A.J. (Jack) Davis honored with emeritus status

10 Oct 2019

A.J. (Jack) Davis, professor of architecture and former dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of dean emeritus and Reynolds Metals Professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1984, Davis educated thousands of now professional architects and designers, teaching across the architecture curriculum. He was chair of Virginia Tech’s professional program from 1993 to 2000.

In 1993, Davis took a sabbatical to practice in Basel, Switzerland, with Suter and Suter architects to develop housing, university, and banking projects. Through his practice, he was the principal designer on more than 30 significant projects, some of which received design excellence awards.

Davis co-led the annual International Architecture + Design education abroad professional seminar for 20 years, and facilitated and co-led two education abroad programs to Belize and to the Dominican Republic through Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction and the School of Architecture + Design for faculty, students, and alumni.

Davis was appointed the Reynolds Metals Professor of Architecture in 1999, was principal or co-principal investigator in more than $2.5 million in funded research, and is a nationally recognized accredited professional in the national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

In service to the university, Davis was associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies from 2001 to 2007, interim dean from 2006 to 2007, and dean from 2007 to 2017. During his tenure as dean, the national ranking of the architecture program rose to number one and stayed in the top five. He also doubled the endowment for the college and led the celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary in 2014.

Davis was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1999 and served as president of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects in 2014 during their 100thanniversary. He organized and led the Virginia Accord Symposium, which focused on the next 100 years of Virginia’s built environment

In 2017, Davis received the William C. Noland Medal, the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects highest honor.

Davis was named by DesignIntelligence as one of the nation’s most admired educators of 2009 and 2014 and is a Design Futures Council Senior Fellow, and is the founding president of the Architecture + Construction Alliance (A+CA), a 19-university consortium. In addition, he served as an international board member and former vice president of the Conseil International du Bâtiment.

He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture and master’s degree in environmental design from Virginia Tech.