UNLV's School of Architecture is on a roll. Last week it dedicated its new, 75,000-square-foot building; this week it received notice that it has been granted accreditation for five years by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB).
"We are thrilled with this recognition of the quality of architecture education at UNLV," President Carol C. Harter said. "This means a great deal to all of us, but especially to our architecture faculty and, above all, our undergraduate and graduate students."
Harter said the accreditation is extraordinarily meaningful to the entire university because it is the culmination of a partnership between the university and members of the local architecture community that has stretched over some 25 years.
"It is the assistance, good will, and perseverance of Southern Nevada professionals, as much as the work of our faculty and administrators, that have earned our School of Architecture its place among the nation's outstanding schools," Harter said.
Only three schools of some 108 accredited programs have received five-year accreditation on their first try, according to Michael Alcorn, director of the School of Architecture. It is more common to receive three-year accreditation.
"Those who have followed the progress of UNLV's architecture program over the years know that it has faced some obstacles during its development," Provost Douglas Ferraro commented. "We are most grateful to everyone -- professionals in the community, donors, faculty, all those connected with the construction of the Paul B. Sogg Architecture Building -- for their unshakeable support. And we are particularly grateful to our architecture students, past and present, for their faith that their degrees would ultimately be backed by national accreditation."
According to Bob Fielden, a teacher in UNLV's graduate architecture program, a member of UNLV's Architecture Advisory Board, and a member of NAAB, the accrediting board voted unanimously to grant UNLV the unusual five-year accreditation. Fielden did not vote on the accreditation.
"The accreditation team found no deficiencies in UNLV's School of Architecture," Fielden said, crediting Alcorn with building the exemplary program.
The accreditation is retroactive for two years, meaning that graduates back to 1995 will benefit, Alcorn said.
"Accreditation by the NAAB provides graduates the ability to be certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Board," Alcorn said, explaining that it is virtually impossible to become licensed as an architect without the NCARB registration.
Alcorn and Fielden said the high quality of the new architecture building, and especially its library, played a big role in the accreditation process. The library collection was built by Jeanne Brown, a member of the UNLV library faculty who is recognized nationally and internationally for her development of one of the leading architecture website resources on the Internet.
Noting that the accreditation team was very impressed with the high degree of collaboration between the UNLV School of Architecture and local professionals -- a situation that is by no means common around the country -- Fielden said the local and state chapters of the American Institute of Architects have offices in the Sogg Architecture Building.
The School of Architecture offers the master of architecture degree, as well as bachelor of science degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Some 400 undergraduate majors and 30 graduate students are enrolled in the program.
For more information about educational opportunities in the School of Architecture, please call the school at (702) 895-3031.
