College of Fellows chancellor’s medal
use the $100,000 now in the College of Fellows Fund. Major funding decisions, however, would be delayed for several years. The still unresolved question of a Fellow’s lapel pin — whether there should be one and what it should look like — was again discussed at the 1973
aia convention in San Francisco under Chancellor Ulysees F. Rible’s leadership. In response to the suggestion that the initials “faia” be added to the existing aia lapel pin, former Chancellor Norman Schlossman expressed the view of many when he said, “I think the right to use the letters ‘faia’ is, in itself, a considerable distinction, and one to which no other device can add luster.” Wolf Von Eckart, a well-known architecture critic who was then an aia staff member, was asked to produce a number of designs. When the
aia Board reviewed these designs, they decided not to approve a special pin for Fellows because it would set them apart from other members. Subsequent Boards concurred with this decision. As the membership and resources of the College increased, so did the business portion of the annual convocations. Accordingly, in 1974 Chancellor Albert Golemon changed the convention format to provide a business meeting separate from the convocation dinner, a practice that continues today. Also during Golemon’s tenure, the scattered records of the College’s first 22 years were collected and placed in the care of the aia Library and Archives. Memorabilia — medallions, ribbons, and plaques — were assembled for permanent display in a case donated by Philip J. Meathe. A new chancellor’s medal, designed by Ulysses F. Rible, was also introduced and sent to each former chancellor. During the next several years, the College’s sponsorship of major projects under its College of Fellows Fund began in earnest. The fund underwrote the research for and publication of a book on the history and
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aia college of fellows