The College of Distinguished Professors, founded in 2010, is composed of ACSA members who receive the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award or the ACSA/AIA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. College membership is one of the highest honors the ACSA can bestow upon an educator.
The College of Distinguished Professors, founded in 2010, is composed of ACSA members who receive the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award or the ACSA/AIA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. College membership is one of the highest honors the ACSA can bestow upon an educator.
Dear Colleagues,
It鈥檚 my pleasure to welcome all of the Distinguished Professors to the 2026-27 Academic Year! I鈥檓 honored to serve as your Chancellor for this year and build on the great work of my predecessors and partners. I look forward to engaging with you in a variety of forums as the Distinguished Professors share knowledge, exchange ideas, provide perspective, and support the development of academic excellence throughout the member schools of the ACSA.
While only in its second year, the mentorship program has all the hallmarks of what will be a signature for the DPACSA. Founded and developed by Tom Fisher with input and support from many in the DP group, participants have commented on the 鈥渢wo-way鈥 benefit where both mentors and mentees are learning from one another. The need for programs like this is clear. DPACSA sends a positive collective message about investing in the future and individual DP mentors are doing what the DP award so aptly recognizes 鈥 supporting learning and growth. We seek your support to deepen the positive impact of this program by:
My deepest gratitude to Tom Fisher for his steadfast investment in the program and to Marleen and Marilys for taking leadership of the program as we develop it over the next year.听
Our other signature program is the DPACSA Travel Grants for Emerging Faculty which provides financial support to early career faculty to attend ACSA events. As you may know, academic programs are increasingly limited in their ability to support travel and registration to conferences. This is challenging for all faculty, but particularly negative for those early in their career. For many of these folks, attending an ACSA meeting may be the first opportunity to actively engage in academic discourse with people who are not classmates or faculty colleagues in their institution. Additionally, if unsupported, these voices will be missing from critical discussions as architectural education takes action to support a resilient future.听
Financial support comes from philanthropic giving by the DPACSA members. I would like to introduce a goal 鈥 new to DPACSA but common in many leadership groups 鈥 of 100% participation in giving to the Travel Grant Fund. Full participation, regardless of the amount, would be a powerful message to share with schools and their administration that the DPACSA believes that for architectural education to thrive, emerging faculty need these opportunities.
We hear from members that our meetings are valuable and enjoyable, please look for invitations to November 12 (7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific), mid February, and the annual business meeting in May.听
Renee Cheng, DPACSA
Chancellor, ACSA College of Distinguished Professors
Please visit the听ACSA Awards webpage听for detailed information on nominations for the ACSA/AIA Topaz Medal Laureate and the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award.
The ACSA/AIA听Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education听is awarded jointly by ACSA and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The Topaz Medallion is the highest award given to architectural educators. It honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to architectural education, whose teaching has influenced a broad range of students, and who has helped shape the minds of students who will shape our environment.
The ACSA听Distinguished Professor Award听recognizes sustained creative achievement in the advancement of architectural education through teaching, design, scholarship, research, or service.
Michael Monti
Executive Director
tel: 202.785.2324
email: mmonti@acsa-arch.org
Founded in 1912 by 10 charter members, ACSA is an international association of architecture schools preparing future architects, designers, and change agents. Our membership includes all of the accredited professional degree programs in the United States and Canada, as well as international schools and 2- and 4-year programs. Together ACSA schools represent some 7,000 faculty educating more than 40,000 students.
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