DAAP appoints Joseph Heathcott as new associate dean for research

Heathcott comes to the University of Cincinnati following teaching stints at Washington University, Saint Louis University and The New School in New York. He directed a PhD Research Hub for doctoral students and launched the Laboratory for Urban Spatial and Landscape Research while conducting research as a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, the CUNY Graduate Center, Princeton School of Architecture and the London School of Economics.

He is writing a book on the politics of heritage conservation in cities, examining six case studies: Paris, Mexico City, St. Louis, Marrakech, Zanzibar and Istanbul. He also is writing a slim volume on urban imaginaries that draws on the work of Walter Benjamin while incorporating more contemporary thinking from neuroscience, memory and affect, and media and communication studies.

His most recent project focuses on designing logistical space since World War II, something he hopes to explore with students in the courses he will teach beginning this fall.

Heathcott said he felt incredibly fortunate to find the opening at DAAP while looking for a new opportunity. Having spent most of his career at private institutions, he said accepting a position at a public university like UC was a natural choice. The Evansville, Indiana, native also saw an opportunity to move closer to the region where he spent his childhood.

“What drew me to DAAP above all is its reputation,” he said. “It is a renowned college with an incredible history, situated in a large public research institution. The fact that the college hired Stephanie Pilat as dean really impressed me, given her reputation as a leader and innovator, so the chance to work for such a dean was another draw for me.”

Heathcott is looking forward to getting to know the Cincinnati area, both as a resident and as an urbanist. He enjoys immersing himself in the environments he studies and said Cincinnati fits that mold, with its people, rhythms, architecture, landscape and ecology serving as a primary source. More importantly, he is eager to meet the coworkers, students and alumni who will be part of his new adventure.

“I am looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing new ways of doing things,” he said. “Working in a university is highly relational. Of course, there are always elements of the bureaucratic, but at the end of the day, the best aspects involve building relationships, collaborating on common goals and creating things together that no one could do as well working apart.”

Article and interview conducted and written by Austin Bass. 

Featured image at top of Heathcott taking a photo of graffiti. Photos/provided