”

Dr. Joseph M. Watson is an architectural and urban historian. In teaching, he challenges students to see architecture as a tool for reshaping social, cultural, and environmental fabrics, locally and globally, historically and today. His scholarship examines the social and environmental dimensions of architecture in the twentieth-century United States. Dr. Watson’s work has appeared in publications such as the Avery Review, Journal of Architectural Education, and Journal of Urban History. His research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and University of Pennsylvania’s Mellon Foundation Humanities, Urbanism and Design Project.

Dr. Watson received a Ph.D. in the History and Theory of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Social Ethics from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, and a B.Arch from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has worked as an architect in Knoxville and New York. Prior to joining Belmont, Joseph taught at Kansas State University, Louisiana State University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania.

“There is so much that is new and changing rapidly at O’More. I am delighted to now be part of the team that gets to shape all that newness and change into a robust, innovative, transformative approach to architectural and design education. On top of that are all the opportunities and challenges that Nashville holds in store for aspiring architects. The city’s rich and complicated history and its rapidly evolving and equally complicated present make it, in my mind, the ideal place to teach and study architectural history.”

Blake Daniels is a founding partner at Daniels & Chandler Architects in Nashville and an architect registered to practice in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. His community involvement includes AIA Middle Tennessee, the Phoenix Club of Nashville, as work as a mentor through the ACE (Architecture/Construction/Engineering) Program, and as a member of the West End Community Church. Mr. Daniels brings a deep record of service, ideals of pragmatism to the design process as well as an acute interest in the importance of hand-drawing to the process of design.

"I look forward to joining the Belmont faculty this spring to create a collaborative learning environment and to use my real world experience to activate conversations in the classroom that challenge the status quo, and ensure that the next generation of practitioners are building a world that is inclusive and equitable to all." -Blake Daniels

Brandon Harvey is a registered architect in both Tennessee and Texas and currently serves as the President and Co-Founder of Kingdom Development Group Incorporated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Having previously served at local firms including HDR, Gresham, Smith, and Partners, and HFR Design, he has experience in transportation, healthcare, commercial, residential, and civic architecture across the country and as far as the UAE.  Mr. Harvey recognizes architecture to be a discipline of creativity that serves individual clients and affects broader society and, as such, carries civic responsibility with it. He is a mentor, deacon, and musician at his church, Locust Ridge Primitive Baptist.

"Of the valuable things that I have gleaned throughout my academic and professional career, I am eager to pay my experiences forward to help you to develop during the early stages of your career in architecture! My objective is to help you to interpret the jargon of the architectural world, foster competence with the use of tools and technical processes that are involved in creating good architecture, and finally teach you to navigate perceptions and realities that will help you to evolve into good stewards of our built environment."

Katherin Kennon is a licensed architect and principal at the Architect Workshop and brings 30 years of professional and 25 years of academic teaching experience to Belmont. Her positions within the industry have included design architect, planner, project manager and instructor. Her personal perspective marries the theoretical and the practical as her design interests span from architectural rhetoric and history to codes and regulations. She is a member of Nashville First Baptist Church where she has lead youth and adult bible study groups and served on various committees. She is also a member of the AIA, Urban Land Institute, AEC Power Women and several code organizations. Ms. Kennon brings her diverse experience to bear in the curriculum by assisting students integrate and balance the practical needs and creative possibilities in their own design solutions.

"I am excited to be a part of your architectural journey! Contemplating, discussing, and exploring design is fun and challenging. I am looking forward to meeting each of you and exploring architecture together." —Katherine Kennon

Steve Powell is a partner and founder of Powell Architecture + Building Studio LLC, comprising a staff of architects, interior designers, construction managers and superintendents. With over twenty-five years of experience, he has wide experience in building types and holds a general contractor license in addition to his architect’s registration. A deacon at the Old Hickory Church of Christ, Mr. Powell has extensive community involvement and also serves as the current president of the AIA Middle Tennessee Chapter. As an instructor, he is particularly concerned with his role as a guide to lead students through their many choices of methodologies, techniques, and creative process.

"One of my goals in teaching architecture at the university level is to have a positive influence on the next generation of architects. There are significant lessons from my college instructors that still guide me to this day in my professional practice. I’m looking forward to meeting all the students and excited to play a role as they begin their architectural studies." —Steve Powell