OU Institute for Quality Communities

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OU Institute for Quality Communities

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The Institute for Quality Communities provides information and services to enhance life in neighborhoods, towns, and cities.

At the IQC, we seek to serve and strengthen Oklahoma’s towns and cities while educating the next generation of Oklahoma’s leaders. We collaborate with faculty and students from The University of Oklahoma, as well as cutting-edge practitioners from around the world, to enhance our understanding of the built environment’s influence on quality of life. Through the IQC’s engagements with communities and civic leaders, our OU team helps the citizens of Oklahoma reshape their towns and cities in ways that improve our state’s social ties, environment, and economy.

10/12/2026

We are almost halfway through the fall semester at the University of Oklahoma. Prof. Wiley’s Historic Preservation Planning course has been busy learning the basics of the field and doing a deep dive into the history of Summit, one of Oklahoma’s historic All-Black Towns. They are working with community partner Schuyler Carter and other descendants of Rev. L.W. Thomas to envision a future for the Thomas Homestead as a legacy campus.

Thus far students have heard from guest lecturers including Carter — a direct Thomas descendant — Dr. Kalenda Eaton, an expert on Black homesteading in the Great Plains, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Lynda Ozan, Architecture Librarian Carl Siegel, and Western History Librarian Jackie Reese. Students visited the Special Research Collections at Bizzell Library, and a small group of IQC team members consisting of Wiley, Dr. Wei Liu, and graduate assistant Anahita Niknejad visited Summit for a pre-engagement site visit led by Thomas descendants Bonnie Carter and Cheryl Thomas.

Every week brings a new challenge and a new opportunity to push the boundaries of preservation practice to be more innovative and relevant to the needs of a diverse body of community stewards. We cannot wait to see what the second half of the semester brings!

10/01/2026

Earlier this month the Institute for Quality Communities was featured on the OETA’s Oklahoma News Report for its yearlong partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. The partnership investigated ways to improve living conditions and update facilities at the Ardmore, Claremore, and Sulphur veterans homes. Many thanks to Professors John Harris, Mia Kile, and Scott Greene for leading the charge with our OU students, who worked towards solutions to these complex real world projects.

You can view the whole segment here: https://youtu.be/WdIy2g4564M

09/22/2026

Get familiar with the OU IQC’s roster of emerging professionals!

Swipe for the full bios of our all-star team of students and recent graduates.

Afrah Faheem is a Research Intern at the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for Quality Communities. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and a Graduate Certificate in Resilient Planning, Design, and Construction from the University of Oklahoma.

Afrah spent two years as a Graduate Assistant at IQC, contributing to community planning and design projects across Oklahoma, with work spanning placemaking, downtown revitalization, parks and trails, public spaces, safe streets, and community planning. In her current role, she conducts placemaking research and documents past IQC Community Assistance Projects across planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture. She also supports grant proposals, mapping, and public-facing content for the 2027 Placemaking Conference and IQC’s 20-year anniversary.

Her interests lie at the intersection of landscape architecture, community planning, ecological systems, and public space. She is particularly interested in community planning and placemaking, with a focus on how design can strengthen local identity, improve everyday experiences, and support more vibrant neighborhoods. Her work also explores green infrastructure, habitat connectivity, resilient site design, and the role of parks and trails in creating environmentally responsive and accessible landscapes.

Ruchi Khakurel is a first-year graduate student in the Regional and City Planning (RCPL) program at the University of Oklahoma. Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, she holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture and is passionate about community development, urban planning, and creating more resilient and inclusive places.

With a background in architecture and experience working alongside local communities on planning and design initiatives, Ruchi has developed a strong appreciation for collaborative, community-centered approaches to shaping places. She believes that meaningful planning begins with listening to the people who know their communities best.

Through her work with the Institute for Quality Com

09/11/2026

Tune in tonight for the Oklahoma News Report at 7 pm to hear about the Institute for Quality Communities’ yearlong partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs to improve the conditions at three Oklahoma veterans homes — Ardmore, Claremore, and Sulphur. OU students will discuss the experience of working on these sites, and the personal and professional impact it has had. It was an honor and a privilege to work alongside our colleagues at ODVA for these important projects.

For over 45 years, the Oklahoma News Report has delivered in-depth, statewide news you can trust, free from commercial influence, so you can stay informed and engaged on the issues that matter most to our communities.

