Professor Speck has been a UT faculty member since 1975, and was dean of the School of Architecture from 1992-2001. Speck has won numerous teaching and service awards including two university-wide undergraduate teaching recognitions: the Blunk Centennial Professorship and the Amoco Teaching Award. He has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar and has written 40+ articles in professional journals and other publications on art, architecture, engineering and design. He was inducted into UT’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2004. See a full list of his teaching awards (as there are many) at LarrySpeck.com. Speck is also a principal in the architectural firm of PageSoutherlandPage, and his significant projects include the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the Austin Convention Center, and the architecture of Discovery Green Park in Houston. The CTL sat down with him recently to ask about the art and science of teaching.
When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
Teaching was never on the radar. It wasn’t until the last year of graduate school. I had a consulting job part time, and the head of my department told me I should teach part time as well. So I did. When I got a full-time job at a firm, I asked that I still be able to teach. I didn’t want to give it up.
Any advice for new teachers just beginning?
Make teaching, research, and thinking all ONE thing. Be there while the sausage is being made. Don’t keep it separate.
What do you think makes teaching great/effective/transformative?
Can teaching be learned? Yes. There’s no “how to teach” class. Everyone needs to find it for him or herself.
What student feedback has propelled you?
I read my course evaluation right before school starts.
How has teaching at UT influenced you?
UT has allowed me to do both [teaching and research] with new teaching assignments. I’m at a stage in my life where I have to ask, “How do I keep myself intellectually alive?”
Luckily for me, students have tapped into that. We’re both learning. That’s why my undergraduate studies class is about creative problem solving. It’s intended to expose students to processes of thinking in all kinds of disciplines: software design, filmmaking, entrepreneurship, engineering design, architecture, political strategy, etc.
How has teaching in general (and personally) changed throughout your career?
UT is putting much more emphasis on quality teaching today, and that’s a good thing.
Any important turning points?
No laptops or cellphones are allowed in my classroom. It’s about personal connection and communication. You’re learning from someone. There needs to be emotion involved; this person cares about me. Louis Kahn, at a university in India, said, “Education is a person standing under a tree talking.”
Learn more about Larry Speck at larryspeck.com
