Olon Dotson
Department Chair of the Department of Architecture
Olon Dotson, recently elected to the board of directors of Indiana Landmarks, serves as Associate Professor of Architecture at Ball State University.
He attended Tuskegee Institute (University) in Alabama where he received a B.A. in Architectural Science and Ball State University, where he acquired a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design. Dotson later attended Columbia University in New York where he completed the Master of Science in Real Estate Development. Dotson began to broaden his perspective in architecture, which led to the co-founding of his company, ARMONICS, Inc. ARMONICS’ principal focus was in the revitalization of inner-city communities, starting in Indianapolis. ARMONICS earned national and international recognition for its progressive and innovate approach to urban revitalization initiatives.
Throughout his career in academia as well as in professional practice, Olon Dotson’s primary research interest and focus has been in the resurgence of severely distressed inner-city communities. Dotson became more philosophical and reflective with respect to the health and vitality of American cities and has elected to pursue a Ph.D. in American Studies at the Purdue University, College of Liberal Arts. Olon’s primary research interests are to explore of the institutional abandonment and massive disinvestment of America’s inner-cities. He aims to enhance students’ sense of empathy for the citizens who choose or are forced to remain in these environments, and to develop formal inquiry which will develop further understanding of inner cities as a design professional and scholar. Olon has dedicated his life and career to improving the conditions of inner-cities by effectively developing, exploring, and communicating Fourth World Theory to a wider audience through lectures and publications.