Virginia Center for Housing Research

VCHR Staff

540-231-2690
dawkins@vt.edu

Dr. Casey J. Dawkins is currently Director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research and an Assistant Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech. His current research focuses on racial disparities in housing market outcomes and the impact of land use regulations on housing affordability. more ...

Dr. Dawkins was recently awarded an Urban Scholars Fellowship from HUD to examine the impact of racial segregation on racial disparities in the transition to first-time homeownership and is currently a member of the HUD Assisted Housing Research Cadre. Other organizations sponsoring Dr. Dawkins’ research include the Fannie Mae Foundation, the Brookings Institution, the National Association of Realtors, the Center for Housing Policy, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

He is co-guest editor of a special issue of Urban Geography focusing on the measurement of residential segregation and neighborhood change and serves as a reviewer for several academic journals. His work has been published in leading urban economics and planning journals, including the Journal of Urban Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Urban Studies, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of the American Planning Association, Housing Studies, Housing Policy Debate, the Journal of Planning Literature, and Land Use Policy.

His CV can be found here.

540-231-0412
tkoebel@vt.edu

Dr. C. Theodore (Ted) Koebel is the program chair of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech and Professor of Housing and Urban Planning. He has written numerous reports and articles on housing market trends, affordable housing, housing policies and programs, and economic development. He has worked extensively with developers, state and local agencies, and housing advocates in the provision of affordable housing and urban redevelopment. more ...

Dr. Koebel is a board member and current president of VMH, Inc., Virginia's largest nonprofit developer. VMH, Inc., provides housing and economic opportunities to low-income families through real estate development, property management, and micro-enterprise development.

Dr. Koebel is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to joining Virginia Tech in 1990, he was on the faculty of the University of Louisville, where he directed housing and economic development research.

(540) 231-4902
mjobrien@vt.edu

Mr. Michael O’Brien is an architect and the William E. Jamerson Professor of Building Construction in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech. His current research includes manufacturing strategies and controls applied to production housing, methods for evaluating whole-house performance and systems interactions, Progressive-era town planners, the history of construction, and the Architectural Ornament of Louis Sullivan. more ...

His past research has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

He is a native of Chicago and a graduate of North Dakota State University and Virginia Tech. Professor O’Brien has been a guest curator at the National Building Museum, an advisor and on-screen expert for the Discovery Channel, and has numerous publications and research reports on Industrializing the Residential Construction Site and Whole-House Performance for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

His CV can be found here.

(540) 231-3993
cavell@vt.edu

Mrs. Marilyn Cavell is a Senior Research Associate and the Assistant Director of the Center. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a Master’s Degree in housing from Virginia Tech. Ms. Cavell has been with the Center for over 15 years and is responsible for the Center’s Virginia projects and managing operations. Her expertise is in research and data analysis, preparing proposals and publications, and project management and reporting.