November 17, 2022

College of Distinguished Professors November Newsletter

Dear ACSA Community,
I have the privilege of being on the jury for the selection of the next class of distinguished professors. Reviewing the applications, I am reminded of the extraordinary brain trust the college represents. At the Annual Meeting in March, we will continue our tradition of introducing the 2023 Distinguished Professors to the ACSA membership. It is an opportunity to learn more about their academic journey and to get to know them if you are not already familiar with their scholarship and achievements.
Building on the desire to know the DPACSA members and to better understand the intellectual bandwidth of the College, our Executive Committee is exploring the creation of a session in the 2024 Annual Meeting that would cohere the experience of the College and the aspirations of emerging scholars. We wish to create more opportunities, not only to tap into the available expertise, but to set up a stronger dialogue between seasoned faculty and those just beginning their academic journey.
The College’s Executive Committee seeks to refresh our knowledge of our College members. We know everyone is notably talented and accomplished, but we haven’t mapped where the areas of expertise reside. We can be so much more impactful if we have a better understanding of the DNA of our membership. Members can expect to receive a survey that will ask questions about your “expertise” and your availability to serve on juries. We know that the college membership spans the globe, but we are not fully aware of the geographic profile of the membership. We are eager to know if there are geographic gaps in our college membership and, if so, how we might begin to fill those gaps. We ask that all DPACSA members update their profiles. You can update your profile here.
If we can call this time “post-pandemic” we are looking forward to seeing you all in St. Louis on March 30 –  April 1, for the 111th ACSA Annual Meeting. The College will be welcoming the new distinguished professors and celebrating the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion recipient at our annual dinner. Please put this on your calendar.
Stay in touch. Let us know if there is something that you think we should be doing to improve the college and support its mission.

Sincerely,

Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA
Chancellor, ACSA College of Distinguished Professor