ACSA College of Distinguished Professors

Following in the footsteps of exceptional colleagues, I’m honored to serve the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors as your 2024-25 Chancellor. The accomplishments of our College members, and their sustained commitment to students, faculty colleagues, our discipline, and profession remain an incomparable source of admiration. It is a privilege to engage the wealth of intelligence, creativity, and commitment of this group whose uniquely honed perspectives on architectural education shapes and informs the initiatives of the College.

The inaugural ACSA Distinguished Professor Award was conferred in 1984. The designation was created to recognize, through the lens of their impact on students, those faculty whose exceptional, sustained accomplishments the academy have exemplified excellence in architectural education. The career award is among the highest honors accorded by the ACSA; no more than five Distinguished Professors are named in any given year.

Founded in 2010 and modelled on the AIA College of Fellows, the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors convenes those of our colleagues who have, over the years, earned the Distinguished Professor Award, as well as those who have been recognized with the AIA-ACSA Topaz Medallion. The College mission is to mentor and guide faculty in the development of their academic careers; to identify, celebrate and disseminate best practices in teaching, design, research, scholarship, and service; to advance architectural education; and to be of ever-increasing service to society.

Entering its 15th year, the College demonstrates its commitment to that mission through new and continuing initiatives that expand mentorship opportunities for faculty and emerging academic leaders; and through programs that recognize and support faculty excellence. Among them:

The ACSA College of Distinguished Professors Travel Grants for Emerging Faculty. Established in 2022, these competitive grants support emerging faculty from historically marginalized backgrounds, and faculty teaching at institutions identified as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI). They are funded by contributions collected by the College of Distinguished Professors and by funds allocated by the ACSA Board of Directors.

The ACSA College of Distinguished Professors Best Paper and Best Project Awards. Established in 2020, these awards recognize outstanding contributions in research, scholarship and creative practice from among the peer-reviewed papers and projects selected for presentation and publication at each year’s ACSA Annual Meeting. One award recognizes the outstanding paper, and another recognizes an outstanding project.

New for 2024-25

Originated by Deans Robert Greenstreet, Marvin Malecha and Rodner Wright, and successfully re-launched after an extended hiatus, the College delivered the New Administrators’ Workshop at the 2024 ACSA Administrators’ Meeting in Denver. Through exchanges among new and experienced administrators, the interactive workshop was designed to support emerging academic leaders as they begin administrative appointments; to create mentorship networks for new leadership cohorts; and to highlight the challenges – and rewards – of leadership in higher education.

At the 2025 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the College will offer two Special Focus Sessions to support and mentor faculty: One will be designed for mid-career faculty weighing a move to leadership (administrative and not) and the other will focus on strategies for career advancement/development.

In New Orleans the College will also celebrate its newest members — the winners of the 2025 ACSA Distinguished Professor Award and the 2025 AIA-ACSA Topaz Medallion Laureate. We look forward to learning more about their exceptional work and toasting their accomplishments at the annual College fundraising dinner. Please consider putting this on your calendar.

As always, the Executive Committee of the College welcomes your perspectives on initiatives already underway, and on potential new ways to make the College increasingly central to our academic community and to the ACSA.

With warmest wishes for the holidays and new year,

Marilys R. Nepomechie, FAIA, DPACSA
Chancellor, ACSA College of Distinguished Professors