ACSA
2008-09 Annual Report
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 1735 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.acsa-arch.org
ACSA Mission To advance architectural education through support of member schools, their faculty, and students. This support involves: • • • •
Serving by encouraging dialogue among the diverse areas of discipline; Facilitating teaching, research, scholarly and creative works, through intra/interdisciplinary activity; Articulating the critical issues forming the context of architectural education; Fostering public awareness of architectural education and issues of importance
This advancement shall be implemented through five primary means: advocacy, annual program activities, liaison with collateral organizations, dissemination of information and response to the needs of member schools in order to enhance the quality of life in a global society.
Board of Directors PRESIDENT Marleen Kay Davis, FAIA University of Tennessee—Knoxville
WEST CENTRAL DIRECTOR Keelan Kaiser, AIA Judson University
VICE PRESIDENT Thomas Fisher University of Minnesota
WEST DIRECTOR Stephen Meder University of Hawaii at Manoa
PAST PRESIDENT Kim Tanzer, AIA University of Florida
NORTHEAST DIRECTOR Brian Kelly, AIA University of Maryland
TREASURER Graham Livesey University of Calgary
EAST CENTRAL DIRECTOR Patricia Kucker University of Cincinnati
SECRETARY Mitra Kanaani, AIA NewSchool of Architecture
CANADIAN DIRECTOR George Baird, FRAIC, AIA University of Toronto
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR Andrew D. Chin Florida A&M University
STUDENT DIRECTOR Deana Moore American Institute of Architecture Students
SOUTHWEST DIRECTOR Ursula Emery McClure, AIA, LEED AP Louisiana State University
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Michael Monti, PhD Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
2008-09 ACSA Annual Report
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With this Annual Report I am pleased to report the growing strength and vitality of the ACSA. Throughout the year, the Board of Directors and staff were highly focused on some key strategic goals that flow from our mission of advancing architectural education. In brief, ACSA was able to enhance architecture scholarship and expand the resources we provide to help schools further their own educational goals. I invite you to read about some of the ACSA’s highlights in 2008-09 and to visit our website, www.acsa-arch.org, regularly to learn more.
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100th Anniversary
A once-in-a-century opportunity will occur in 2012, when ACSA celebrates its 100th anniversary. The Board of Directors charged a steering committee, led by Northeast Director Brian Kelly, to brainstorm ideas to mark the centennial. The result is four projects that together look forward, celebrate the past, and involve faculty at all of our schools. The ACSA Board enthusiastically supported the plan to publish a comprehensive, scholarly book on the history of architectural education, an innovative online exhibit on how architecture schools build community around their campuses and beyond, and pair of theme issues of Journal for Architectural Education to be published in 201112. Finally, we look forward to the 100th ACSA Annual Meeting, which will be hold in Boston, home of the first school of architecture (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded in 1868).
Conferences ACSA holds two major conferences each year, both of which exceeded our projections for attendance. Thanks to our conference co-chairs, Crystal Weaver of Savannah College of Art and Design, and Alan Plattus of Yale University, the ACSA Administrators Conference in Savannah captured the energy of what ties all ACSA schools together: “Design… in the Economy, in the University and in the Curriculum.” With over 400 attendees, the 97th ACSA Annual Meeting in Portland continued this momentum through stimulating keynotes, walking tours, the Topaz Award presentation by Adèle Naudé Santos, and the many conference sessions. Everyone enjoyed the two receptions at Portland State University and at the University of Oregon downtown center. Conference co-chairs, Mark Gillem of the University of Oregon, and Phoebe Crisman of the University of Virginia generated a record number of paper submissions with their engaging theme, “The Value of Design.” The ACSA Fall Conferences continue to be popular, typically with intriguing themes that attract national interest in the peer-reviewed selection process. We had three regional conferences last fall, and special thanks are due to the host schools: University of Southern California for hosting “Material(s) Matter”, University of Illionois Urbana-Champaign for “[ARCHITECTURE] in the age of [DIGITAL] reproduction,” and University of Massachusetts-Amherst for “Without a Hitch: New Directions in Prefabricated Architecture.”
2008-09 ACSA Annual Report
Marleen Kay Davis ACSA President 2008-09
Accreditation
Hundreds of ACSA faculty were involved in the accreditation of U.S. and Canadian schools during 2008-09, whether preparing for a site visit, serving on a visiting team, or taking part in efforts to revise the U.S. National Architectural Accrediting Board’s Conditions for Accreditation. Under the leadership of West Central Director Keelan Kaiser, ACSA completed a two-year effort to lead the profession in debates around the future of the architectural education and practice, and specifically the standards for education that will be needed. ACSA is pleased with the new Conditions approved by NAAB in July 2009, which fairly addressed the competing concerns voiced by many constituencies in the architecture profession. WE look forward in 2009-10 to working with NAAB and our member schools to implement the changes. The ACSA website has complete documentation of this two-year process.
