Hereford Residential College

When Nancy entered the UVA as a first-year student in 1972, the university was only in its third year of co-ed admittance and had an enrollment of only 6,000 students. Entering not only as a female, but as a third-generation Japanese-American 'sansei', and a (White Plains) New York transplant to boot, she encountered a quiet and homogenous institution unimaginably different from the culturally rich and diverse international community it is today. Now some 35 years later, Nancy gratefully reflects how personal and professional opportunities allowed her and her husband David to establish a wonderful life here and raise their family of three children. In this new phase of her university career at Hereford, Nancy is thrilled to be living on Grounds in Vaughan House and looks forward with great excitement to being part of this vibrant and diverse community.

Nancy joined the faculty in the School of Architecture in 1985 after having graduated as a 'Triple Hoo' (B.S. majoring in Landscape Architecture 1976; Master of Landscape Architecture 1985; and Master of Architecture 1985). She teaches the foundation design studio and materials and assembly course in the graduate landscape architecture program. For several years, she ran the design studio that traveled to Barcelona Spain to examine public space design in a city known for its success in commingling traditional and contemporary design. From 1999 to 2005, she chaired the University's Arboretum and Landscape Committee, a university advisory committee charged with reviewing and making recommendations on all landscape changes to the Grounds. Her long standing research interest is in the design of school grounds and developing them as an educational resource. She hopes to test those ideas at Hereford, whose landscape surrounds on O-Hill offer rich potential for enhancing the educational experience for the community.

As a practicing landscape architect, her design projects include the 1988 Master Plan for UVa's Blandy Experimental Farm and Canal Basin Square in Scottsville Virginia with VMDO Architects. She was also a part of the design team for Hereford College with Tod Williams/Billie Tsien and VMDO Architects. Nancy also enjoys traveling (over this last summer traveling to Paris and Amsterdam), hiking, reading, NY Times crossword puzzles, gardening, music (jazz), running, and cooking.