UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Professor Loukas Kalisperis, a longtime faculty member within the Department of Architecture in the Stuckeman School at Penn State, will retire at the end of June following 35 years of service to the University.
A staple within the architecture studio and the classroom, Kalisperis is a co-creator of the Stuckeman School’s Immersive Environments Lab (IEL), a joint venture with Penn State's Information Technology Services Visualization Group. The IEL is an integral part of the architecture curriculum, allowing students to better visualize their designs using virtual reality technology.
He also spearheaded the department’s switch from a mainframe computer to PCs in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
“When I first came to Penn State, the department was using remote terminals to connect to a mainframe computer in Engineering Unit D. The interface was clumsy, and even word processing was ridiculously complex,” said Dan Willis, professor of architecture who joined the faculty in 1987. “Our students were intimidated by the complexity and few of them wanted to use the system that was in place. Loukas argued for switching to personal computers, which were just then becoming powerful enough to do 3D modeling and computer-aided design.”
Admired by former students for his honest feedback and the way he would jump out of his seat excitedly during reviews, Kalisperis earned numerous teaching honors while at Penn State. He received the University’s President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration in 2005 and the Undergraduate Program Leadership Award in 2018. He was also the recipient of the Apple Distinguished Educator Award in 2000.
“Loukas would never beat around the bush. He would tell a student if their project was good or if it was bad, but never in a demeaning way,” said Reggie Avilés, an instructor who often taught studio with Kalisperis. A 1999 Penn State graduate of the Bachelor of Architecture program, Avilés also studied under Kalisperis as an undergraduate.
“He would tell them their project was not up to par, but he would push them to improve it in a reverse-psychology kind of way,” he said.
According to others, he also had a way of pushing any credit for a job well done to others surrounding him, often shying from the spotlight.
“What I will always remember while working with Loukas is how he always tried to propel people — whether it be colleagues or students — forward,” said Avilés. “He always gave credit to others and never tried to take credit for himself. He loved to celebrate and bring attention to the accomplishments of others even if he had a big role in achieving those accolades,” he said.