Dear ACSA Community,

As a member of the Executive Committee of the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors (College) and as its Past Chancellor, I am delighted to welcome Dean Patricia Oliver, DPACSA, FAIA as 2022-2023 Chancellor of the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors; Professor Marleen Davis, DPACSA, FAIA, as Vice Chancellor; and Professor Marilys Nepomechie, DPACSA, FAIA as Secretary. A list of all members as well as a roster of the past officers and links to the work of the distinguished professors can be found at the College website.

The ACSA Distinguished Professors recognition program began in 1984-1985 with the inaugural cohort including Fay Jones, Charles Moore and Ralph Rapson. In 2010, under the leadership of late Marvin Malecha, the inaugural Chancellor Lance Jay Brown and other prominent educators, the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors was formed.

Modeled after the AIA College of Fellows, the College is composed of 161 current members—each of whom are awarded the ACSA/AIA Topaz Medal Laureate and/or the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award. College membership—becoming increasingly diverse—is one of the highest honors the ACSA can bestow upon an educator.

Since its inception in 2010, the College has undertaken initiatives to advance the mission of the ACSA through the Best Paper and Best Project awards at the Annual Meetings, and, most recently, instituted a travel grants program intended to support emerging faculty who are from historically marginalized backgrounds—specifically, Black, native/indigenous, and Latinx faculty, as well as LGBTQ+ faculty and faculty teaching at institutions identified as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI). College members continue to be a resource through mentorship and thought leadership.

I would like to thank the ACSA Board of Directors and staff for their continued stewardship of and support for the College as a crucial part of the Association’s academic community.

We welcome you to reach out to the members of the Executive Committee and the members of the College with any ideas and questions that help advance the mission of the Association and the College in order to best serve all members of our community.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mahesh Daas, DPACSA
Past Chancellor, ACSA College of Distinguished Professors
President, The Boston Architectural College
mahesh.daas@the-bac.edu