Jassen Callenderis concerned with broad relationships between seemingly diverse aspects of making and perceiving architecture and the relation of these to the success of cities. These concerns have prompted a unique path. In the '90s and early 2000s, Callender worked with several firms on award-winning projects in the American South. Still an occasional practitioner, he is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, the US Green Building Council, and board member of the Mississippi chapter of the American Institute of Architects. His educational background underscores this range of interests, from undergraduate training in both architecture and philosophy, culminating in a Bachelor of Architecture, to graduate work in painting, sculpture, and art history leading to a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota. Former Director of Mississippi State University's Jackson Community Design Center, today Callender is Associate Director of MSU's School of Architecture and directs the School's 5th Year Program in Jackson, Mississippi, where he teaches advanced design studios and advises thesis students. His first book,Architecture History and Theory in Reverse, was published by Routledge in 2017.