Hawkins Endowed Visiting Professor named American Institute of Architecture Fellow
Featured in the UTA News Release:
CAPPA Professor Named Fellow by American Institute of Architects
Ursula Emery McClure, Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at UTA, has been elevated to a Fellow in the prestigious College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Currently, only 3% of the AIA members have this prestigious distinction. This year, only 88 candidates were accepted for the 2022 college class, and Professor Emery-McClure is the 4th woman from Louisiana to receive this honor.
AIA Fellows achieve the AIA's highest membership honor in recognition of their extraordinary work and contributions to architecture, including all works that drives positive change through the power of design across the globe. Architects who exemplify architectural excellence can become an AIA College of Fellows member with other significant requirements.
“I am so honored to have earned this fellowship,” said Emery-McClure. “It is so great to wake up every day knowing you can do something to make the built environment better, either with buildings you make or the minds you teach. At 17, I began to fill out college applications to study architecture. If I remember correctly, I was pretty committed at that time, and now so many research and design projects and students later, I am happy to say I still am. This recognition validates that I must have known something at 17.”
Emery-McClure joined CAPPA as a Ralph Hawkins Visiting Professor after retiring from LSU in 2019. She is a founding partner of emerymcclure architecture, a former professor at Louisiana State University's School of Architecture, and the Southwest Director for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Since joining CAPPA, Emery-McClure has made a difference in the colleges by creating different avenues and support for students' success in the architectural programs.
Brad Bell, Director for the School of Architecture, says, "to be named an AIA Fellow is one of the highest honors someone in the architecture profession can receive. Professor Emery McClure has consistently created an innovative path in professional practice and academia that positively influences those around her. We have been incredibly fortunate to have her here at UTA as the Hawkins Visiting Professor for the past two years as a teacher, researcher, mentor, and colleague."
Emery-McClure continues to create impactful experiences for all students who walk through her classroom and in the field of architecture. Her Advanced Design Studio classes address the design of building aggregations in the urban context and how the research design process works, using those processes to create innovative design concepts and more.
Interim Dean Maria Martinez-Cosio adds, "the School of Architecture and our broader college continues to benefit from Professor Emery McClure's work, including students that have enrolled in her classes and engaged in creative activities and projects including a trip to the border region; as well as the numerous faculty that she's mentored, and engaged in collaborative work. Her elevation is undoubtedly a testament to the talent that exists in SOA."
She will be inducted into this prestigious College of Fellows in June 2022.
