Spectrum - Volume 21 Issue 05 September 24, 1998 - CAUS appoints three endowed professors

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

CAUS appoints three endowed professors

By Sandy Broughton

Spectrum Volume 21 Issue 05 - September 24, 1998

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies marked the beginning of the academic year with the appointment of three of its faculty members to endowed professorships.
Robert J. Dunay is the T.A. Carter endowed professor in architecture; Albert J. Davis is the Reynolds Metals Company professor of architecture; and Ronald R. Wakefield is the William E. Jamerson professor of building construction. The appointments were approved at the fall meeting of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
"The appointment of these endowed professors is indicative of the high level of support for our programs, both in the private sector and in the academy," said Paul Knox, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.
The Carter Professorship was established by a gift from T.A. Carter, a Salem-based architect and long-time supporter of architecture programs at Tech. In naming Dunay to this position, the Board of Visitors noted his long and varied service to the university and to the architecture profession. A Tech faculty member since 1975, Dunay is currently associate dean for professional programs, and director of the Industrial Design Program in the Department of Architecture.
He is widely respected by both his peers and students for his deep commitment to teaching, has won three college teaching-excellence awards, and has published and presented many papers concerning architectural education to national and international audiences. A member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Dunay is an internationally recognized architect and has won numerous awards for his design efforts.
"He upholds the highest standards of quality both for himself and his students' work," said Frank Weiner, head of the Department of Architecture. "In his approach to the education of an architect and in his own design work, the difficult and simultaneous combination of the existence of the beautiful and the beauty of existence is elegantly achieved."
The Reynolds Professorship was established by the Reynolds Metals Company for a professor in the Department of Architecture who has demonstrated excellence in the field of building sciences. Davis is noted as operating at the most advanced levels of contemporary technological development in the education, research, and practice of architecture.
Currently chair of the Professional Program in the Department of Architecture, Davis also coordinates continuing education and the Professional Extern Program for the department. He has made significant contributions to shaping the study of building sciences and is well respected in the national and international discussion of technology issues. He has been the principal designer for numerous projects including transportation facilities, corporate offices, research facilities and residences and has won awards for his design work.
Davis played a major role in the design and construction of the innovative and award-winning Research and Demonstration Facility at Virginia Tech. "Most impressive is that along with his expertise in the field of building sciences, he remains committed to having technology serve good design," Weiner said. "He will bring an enthusiasm and dedication to the generation of new knowledge in the field of building sciences."
The Jamerson Professorship was established by William E. Jamerson with the specification that the honor be awarded to a professor in the Department of Building Construction. Wakefield joined the College of Architecture and Urban Studies faculty in building construction this fall from his position as tenured senior lecturer in civil engineering at the University of New South Wales.
Wakefield is recognized for his groundbreaking work on computer simulation of construction excavation and earth-moving activities as an aid in the evaluation of building project costs and the training of equipment operators, research that has enormous potential to increase the efficiency of the construction process for building projects at all scales.
Before his entry into academia, Wakefield was involved in many phases of housing, commercial and industrial construction including craftsmanship, contract administration, design, and construction supervision. His work in structural dynamics brings a unique perspective to the profession's understanding of the design-construction integration process.
As a native of Australia and a recent visiting fellow in the Department of Building Construction at the City University of Hong Kong, Wakefield's broad understanding of the international construction industry will contribute to the scope of the Department of Building Construction's curricula in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.