The Inauguration of Frances Halsband, FAIA

It is an honor and a pleasure to be inaugurated as 2023 Chancellor of the College of Fellows. I have been thinking a lot about history and the future in preparing for my coming year as Chancellor.

In my architectural practice, I work with historic buildings, understanding how and why they were built, how they have survived. I evaluate each element. What is worth saving? What can we let go? What needs to be changed to meet today’s needs? That’s not Restoration. It is not even Preservation. It is Transformation. How do we transform a historic building, to welcome the modern world?

Questioning the value of history is unpopular in the Historic Preservation community. But it plays well in the real world.

Why do I start with my practice? As I think about the College of Fellows, I see history, I see a reverence for tradition, but what moves me is seeing so many people who have made a difference in the profession and at the AIA by daring to question and change historic traditions. I also see a new group who are charged with questioning tradition and proposing change.

I have been in and out of AIA activities through my years of practice. What brought me back, in 2018, was watching the AIA’s @MeToo controversy unfold. Especially within the

College of Fellows, there was a national outcry to call out the offending bad guys, and to remove them from practice.

I am not in favor of bad guys, but it seemed to me that there was a larger task at hand, that of demonstrating that we Fellows, as leaders, needed to re affirm our commitment to ethical values, to reassure young architects coming to work with us, that it was an OK thing to do. A safe thing to do. The AIA was already looking at what to do, but it was going slowly.

I wrote a letter to fifty Fellows I knew, and asked them to join me in petitioning the AIA to immediately amend the Code of Ethics governing professional conduct. I wrote: can be no place in the AIA for people who abuse their status, power, or influence. We cannot continue to watch as people of diverse backgrounds and identities enter the profession with high hopes, only to leave in disillusionment when they encounter the realities of lower pay, lack of respect, abuse, or harassment. "

As Fellows we must step forward to commit publicly to holding ourselves to the highest standards of ethical behavior as an example to the wider profession and the public.

As Fellows we must commit to fostering a professional environment of mutual respect and equitable treatment in our studios and workplaces.

As Fellows, we must actively endorse a policy that welcomes all individuals into a rewarding, generous, and ethical profession.

Two days after I sent my letter, I had one hundred replies. In three weeks I had 600 replies. Friends sent the letter to friends. They were eager to be heard. I took those 600 signatures to the AIA Convention in New York and brought a resolution from the floor, asking that the AIA change the Code of Ethics to say that “members shall not engage in harassment or discrimination in their professional activities on the basis of race religion, national origin, age, disability, gender, or sexual orientation.” The resolution passed, with a vote of 4300 with 13 abstentions. The AIA Code of Ethics changed.

I have to recognize Betsey Dougherty, Carole Wedge, Lenore Lucey, Rosa Sheng, and Ben Prosky, incredible allies in this pursuit. It could not have happened without them.

I learned the power of the College of Fellows from that experience. I learned that we have a voice for good, and it can be a pretty loud voice.

That brings me back to history and tradition. Together, we need to evaluate, question, and not just follow what we have done before. For the College of Fellows that means reaching out, inviting others in, working together, inspiring each other to bring about useful change in the profession. Moving from exclusion to inclusion.

We need to re affirm and strengthen our mission: Research

We sponsor research with the Latrobe Prize. Several studies have already suggested changes. Let’s see if we can move from studies to action, and make the Latrobe even better than it is.

Mentoring

I love this idea. Not only is it of value to younger generations, but it is something that every single Fellow can do, and can do well. Through Component Grants, we have funded established programs, and helped to sponsor new programs, We have worked closely with the Young Architects Forum in this endeavor. There’s a lot of information out there on how to run effective programs. We can gather that information and make it available to a wider group, not only within the profession, but to schools, community groups, offices, and beyond.

Each of us has a different idea of who we should be mentoring. Some say “start at six years old”. Others say it’s about Young Architects entering the profession. I myself am interested in architects in the midst of their careers, trying to make sense of it all, and thinking about Fellowship. Of course there’s room for all of these ideas. And there’s room for all of us. Did you know that many students in architecture schools have never been inside of an architect’s office? That’s a whole new program, right there.

Opportunity Grants

Sometimes new opportunities appear and we are happy to support them. When we heard of Pascale Sablan’s exhibition Say it Loud, focusing on the work of Black members of the College of Fellows, we were able to support a group of interns doing research for that exhibition. When YAF formulated their plan for YAF Summit 30:Mission 2130 we were able to help. How do we welcome new members?

We don’t control juries, selection processes, or even the complicated requirements for submission, but we hear concerns. We need to create a stronger dialogue with AIA to re affirm our common goals. We need to find a way to invite more people in. There are numerous committees at the component level that work with individual applicants seeking Fellowship. How do we strengthen that network, find ways for members outside of large cities to get help?

How do we bridge the historic gap between AIA and NOMA?

What if we advocated for changing the rules for Fellowship so that a NOMA member of ten years standing could join AIA and count NOMA years towards applying for Fellowship?

How can Fellows be a more visible presence at Conference?

Most of our events don’t take place at the conference site. Investiture is often miles away, invisible to non Fellows. We need to be seen. We need to be present on the convention floor.

Fundraising is not easy. We would like to raise more money for our mission. Our College of Fellows Fund is growing, and we hope that will continue in 2023. We are also looking at our current budget to shift more of our funds towards mission based programs.

Those are a just a few of the tasks before us. There will be more as the year unfolds. We gathered for the inauguration of the 2023 Executive Committee of the College of Fellows at the AIA Headquarters in Washington DC. I believe that this is the last time that we will gather at AIA headquarters before the building closes down for its own transformation, from past to future. I thank you again for all you have done, and for all we look forward to doing together in the future.