Dean Oliver Elected to ACSA College of Distinguished Professors Executive Committee

Oliver begins four-year term on track to serve as Chancellor beginning in 2022


Dean Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA, DPACSA

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) College of Distinguished Professors recently announced the election of architect and educator Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA, dean of the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, to its Executive Committee.

Oliver will serve a four-year term, beginning as the Secretary of the Executive Committee immediately. After a year in the position, she will serve three consecutive years, following other committee members, as the Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, and Past Chancellor.

In 2019, Oliver was inducted to the ACSA College of Professors with the prestigious Distinguished Professor Award honoring architectural educators who have inspired a generation of students who themselves have contributed to the advancement of architecture.

The College of Distinguished Professors was founded in 2010 and its membership is comprised of those who have been awarded the ACSA/AIA Topaz Medal Laureate and/or the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award, such as Oliver. Membership in the College is one of the highest honors an educator can receive from the ACSA.

“I am honored that my peers have entrusted me with the responsibility of leading the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors,” said Oliver. “My election to the Executive Committee allows me to work with some amazing educators who continue to impact the future of architectural education.”

Oliver has served as the dean of the UH Hines College of Architecture and Design since January 2010. During her tenure, international programming has grown exponentially. When she arrived, the College had focused predominantly on architecture only for 60 of its 65 years. Today the College offers degrees in Industrial Design and Interior Architecture, as well as a variety of concentrations in Media Design Technology and Fabrication, 20th Century Historic Preservation, and Sustainable Urban Systems. Under her leadership, the College also received its first-ever DesignIntelligence rankings in 2018 and 2019, placing in the top 35 “Most Admired Undergraduate Architecture Schools” in the United States.