Watch it or stream it live Fridays at 7 pm: https://www.oeta.tv/shows/oklahoma-news-report/

09/10/2026

Get to know the OU IQC leadership!

Swipe for the full bios of our all-star team.

Amber Wiley is the Wick Cary Director of the Institute for Quality Communities and an Associate Professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma.

An award-winning scholar, Wiley has over 20 years of experience in teaching, research and professional practice in historic preservation, architecture and community engagement. She has dedicated her career to advancing the history and narrative of design and preservation in Black communities, as well as advocating for theoretically rigorous, thoughtful and inclusive expansions of preservation policy and practice. Wiley has held previous appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, Skidmore College, and Tulane University.

Her books include “Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum” and “Model Schools in the Model City: Race, Planning, and Education in the Nation’s Capital.”

Wiley received her Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She also holds a Master’s in Architectural History and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and a B.A. in Architecture from Yale University. She is a native of Oklahoma City with roots in Washington, DC, Maryland, North Carolina, and Arkansas.

Molly O’Connor is the Program Manager of the Institute for Quality Communities. A proud alumna of the University of Oklahoma, O’Connor earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3-D Design in 2001. With over two decades of experience in Oklahoma’s arts and cultural sector, she has dedicated her career to supporting creative community development across the state.

Before joining OU IQC, Molly served as Director of Rural and Creative Community Outreach for the Oklahoma Arts Council, where she worked to connect artists, organizations, and rural communities through innovative programming and partnerships.

A multidisciplinary artist, Molly’s practice combines storytelling, visual art, performance, and creative writing. In 2005, she founded OKC StorySLAM, a month

09/02/2026

Happening now! Come and check out the IQC table at the Gibbs College student resource fair and be sure to grab a burger at the barbecue.

08/24/2026

Behind the Scenes…

First day of the fall semester and we are already moving and grooving here at the IQC. Stay tuned, story loading…

08/14/2026

Hello IQC friends! A new academic year is around the corner. Before we get started with that, however, we’d like to update you on work we did over this summer.

During the months of June and July, the IQC benefited from the work of Adam Lodrigueza, a senior majoring in Environmental Design, who is starting his second year in the accelerated Regional & City Planning master’s program. Adam conducted an in-depth review of IQC records and developed a comprehensive report documenting some of our earliest community assistance projects—work that will be especially valuable as we approach IQC’s 20th anniversary in 2028.

Our team toured several Oklahoma City sites where IQC has worked in recent years, meeting with key stakeholders including Thuan Nguyen of Oklahoma City’s Asian District, Rachael Crawford, Director of the Plaza District, and Amanda Bleakly, Director of the Paseo Arts District. These conversations provided valuable insight into how communities have used IQC recommendations to strengthen and improve their districts.

Adam will be presenting his research during a Gibbs College of Architecture Brown Bag Lunch this September! Thank you for all your great contributions Adam.

08/04/2026

Did you catch IQC Director Amber Wiley and Program Manager Molly O’Connor at the Select Oklahoma Conference on Economic Development today? If not here’s a little bit about their session:

Sense of Place: A Humanities-Based Approach to Community Development

This session highlighted the humanities-based work of the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to inform policy and design recommendations for projects across the state. The presenters shared core tenets and methodologies and used recent IQC project case studies to illustrate the integral nature of the humanities to all aspects of project implementation to amplify
a sense of place.

07/27/2026

The City of Oklahoma City’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) is inviting the community again to support the ongoing Plat Amendment Project. On Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to noon, the HRC will host a volunteer event at the Ron Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Ave.

The project flags discriminatory language—such as historic racially restrictive covenants—that remains embedded in local land records or maps. While these clauses are no longer legally enforceable, addressing this language makes the public record accurate and affirms our commitment to being an inclusive and welcoming community.

This volunteer opportunity is open to everyone; no legal or real estate experience required. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own laptops/tablets if they have one.

This project is a result of a collaboration between the Institute for Quality Communities and the City of Oklahoma City’s HRC. Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture PLAD faculty member Charles Warnken and graduate student William Willson have led this effort on the OU side.

Address

830 Van Vleet Oval, Gould Hall, Suite 165
Norman, OK
73019

Website

http://iqc.ou.edu/

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