The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) announces leadership changes across several academic programs that will take effect for the coming 2026–2027 academic year.
- Anita Berrizbeitia, professor of landscape architecture, will serve as interim chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture. She takes over from Gary Hilderbrand, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, who concludes a four-year term.
- Nestor M. Davidson, Emma Bloomberg Professor of Real Estate, will serve as director of the Master in Real Estate (MRE) program. He succeeds Jerold Kayden, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, who founded the MRE program in 2022 and has served since as director.
- Zaneta Hong, design critic in landscape architecture, will serve as director of the Master of Landscape Architecture program. She takes over from Karen Janosky, lecturer in landscape architecture.
As announced previously, Karen Lee Bar-Sinai, assistant professor of landscape architecture, and Malkit Shoshan, design critic in urban planning and design, will take on leadership roles in the interdisciplinary Master in Design Studies program. Bar-Sinai will serve as Ecologies domain head, succeeding Alex Wall, design critic in landscape architecture, while Shoshan will serve as interim Publics domain head, taking over from Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism.
In a message to the GSD community, Sarah M. Whiting, dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture, expressed “deep appreciation to our faculty for another terrific academic year… particularly amid the real and continued pressures we face as a School.” She continued, “I am especially grateful to those who have been in leadership roles, for they have kept our programs sharp while also running smoothly.”
Whiting offered particular thanks to Hilderbrand, noting his “thoughtful guidance and characteristically gentle manner” as core elements of a leadership style that “leaves the department stronger for his stewardship.”