McIntosh Gift Supports Student, Faculty Diversity in Architecture and Design

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Lanny and Becki McIntosh.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas alumni Lanny and Becki McIntosh have made a $150,000 planned gift to support future diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

Their gift counted in Campaign Arkansas, the recently concluded capital campaign that raised nearly $1.45 billion to advance academic opportunity at the U of A.

“Becki and I believe in giving back – to our school, to our professions, to our community and to causes we believe in,” Lanny McIntosh said. “I – and many of my classmates – greatly value our education, experience and relationships with our dean and faculty, so giving back in some meaningful way is a natural thing.”

The couple’s gift will be used to create the Ellis and Rebecca McIntosh Endowment for Faculty Excellence in Architecture, which will not only provide faculty enhancement in the Department of Architecture but also funding for outreach and recruitment of diverse students. The fund will be used to attract, recruit and retain diverse faculty while also providing funding for long-term student outreach and recruitment in Arkansas to create a pipeline for diverse students to enter into architecture education and into the profession.

Funds from the endowment will be used to provide an annual architecture faculty enhancement award or stipend in support of the school’s long-term commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Outreach and recruitment activities by the school’s faculty and staff will also be funded by the endowment, with the goal of increasing student enrollment from the Arkansas Delta, and a mentorship program will be developed, providing opportunities for faculty and professional mentors to work with students already enrolled in the school’s professional five-year architecture program.

“Lanny and Becki McIntosh have been essential school supporters for almost two decades, and good counselors and friends since my arrival in 2014,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the school. “Their far-sighted, generous planned gift now, in support of the school’s initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion, amplifies their current commitment, towards one resounding with the school’s priorities of design excellence, public mission, and the achievement of a fully diverse and inclusive creative community. Lanny and Becki’s example of giving back to the school is simultaneously a giving forward to the school’s future, to its students and faculty, for years to come. On behalf of the school, I am deeply grateful to the McIntoshes.”

The McIntoshes, who live in Tulsa, are both Arkansas natives. Lanny McIntosh earned a B.Arch. from the Fay Jones School in 1979, and Becki McIntosh earned a B.S.B.A. from the Sam M. Walton College of Business in 1977. The couple moved to Little Rock after graduation and eventually to Tulsa, where Lanny worked for Chadsey-Clyma Architects and then BSW International and Becki worked for AT&T/Southwestern Bell. In 1998, Lanny McIntosh started his own architecture firm, The McIntosh Group LLC, which focuses on retail, restaurant, hospitality, banking and medical clients on a national level, providing architecture and accessibility services. Becki McIntosh worked for AT&T/Southwestern Bell in sales and marketing for 34 years and retired in 2011.

Lanny McIntosh is a member of the Fay Jones School’s Dean’s Circle and served as a co-chair of the Campaign Arkansas committee for the school. He has been involved with the school’s professional advisory board and previous capital campaign committees.

In 2003, the McIntoshes created the McIntosh Faculty Award in the Fay Jones School, which provides an annual faculty award in recognition of outstanding research or teaching.

“I’ve been fortunate to have gotten to know every dean in the history of the Fay Jones School, including John Williams, Fay (Jones), Murray (Smart), Dan Bennett, Jeff Shannon and now Peter,” Lanny McIntosh said. “It’s been a real privilege.”

Professionally, McIntosh has maintained leadership roles in the American Institute of Architects, serving as president of AIA Eastern Oklahoma in 1995, president of AIA Oklahoma in 2019, AIA Central States Regional Director from 2013 to 2015, AIA Strategic Council Moderator in 2015, AIA PAC Steering Committee from 2016 to present and vice chair from 2019 to 2020. He will serve as chair from 2021 to 2022. He is also a graduate of Leadership Tulsa (Class XIV) and co-founder, vice chair and director of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture.

Becki McIntosh enjoys volunteering and has been involved with Street School, the Junior League, the Corporate Volunteer Council and the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation. She currently volunteers with Reading Partners, where she tutors elementary students with reading challenges.

The McIntoshes are included in the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors.

About Campaign Arkansas: Campaign Arkansas is the recently concluded capital campaign for the University of Arkansas that raised a record $1.449 billion to support the university’s academic mission and other key priorities, including academic and need-based scholarships, technology enhancements, new and renovated facilities, undergraduate, graduate and faculty research, study abroad opportunities and other innovative programs. The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in a wide spectrum of disciplines as it works to fulfill its public land-grant mission to serve Arkansas and beyond as a partner, resource and catalyst.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.