Donna Dunay receives Distinguished Professor Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has recognized Donna Dunay, G.T. Ward Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, with the 2012-13 Distinguished Professor Award. 

The prestigious national award is only presented to four professors annually in recognition of their achievements in teaching, design, scholarship, research, or service.

“This award acknowledges the contributions that Professor Dunay has made to advancing architectural education in both academic and professional arenas. In particular, she has demonstrated outstanding leadership through the integration of critical knowledge evidenced in her teaching, community service, and research. Her capacity for significant contributions to and through the students in her design studio and her ‘What Makes a Town’ course have been outstanding, leaving a three-decade legacy of excellence that stands as a tribute to the profession,” said Jack Davis, Reynolds Metals Professor of Architecture and dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture encompasses more than 250 schools and 5,000 architecture faculty in the United States and Canada. The Distinguished Professor Award will be presented during the association’s 101st annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif., on March 22.

Dunay received her master’s and bachelor’s in architecture from Virginia Tech, and has been teaching in the School of Architecture + Design at the university since 1975. She is one of a distinguished few to be named an American Institute of Architects Fellow, an honor only 2 percent of professionals in that organization attain.

Her areas of specialty include research on design studies, urban design, architecture, and community identities as well as product design and production. She explores cultural and civic understanding in practice through design research, and her work has gained a wide audience through her leadership as chair of the International Archive for Women in Architecture and director of the International Archive for Women in Architecture Center.

Dunay has curated numerous exhibits showcasing the significant works of women working in architecture nationally and internationally. In 2011, as chair of the International Archive for Women in Architecture, she collaborated with the International Union of Architects in presenting the exhibit “For the Future: Pioneering Women in Architecture from Japan and Beyond In Celebration of 25 years of the IAWA” in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to her significant professional contributions, Dunay is also active in her local community, serving the Town of Blacksburg, where she resides, as part of the Arts and Cultural District Committee, Townscape Committee, Sixteen Squares ad hoc Study Committee, and the Downtown Revitalization Committee.