In 20 years as dean of Kansas University’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning, John Gaunt has seen a dramatic increase in the curriculum’s sophistication.

While the school’s core mission has not changed — “it’s about innovation and problem-solving,” Gaunt said — it’s now being achieved with the latest computer technology, robotics, high-tech building materials, hands-on collaborations, interdisciplinary projects and even internationalism.

Gaunt, who has served longer than any current dean in any school at KU, stepped down from the role at the end of the spring semester, though he will continue to teach as a faculty member.

John Gaunt is stepping down as dean of the Kansas University School of Architecture, Design and Planning after 20 years in the position. Gaunt, the longest-serving dean currently at KU, will continue to teach as a member of the faculty. Gaunt is pictured inside The Forum at Marvin Hall, the building's first lecture space and one highlight of Gaunt's tenure as dean.

“My time as dean has involved much change, many personal rewards and a sense of fulfillment,” Gaunt said. “I look forward to this transitional phase and to helping our School of Architecture, Design and Planning continue its tradition of excellence.”

Prior to entering academia, Gaunt was with the Minneapolis architecture and engineering firm Ellerbe Becket for 18 years, and he served as its CEO and president for six years.

At KU Gaunt began as dean in 1994, over the then-School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

His tenure includes a number of milestones.

The school merged with the School of Design in 2009, which doubled its size, he said. Currently the school has about 1,000 students.

KU purchased a 68,000-square-foot warehouse building in the East Hills Business Park in 2009. It’s home to design-build studio space and now an important facility for students, Gaunt said.

Studio 804 morphed from a traditional architecture studio to a nonprofit organization that has seen architecture students design and build nearly 20 homes or buildings in Lawrence and nearby communities.

Gaunt cited the 2014 project as making a particular impact. The Forum at KU’s Marvin Hall, home of the architecture school, is the building’s first lecture hall, something that was badly needed.

“It was a problem needing to be solved, and we solved it,” he said.

Curriculum also has changed to include a requirement that all Master’s of Architecture students study or participate in internships abroad, whether for a summer or an entire year. Though it’s not currently required for design and planning majors, those students also have international opportunities.

“I felt very strongly that the world was changing, and that was a big part of the change,” Gaunt said. “It is a far wider world.”

During his tenure as dean, Gaunt has continued to teach, including an introduction to architecture course and a freehand drawing class. This fall he plans to teach a studio workshop for first-year students.

“John embodies our mission of educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world, and we’re fortunate to have had someone of his caliber at our university for the past two decades,” KU Provost Jeffrey Vitter said in a news release announcing Gaunt’s transition.

The next dean of KU’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning will be Mahesh Daas, professor and chairman of the Department of Architecture at Ball State University. He is scheduled to start the job June 15.

In the years to come Gaunt said he expects the school’s offerings to only get more sophisticated, and the disciplines within it — architecture, design and planning — to become more intertwined, slowly but surely.

“We’re all part of the same family, but there’s a bridge between us … it’s a work in progress,” Gaunt said. “We’re all part of the world of design.”