Fay Jones' Birthday Celebrated with Feb. 1 Events Hosted by Fay Jones School, University Libraries

Shawnya Meyers

Fay Jones School students gather for last year's Fay Jones birthday celebration, which featured a cake decorated with a likeness of Thorncrown Chapel. This year, his birthday will be celebrated with a day of events on Friday, Feb. 1, in Vol Walker Hall and Mullins Library.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In recognition of what would have been the 98th birthday of Fay Jones, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and University Libraries will host a day of public events on Friday, Feb. 1, on the University of Arkansas campus. These events will be held in Vol Walker Hall and Mullins Library and are free and open to the public.

"The Fay Jones birthday celebrations are always a high point in our year, but this year's multiple events are exceptional," said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School. "We're very pleased to partner with Special Collections and Mullins Library, but look forward especially to Professor Jeff Shannon's dedicated lecture and, of course, the annual 'Thorncrown Chapel' cake-cutting. There is much to celebrate in the school, and our namesake sets an example for us still, in the attentiveness of his lifework to excellence in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture."

The University Libraries' Special Collections department is home to the Fay Jones Papers and will host an open house with Jones' materials on display from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 2 p.m. in room 126 of Mullins Library.

"It's humbling to work with these documents, the physical artifacts that gave birth to some of the most celebrated buildings of the 20th century," said Cat Wallack, architectural records archivist for the University Libraries. "Sometimes the potency of that experience catches people by surprise. Witnessing students experience these beautifully crafted drawings is a privilege in itself."

At noon, Jeff Shannon will present the lecture "Shadow Patterns: Reflections on Fay Jones and His Architecture" in Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, located in Vol Walker Hall. Shannon will discuss the book he curated and edited on Fay Jones, that was published in 2017 through the school's collaborative publishing venture with the University of Arkansas Press. Shannon serves as executive editor of the publishing venture and is a professor and head of the Department of Architecture in the Fay Jones School. 

At 4:45 p.m., birthday cake will be served in the lobby of Vol Walker Hall.

Friday's events include:

• 10 a.m. to noon — Special Collections open house, room 126, Mullins Library
• Noon — Lecture by Jeff Shannon, "Shadow Patterns: Reflections on Fay Jones and His Architecture," Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Vol Walker Hall
• 1 to 2 p.m. — Special Collections open house, room 126, Mullins Library
• 4:45 p.m. — Birthday cake served at the tableau, lobby of Vol Walker Hall

Jones, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, was born Jan. 31, 1921, in Pine Bluff and grew up in El Dorado. He later attended the earliest architecture classes offered at the University of Arkansas, in the architecture program founded by John G. Williams. Jones graduated in the first class of architecture students, and eventually returned to teach for 35 years and serve as the school's first dean.

In his professional practice, he designed 135 houses and 15 chapels and churches across the country, but most were in Arkansas. He was a recipient of the American Institute of Architect's highest honor, the AIA Gold Medal. He died Aug. 30, 2004, at age 83. 

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or fayjones.uark.edu.