Summer 2005
Dear Alumni:
It is hard
to believe another year has passed. There are a number of exciting things
happening at the School, some of which are reported in more detail in this
newsletter. The SOA administrative offices have moved to Reno Hall for the
summer and early fall to accommodate another phase of construction in the
building. By October 2005, we will have moved the Design Center to the southeast
corner of the building, occupied new administrative offices, constructed a
research lab and a seminar room and, best of all, have new toilet room facilities
for the whole building. This will essentially complete the first floor of
the building, so when parents and prospective students visit us, they will
have a very good first impression. Once again we have Warren Loranger ’51,
to thank for most of this work. The research lab was funded by Adjunct Instructor
Aldo Colandrea ’75, ’76, ’81, with matching funds from DTE.
The University is also redoing the tile roof on the building, since the underlying
felt and flashing have been failing. We are still raising funds to finalize
the building, which includes completing the second floor. We have about $3.5
million dollars to go. There continues to be naming opportunities for the
renovation of the building. Please contact me for more information.
The enrollment growth in architecture is very evident as we welcomed another maximum size first-year class in academic year 2005. We have also filled the class for 2006. These students are bright (average ACT above 27), motivated, competitive, and they are doing very well. We have sized the School at approximately 260 students to continue to achieve a sense of personal attention and community that we all remember from our days here, while still gaining efficiencies from a slightly larger School. As the students matriculate, we anticipate in 2007 that we will be at maximum capacity in the building. The enrollment spurt is well above the national trends in architecture and can be attributed to a number of initiatives including an Alumni Council-supported career day, hard work by the admissions office and SOA faculty, and the growing national reputation of the School.
We will shortly welcome back Associate Professor Dan Pitera from his one-year assignment at Harvard with the Loeb Fellowship program. He is bursting with new ideas to advance the mission of the Design Center. Dan has made a big impression at Harvard, and they are talking about doing a joint studio in Detroit next year. Dan and I have conceptualized a new five-year strategic plan that we hope will propel the Design Center to the next level.
As always you are welcome to stop by and see us at the School. Finally, please let us know if you are aware of any opportunities for co-op students. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Stephen Vogel, FAIA
Dean
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