R. Brooks Jeffrey

R. Brooks Jeffery is Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Arizona’s Research, Discovery & Innovation. He is responsible for advancing innovative research in the humanities, arts, social sciences, professional colleges, the University’s three museums– Arizona State Museum, Center for Creative Photography, and UA Museum of Art – as well as selected centers and institutes that report to the Research, Discovery & Innovation.

Brooks also maintains a faculty appointment as Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) focused on Heritage Conservation. His teaching, research, and outreach projects have advanced heritage conservation as part of a comprehensive ethic of environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability throughout the world, including the Middle East, Latin America, and the American Southwest.

Brooks has authored/co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, books and technical reports, including Cross-Cultural Vernacular Landscapes of Southern Arizona (Vernacular Architecture Forum, 2005, co-edited with Laura Hollengreen), “From Azulejos to Zaguanes: The Islamic Legacy in the Built Environment of Hispano-America” (Journal of the Southwest, Spring/Summer 2003), A Guide to Tucson Architecture (University of Arizona Press, 2002, with Anne M. Nequette), Joesler & Murphey: An Architectural Legacy for Tucson (City of Tucson, 1994) and Yemen: A Culture of Builders (American Architectural Foundation, 1989). Jeffery has been a principal investigator on numerous grants and contracts from local, regional and national agencies, totaling over $2 million. He has received numerous awards including the “Director’s Partnership Award” (2015) and the “Excellence in Resource Stewardship Award” (2006), both from the National Park Service. 

In addition to his administration, teaching and research responsibilities, Jeffery collaborates with governmental and civic agencies on preservation issues locally, regionally, and nationally while serving as a board member on the University of Arizona Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, Arizona Historic Sites Review Committee, and the National Council for Preservation Education. He’s been honored with two “Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards” (2012, 2014) and Tucson’s highest preservation honor, the “Alene Dunlap Smith and Paul C. Smith Award” (2007) from the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission for the “high level of dedication and long-term commitment toward historic preservation in our community”. He was also awarded the 2008 Common Ground Award from the Metropolitan Pima Alliance for his involvement in the Wilmot Library Planning Charette advocating for the preservation, rather than the proposed demolition, of a landmark Modern design as part of an overall sustainable development proposal.