On the night of Saturday, September 21, 2019, University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation threw a celebratory dinner party for Professor Steven W. Hurtt’s retirement. The dinner and reception were held in the Great Space, in the Architecture Building with a full and entertaining program captured in the images below.

Professor Steve W. Hurtt stands up as the crowd applauds, at the end of a presentation led by Professor Brian Kelly and Professor Matthew Bell (Architecture Building, College Park, Md., Sept. 21, 2019). (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)

Professor Steven W. Hurtt served as the Dean of the School of Architecture from the year 1991 to 2004. Professor Hurtt started the school’s transformation by forging the concept of interdisciplinary education. As an example, he brought in the Masters of Community Planning Program from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences to the School of Architecture in 1992; he also changed the school’s name to School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, which further applied the integrative quality and his vision of the school. Finally, another degree –the Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and Design– began under his time served as Dean.

Brian Kelly –Professor and Director of the Architecture program at the University of Maryland— wears his graduation robe and raises his hand up to call attention to the guests in the Great Space, Architecture Building (College Park, Md., Sept. 21, 2019) (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)

Professor Steve W. Hurtt not only had a substantial impact on the school, but he also influenced many fellow faculty, staff and students. Professor and Director of the Architecture Program, Brian Kelly, and Architecture Professor, Matthew Bell, prepared an entertaining presentation on the Career of Professor Steve W. Hurtt.

An elderly couple (left) holding hands and making their way through the crowd during Professor Steve Hurtt’s retirement celebration dinner on Saturday, September 21, 2019 in the Architecture Building, College Park, Md. Affiliated Faculty, Mary Corbin Sies, in a red blouse is engaging in a conversation with a man facing her. (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
(L to R) Julie Pelletier is putting on a Maryland Architecture T-shirt, as Mark Simon is hugging Greta Weidner and a recent graduate is looking at a selection of drinks at the bar (Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, College Park, Md. (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
(L to R) Rob McClennan, Julie Pelletier and Greta Weidner pose for a picture during Professor Steve Hurtt’s retirement dinner celebration in the Architecture Building’s Great Space in College Park, Md., on September 21, 2019. Julie Pelletier is wearing a “hurtt me” T-shirt with a printed portrait of a younger Professor Steve Hurtt. (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
A cold beer and cup of water are placed beside the Rock–A–Sonics drum set at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in College Park, Md., (Sept. 21, 2019) (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)

The Rock–A–Sonics, a band comprised of Steve Hurtt’s three sons –Michael, Eric and Brian Hurtt– and their friends Willie Barry and Francis Mason, played for the guests towards the end of the Saturday night evening celebration.

A man is overlooking Professor Steve Hurtt’s dinner celebration happening below in the Great Space in the Architecture Building at College Park, Md., on September 21, 2019 (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
Two generations of the Hurtt family (from bottom to top) Eric Hurtt, his wife Jo Hurtt, their son Jonah Hurtt and his friend Angello are finishing their dinner during Eric’s fathers retirement celebration, occurring at the University of Maryland, Architecture Building (College Park, Md., Sept. 21, 2019) (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
Architecture Professor Carl Bovill is raising his glass for a toast during Professor Steve Hurtt’s retirement dinner celebration hosted by the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (University of Maryland, College Park, Md., Sept. 21, 2019) (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)
A man in a red tie is sitting at a dinner table during Professor Steve Hurtt’s retirement dinner celebration on September 21, 2019 at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, College Park, Md. (Jelena Djakovic/Jour604)