Dean Donna Robertson of the College of Architecture is saddened to inform the architectural education community the loss of Associate Dean and Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning Peter Beltemacchi, who passed away on Friday, August 19^th.

Associate Professor Beltemacchi dedicated nearly fifty years of his life to the IIT College of Architecture, joining the faculty in 1967, shortly after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in city and regional planning at IIT. Over the past four and a half decades, he has been integral to the evolution and success of the college, serving in a variety of different roles. Associate dean since 1994 and director of undergraduate programs from 2003 to 2009, Beltemacchi oversaw a significant expansion of the tenure-track faculty at the college and made significant contributions to the development of the college’s pedagogical principles in the changing world of contemporary architecture.

Beltemacchi has been a very active member of the IIT community in his many years with the university, as an award-winning teacher and an active contributor to college and university governance. He served as chair of the IIT Faculty Senate and chaired numerous academic committees, as chair of the College of Architecture faculty appointment and retention committee, helping to build a new generation of tenured faculty, as chair of the Curriculum Committee at a time of substantial re-organization, and as chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning.

Professionally, Beltemacchi has been involved with extensive projects on Northwestern University’s campus including the expansion of the African Studies Institute, the expansion of the Mathematics Library, Institute of Urban Affairs, and the Chemistry and Laser Laboratory. Beltemacchi devoted many years of his life to projects concerning affordable homes in Lagos, Nigeria in concert with the Nigerian Government. In recent years, he served as a member of the board of trustees of the Illinois Hunger Coalition. 

A memorial service will be held in October in Crown Hall on Main Campus. Details will be announced on the IIT website.

The following were promoted:

John DeSalvo to Studio Associate Professor
Paul Endres to Studio Associate Professor
Mary Pat Mattson to Studio Assistant Professor
Andrew Tinucci to Studio Assistant Professor 

Terry Joseph Surjan, Associate Professor, School of Architecture + Design, College of Architecture & Urban Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blackburg, VA will be a Visiting Professor.