Competitions + Awards
In 2008-09, ACSA held four student design competitions: The American Institute of Steel Construction’s ninth competition focused on the Life Cycle of a School. | In partnership with the National Building Museum, ACSA held the Green Community competition which was part of a series that included an exhibit and symposium. | In its fourth year, the Portland Cement Association competition challenged students to design an environmentally responsible Public Transportation Center. | The Preservation as Provacationc competition, Re-thinking Kahn’s Salk Institute, asked students to anticipate the needs of the Salk Institute for future growth. Awards and competitions are an important form of peer recognition valued by faculty. Hundreds of submissions to the various awards programs are judged by dozens of faculty involved different award juries. During the Awards Ceremony, 38 faculty or programs received award recognition, including a new class of ACSA Distinguished Professors, who join our recently formed College of Distinguished Professors, who intend to build a service and mentoring program for architectural education.
Publications
Publication efforts are a key service of ACSA, facilitating communication as well as providing a major venue for faculty scholarship and peer recognition. The Journal of Architectural Education has an active Editorial Board under the leadership of Executive Editor George Dodds. Routledge has sponsored a series of edited books based on ACSA past conferences: the latest book, entitled Writing Urbanism: A Design Reader, edited by Douglas Kelbaugh and Kit Krankel McCullough. With significant updates, the 8th Edition of the ACSA Guide to Architecture Schools was published in February, along with a fully searchable online database at archschools.org. Adding to the online database is the newly created ACSA Index, which puts 13 years of ACSA conference proceedings at the fingertips of users, who can search and doanload full text chapters.
2008-09 ACSA Annual Report
Research
The National Academy of Environmental Design, created in 2008, continues in its start-up phase, with the ACSA leadership of 2007-08 President Kim Tanzer, Executive Director Michael Monti, President-Elect Tom Fisher, and many others. Modeled on the National Academies of Science and Engineering, the National Academy aspires to be the central repository of expertise related to environmental research and design, with a goal of developing transformative design practices and policies in the face of a global environmental crisis. The National Academy of Environmental Design has incorporated, with the support of 22 member organizations representing 500,000 members. ACSA has joined with AIA in “A Call for Action” related to the Obama Stimulus plan. We want our web sites to feature faculty and student work that would relate to some of the opportunities in federal financing for short-term construction, as well as long-term research funding.
Diversity
Inspired by the AIA Gateway Commitment to Diversity in April 2008, ACSA has focused on diversity this year. ACSA Director Brian Kelly has pro-actively established panel discussions at both of our major conferences, initiated an informal LGBT Breakfast during the Annual Meeting, and has started a collection of best practices and other resources for schools.
Grants ACSA has focused more on grant opportunities in the last year, as a way to connect and strengthen the scholarly activities occuring at our member schools. We were pleased to receive notice of a National Endowment for the Arts grant on affordable housing design.
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Marleen Kay Davis ACSA President 2008-09
Providing service to ACSA schools and faculty is a multi-dimensioned task, with impressive efforts as described. None of this would be possible without the enthusiasm and professional dedication of the ACSA staff, board, and other volunteers. I want to express my deepest gratitude for their efforts, as well as a genuine thank you to the hundreds and hundreds of faculty who participate in and contribute to ACSA. Thank you!
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2008-09 ACSA Annual Report
% REVENUES
SURPLUS: $82,824
AUGUST 31, 2009
$1,865,092
66
Membership
$1,782,268 % EXPENSES
Financial Information
31
NAAB Support
Assets Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents $301,561 Accounts Receivable, Net 74,595 Accrued Interest Receivable 11,622 Prepaid Expenses 19,755
Publications
23
Total Current Assets 407,533
Investments 1,092,081 Property and Equipment
39,628
Cash—Permanently Restricted
30,000
Total Assets 1,569,242
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Current Liabilities Accounts Payable $45,474 Accrued Expenses 26,106 Deferred Revenue 44,520 Net Assets
Total Current Liabilities 116,100
14
Total Liabilities and Net Assets 1,569,242
11 8 1
2008-09 ACSA Annual Report
Annual Programs
14
Grants + Contracts
14
Membership
Annual Programs
Unrestricted 36,371 Unrestricted - Board Designated 1,386,771 Permanently Restricted 30,000 Total Net Assets 1,453,142
17
Publications
Grants + Contracts
Miscellaneous
1
NAED Support