Letter from
the Dean
10 Million Dollars... and Change.
There have been many changes in the School of Architecture since my letter
to you as interim dean in the Spring Semester 2001 issue of Update (the
Re:View predecessor). For me personally, the shift from interim dean to
dean that occurred on March 1, 2002, while not changing my job description,
has caused me to see things a little differently and allowed me to envision
changes over a longer time frame than an interim dean would feel confident
in doing. On top of that, I have a greatly increased sense of responsibility
to the university, the school, its faculty, students, staff and alumni.
In no small part, this is because of the accomplishments of my predecessors
in this position and the traditions of achievement they left to mark their
tenure. From John Williams to Fay Jones to Murray Smart to Dan Bennett,
the legacy of leadership at the School of Architecture is strong, and I
am honored, if also a bit humbled, to stand in their place. Of equal weight
in creating this sense of responsibility is the recognition that directly
in front of us are great opportunities to enhance the education of our
students.
10 Million Dollars...and Change.
One of the primary opportunities derives from the on-going capital campaign
of the school and the university - "The Campaign for the 21st Century." Our
school goal of $10 million is quite ambitious for the size of our school
and our alumni base. Fortunately, we have great leadership from Charlotte
Taylor and the university development staff, which, combined with the
traditional generosity of our supporters, gives me confidence we will
reach or exceed
this goal. Though it will certainly be challenging to reach this goal,
Charlotte reminds me of the cumulative importance of all levels and sources
of gifts from large corporate gifts to the smallest private gift. All
are valued; all are appreciated; all are of vital importance to reaching
10
million dollars by summer 2005.
Gifts from early in the campaign are already making a difference. The gift
of $1.5 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation creating the Steven
L. Anderson Chair in Architecture and Urbanism supports the director of
our Community Design Center. The gift of $1million from Don and Ellen Edmondson
of Forrest City created the E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture. The Jones
Chair will be filled this fall for the first time by Dale Mulfinger, FAIA
of Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
More recent gifts are supporting a wide range of school enhancements. For
example, Ken Shollmier's gift is allowing us to modernize our large lecture
hall, technologically as well as cosmetically. Further, several architectural
firms have stepped forward to fund annual lectures, allowing us to build
on a long tradition of bringing in speakers who are shaping new trends
in architecture. Other firms have provided support for students and outreach
programs.
Charlotte and I are also working on developing endowed gift "pools," collections
of smaller gifts assembled according to the shared interests of donors.
These pools could support any area, activity or program in the school.
One very exciting recent item of news comes as both a great opportunity
as well as a substantial challenge. The opportunity comes in the form of
approval by the Walton Foundation and the university administration of
our proposal for a $1.5 million endowed chair in digital communications
technology in the building industry. The challenge comes in the form of
a requirement to match in private support the $750,000 from the Walton
Foundation. We have 12 months to develop this $750,000 match or risk losing
the chair. If you have any ideas for sources for the match or want to contribute
toward the match, please know your help will be greatly appreciated.
There is one potentially discordant irony in the current situation that
I need to make you aware of. While the very positive changes enabled by
new capital campaign resources will allow enrichment of all programs, that
enrichment may very well be undermined by rapidly accumulating reductions
of the operational base of the school. Over the past several years, state
revenues have declined, leading to losses in state funding, the primary
source of our base operational support. Private campaign gifts, unless
specifically so designated, cannot be used to replace lost state funds.
However, despite these declines in state support, I am confident that the
generosity of our supporters and the vision and motivation of our staff
and faculty will allow continuing educational and outreach gains and will
place us in position to seize opportunities that will develop when the
economy of the state improves.
$10 Million Dollars...and Change.
We have now assembled a complete new administrative staff poised and
prepared to take advantage of, as well as create, new opportunities.
Thus there
is a fortunate coincidence between the enhancements being made possible
by the capital campaign and the changes in school leadership, a leadership
that will provide direction, momentum and critical focus for these
changes. This strong new team of leaders will be an excellent complement
to our
great faculty, staff and students. In chronological order, here are
the changes in school administration:
* August 2000 Interim dean appointed;
* August 2000 School given responsibility for managing Garvan Woodland
Gardens;
* August 2001 Fran Beatty appointed new department head in landscape
architecture;
* November 2001 Susan Thomas appointed inaugural director of the Delta
Research and Design Center;
* March 2002 New dean appointed;
* August 2002 Patricia Kucker appointed new department head in architecture;
* October 2002 David Davies appointed new director of Garvan Woodland
Gardens; and
* August 2003 Steve Luoni appointed new director of the Community Design
Center.
I have the utmost confidence in this new slate of leaders and expect
each to make great contributions to increasing the quality of education
we offer
our students and the service we offer our communities. They begin with
the same advantage that I have had as dean; they have inherited strong
programs built by their predecessors, both administrators and faculty.
The impact of their respective visions will enable great faculty and
staffs to continue building nationally competitive degree programs,
research agendas
and service opportunities for our students and our constituents.
In closing, because of the coincidence of new private gift resources
and new ideas from strong leaders, both administrative and faculty,
I believe
the next few years will be as exciting as any in the history of the
school. I feel so fortunate to be here at this time of both great opportunity
and great challenge and so appreciative of the encouragement and support
I've
received from so many of you. Thank you. And, please, come see what
we're
able to do with "10 million dollars...and change."
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