Charlotte College Of Arts + Architecture Introduces New Tenure-Track Faculty
The College of Arts + Architecture is pleased to welcome seven new full-time tenure-track faculty this academic year.
ARCHITECTURE
Nathaniel Elberfeld, Assistant Professor of Architecture
A designer from Alexandria, Virginia, Nathaniel Eberfeld has worked in the office of Joel Sanders Architect in New York City and has taught undergraduate and graduate design studios and seminars as a full-time faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a cofounder and principal of Teltta, a research and design collective in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was recently selected for the inaugural Design Seaport biennial in Boston and presented scholarship at ACADIA 2020: Digital Proximities.
Elberfeld received a Bachelor of Science in physics from the College of William & Mary, and a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a Danforth Scholar. In 2020, he received a Master of Science in design and computation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums including the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and Palazzo Michiel in Venice, Italy during the European Cultural Centre’s Venice Design 2018.
Sabri Gökmen, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Sabri Gökmen is a computational designer and researcher with over 10 years of expertise in parametric modeling, generative art, digital fabrication, and software development. Originally trained as an architect at the Middle East Technical University, he later became a researcher and completed a PhD in the United States at Georgia Tech.
Gökmen has designed, manufactured, and built numerous public artworks, taught technology oriented design courses, created a YouTube channel, and developed generative codes for research and art. He comes to the Ravin School of Architecture from Kadir Has University School of Architecture in Istanbul, where he was chair and associate professor.
Kyle Spence, Assistant Professor of Architecture
With over 10 years of extensive knowledge in the architectural field, Kyle Spence has expertise in advanced digital fabrication methodologies surrounding his focus on cultural, community-based, biophilic, and ecological design. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University in 2011, his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in 2012, and is the founding principal of The BAKLab, a New York-based, concept-driven architectural design practice.
Spence previously taught at the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and served as a guest lecturer and visiting design critic at Columbia University, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Howard University, and the School of Visual Arts (SVA).
Alexandra Waller, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Formerly Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas
MS in Design and Computation, MIT
M.Arch, Washington University in St. Louis
BFA, James Madison University
A designer from Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandra Waller is a cofounder and principal of Teltta, a research and design collective based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was recently selected for the inaugural Design Seaport biennial in Boston and presented scholarship at ACADIA 2020: Digital Proximities. Her work has been exhibited at Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis and Palazzo Michiel in Venice, Italy, during the European Cultural Centre’s Venice Design 2018.
Waller received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design with a minor in art history from James Madison University, and a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, where she was the recipient of the Hugh Ferriss Award for Architectural Drawing. Previously, she has taught undergraduate and graduate design studios and seminars as a full-time faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2021, she received a Master of Science in design and computation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“These new faculty hires will significantly bolster our explorations of the computed environment, emerging material practices, and other areas of strategic distinction,” said Ravin School of Architecture Director Blaine Brownell. “They will also enable the SoA to develop new pedagogy and research advancing computational frontiers such as AI, additive manufacturing, and physical computing.”
DANCE
Alyah Baker
Assistant Professor of Dance
Alyah Baker is a dance artist, scholar, and choreographer working at the intersection of art and embodied activism. A new assistant professor of dance at UNC Charlotte, she is the founder of Ballet for Black and Brown Bodies, an education and advocacy platform that engages BIPOC dancers in culturally relevant ballet training. Baker’s research focuses on queer aesthetics, Black feminist praxis, community building, and embodiment.
From 2021 to 2024, Baker served as an adjunct ballet professor at Duke University, where she also earned an MFA in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis (’21), a B.A. in Sociology, and a minor in Dance (’03). While at Duke, she was awarded the 2020-21 Kenan Institute of Ethics Graduate Arts Fellow in Social Choreography and Performance for her pedagogical and choreographic practice. Baker has trained and performed with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Oakland Ballet, and Carolina Ballet and has danced featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Laura Dean, José Limón, and Alonzo King.
In 2021, Baker founded AB Contemporary Dance, a project-based dance company. The company’s latest project, Quare Dance, was a recipient of the 2023-2024 National Performance Network Creation and Development Fund. Baker has received choreographic commissions from the American Dance Festival, Queering Dance Festival, Oakland Ballet, and has been recognized in local and national media, including Dance Teacher Magazine and the New York Times.
MUSIC
Susan Gouthro, Assistant Professor of Voice
For over a decade Susan Gouthro was engaged as a soprano soloist on a full-time contract at the opera house in Kiel, Germany. Here she performed many of the most important roles in the lyric soprano repertoire. During this time, Gouthro had many opportunities to perform as a guest at other German houses including the opera companies in Cologne, Würzburg, Bremen, Lübeck, Dessau, Hagen, and Kassel. An avid concert and recital performer, she performed in many oratorios and was a featured artist in diverse Lieder Abende and chamber music concerts. In the 2015/2016 season, Susan Gouthro was celebrated as the opera-diva Carlotta in the musical The Phantom of the Opera in Germany, singing eight shows a week for a total of over 300 performances in a production that was cast and rehearsed by the creative team from Phantom on Broadway.
Having studied and performed contemporary music at The Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, The Britten-Pears School in England, and on the opera stage in Germany, Susan Gouthro has been lately delving into new music from her home county Canada. Researching and performing music by living composers has become one of her passions.
The Department of Music also welcomes Jason Mitchell, who returns to the faculty as a full-time lecturer after serving in a visiting capacity last year, and Visiting Lecturer of Music (Low Brass) Riley Bahin.
THEATRE
Meredith Magoun
Assistant Professor of Costume Design
Meredith Magoun has taught at Old Dominion University, Central Washington University, and Boston Arts Academy. She teaches courses in Costume Technology, Stage Costuming, Costume Design, Costume Crafts, Fashion History, Intro to Theatre (Theatre Experience), Intro to Production Design and Mask Making. She also mentors students, teaching them the skills and joy that goes into good design.
Magoun has designed for Utah Festival Opera Musical Theater, Busch Gardens, Village Theater Kidstage, Weston Playhouse, Longwood Players, Arts After Hours, Boston Baby Dolls, Northeastern University, Berklee College of Music, Emerson College, Stoneham Theater, Zeitgiest Stage Co., and CompanyOne.
She is a Wardrobe Mistress, Milliner, Photographer, Artist, and Balloon Sculptor. She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (’11) in Costume Design and a BA in Theater from Smith College (’05).
In addition, the Department of Art & Art History is pleased to welcome Visiting 3D Lecturer/Technician in Ceramics Emma Kaye for the 2024-25 academic year.
Pictured above, clockwise from top left: Meredith Magoun, Alexandra Waller, Kyle Spence, Sabri Gökmen, Susan Gouthro, Alyah Baker, and Nathan Elberfeld.
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