This year marks
the 10th anniversary of the founding of the School of
Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation at Roger
Williams University. In 1999 programs in Architecture,
Historic Preservation, and Art were brought together from
around the University, a new major in Art and Architectural
History was founded along with semester-long Study Abroad in
Italy open to all of our majors, and faculty from our school
began participating in delivering the University’s Core
Curriculum. The new shape of the school contributed to a
great sense of purpose among us all, attracted students and
many new faculty from around the country and the world, and
ultimately led to the creation of new facilities on the
Bristol campus and in Florence which transformed the
learning environment we enjoy.
We believed in 1999 and still do in the values that brought
us together:
• learning in context— where people from varied backgrounds
and disciplines work together, qualifying each other’s
understandings and potentials.
• seeking balance—of creation and conservation, liberal arts
and professional studies, local and international
perspectives.
These values have been extended in new ways in recent years,
most notably through the creation of Visiting Professorships
across the School, and the Teaching Firm in Residence
position in Architecture, which in its first year in 2007/08
brought Kallmann McKinnell + Wood and Perkins + Will to the
school, both national AIA Firm of the Year winners; and in
2008/09 Ann Beha Architects and Sasaki Associates.
We look forward to further evolutions in the School and its
programs in the near future, involving:
• transformation of general education and freshman
experiences University-wide
• engagement of sustainability throughout the curriculum and
university life
• multiple study abroad, graduate and continuing studies
options involving Architecture, Art + Architectural History,
Historic Preservation, and Visual Arts Studies
• deepening concentration opportunities for Architecture in
areas of historic preservation, sustainability, construction
management, digital media, and others.
It’s a great time to be here. We hope that the constructive
spirit that exists here between the people, programs and
contexts we engage will encourage you to participate in the
life of the School.
With best wishes,
Stephen White, AIA
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