ARCC President's Report - 2000

The 1999-2000 year may be characterized as a time during which ARCC experienced stability (and some growth) in membership, a continuation of existing membership services, and ongoing efforts to network with sister organizations.

Membership: Membership during the past few years has remained relatively stable -- typically reaching around 40 members by early spring. The 1999-2000 year saw membership increase beyond 40, likely as a result of continuing promotional efforts conducted by the Treasurer. Some recovery of international memberships seems to be occurring; generally such memberships are the result of direct personal contacts. Canadian membership in ARCC remains strong.

In early fall 2000, invitations to join ARCC were sent to all North American architecture programs accredited by ACSA. This continues the pattern of recruitment followed for the past few years. The invitation packages included a letter from the ARCC President, a brochure, a sample Newsletter, and information on the King Medal awards program.

Invitations to join ARCC will also be sent later this year to all accredited landscape architecture programs in North America. This outreach to landscape architecture is an extension of the connections to these programs that were developed during the Raleigh ARCC/EAAE research conference and that already exist through several of our current memberships.

Publications: The ARCC Newsletter continues to be the foundation of ARCC publication efforts. The Newsletter is published by Mary Kihl, with generous support from the Herberger Center at Arizona State University. The Newsletter is sent to all member institutions for distribution (via the ARCC representative) to interested faculty and staff. The Newsletter publication schedule includes four issues a year.

This year's "Spring" Research Conference was held in conjunction with the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE – see below). EAAE assumed responsibility for the publication of the conference proceedings with support from ARCC. ARCC intends to provide copies of the proceedings to all member institutions.

The ARCC World Wide Web site continues to provide instant and worldwide access to information and resources – both for members and potential members. Occasional "ARCC Updates" are posted to the WWW site as a means of providing members with current information on events and opportunities. Plans for an online "ARCC Journal" -- that will provide for peer-reviewed publication of architectural research on the WWW-- are progressing. It is expected that this journal will begin publication in the near future.

Awards Program: The 1999-2000 ARCC awards program accorded recognition for outstanding leadership in architectural research (the Haecker Award); recognized exemplary publication efforts (the ARCC Best Paper Award); and acknowledged excellence in student research efforts (the ARCC/King Medal program). These awards will also be offered for the 2000-2001 year, with decisions recently being made regarding recipients of the Haecker and Best Papers Awards for 2000-2001. The 2000-2001ARCC/King Medal program was announced to the membership in October.

Spring Research Conferences: The 2000 ARCC "Spring" Research Conference was held in cooperation with EAAE in Paris, France in early July. The conference was the second in what appears to be a possibly long-standing series of joint research conferences. Although conference planning was slow to develop, ARCC still played a substantial role in the conference – both in terms of presentations and overall attendance. The EAAE leadership expressed serious interest in continuation of this collaborative conference, with the next conference tentatively scheduled for summer 2002 (perhaps in Canada).

Plan are well underway for the 2001 ARCC Spring Research Conference, to be held in Blacksburg, VA, with Virginia Tech as host institution. A conference announcement and call for papers have been released to the ARCC membership and posted on the WWW site. The leadership of long-term ARCC member Virginia Tech in supporting this conference is gratefully acknowledged.

Other Outreach: As has been the tradition for the past several years, ARCC coordinated a research issues session at the 1999 ACSA Administrator’s Conference (held in Savannah). Brian Sinclair (Ball State University) was the session organizer/moderator and provided a summary narrative from the session that was published in the February 2000 ARCC Newsletter. ARCC continues as one of the three constituent organizations comprising the Initiative for Architectural Research (IAR).

ARCC has reached agreement with the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) to have Prof. Richard Rome (Florida A&M; University) serve as official liaison to the ARCC Board of Directors. This long-awaited arrangement will allow ARCC to better address the concerns of the landscape architecture programs that are ARCC members, and actively consider the research concerns of landscape architects in practice and education.

Acknowledgments: One of the nicer aspects of the President's Report is the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of those who have contributed to the day-to-day operation and success of ARCC over the past year. ARCC is truly an all-volunteer organization -- there is no paid staff. Without the willing and often unstinting donation of hours and hours (and ideas and ideas) ARCC could not exist.

Let me publicly thank the 1999-2000 Officers and Directors of ARCC:

Vice President: Bruce Haglund, University of Idaho
Treasurer: Alison Kwok, University of Oregon
Past President and IAR Representative: Dick Schneider, University of Florida
Board Member: Joe Bilello, Texas Tech University
Board Member: Mary Kihl, Arizona State University
Board Member: Michael O'Brien, Virginia Tech, and
Board Member: Brian Sinclair, Ball State University

Brian Sinclair deserves additional thanks for his ongoing stewardship of the King Medal program; Mary Kihl for her ongoing work with and leadership of ARCC publications; Alison Kwok for chairing the papers review for the 2000 Research Conference; Bruce Haglund, Alison Kwok, and Dick Schneider for their efforts in support of the 2000 Annual Meeting; Joe Bilello for his positive contributions to the Board's monthly deliberations; and Michael O’Brien for his vision and attention to detail in assuming the role of host for the 2001 Research Conference.

Walter Grondzik President

Florida A&M; University
Tallahassee, FL