Hein Creates 'Beautiful Symmetry' With Gift, Honors Father's Legacy as Founder

Photo by Richard Hein

Sue Hein (left) with her parents, Faye and John Williams.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas alumna Diana “Sue” Hein has an appreciation for beautiful symmetry and the feeling of life coming full circle. It makes sense, really, given that she is the daughter of the late John G. Williams, founder of the university’s architecture program.

In recognition of her father’s legacy at the U of A and her own personal history with her alma mater, Hein is donating her family home to the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design – a testamentary contribution valued at $750,000. Her gift counted in Campaign Arkansas, the university’s recently concluded capital campaign that raised nearly $1.45 billion to advance academic opportunity.

“John G. Williams was a gifted architect and educator, and the University of Arkansas and the state of Arkansas have been the beneficiaries of his talent, vision and ambition,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the school. “Although I was not privileged to know him, coming to know Sue, his daughter, has been a gift to me, as I have come to know through her that history of the school and the community of architecture and design resonating from the school. As we enter the 75th year of architecture and design programs at the university, it is clear that the school’s history and legacy is rooted in professor Williams’ vision. Sue’s gift of her family home, of the Williams house, to the school is both symbolic and tangible, simultaneously emblematic of our founding and a material construction of continuing value to our future. Sue’s gift is, in a word, exceptional … as she is, as her father was. On behalf of the school, I am deeply grateful to Sue Hein.”

Williams is credited with founding the school in 1946, which began as a degree program in architectural engineering. He was the sole teacher for architecture courses from 1946 to 1950 and helped the program grow to become its own department. It later became the School of Architecture in the 1970s, when a landscape architecture program was added. In 1984, the University of Arkansas Press published The Curious and the Beautiful: A Memoir History of the Architecture Program at the University of Arkansas by Williams that chronicled the development of the school.

Williams was recognized as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1985 for his role as an educator in architecture, received the Distinguished Professor Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in 1987-1988 and was awarded the Pioneer Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2002.

He also designed and completed 15 houses in his Ozark Modernism style, primarily in Northwest Arkansas, all while continuing to teach until he retired in 1985. The house Hein is donating is one of the 15 and is one of three in Fayetteville that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the other two being the Durst House and the Clack House.

Like many children of university professors, Hein remembers growing up on the U of A campus and says one of her strongest memories was going to elementary school nearby.

She also enrolled in music and dance lessons at a young age and had orchestral practice and music and dance performances in the Fine Arts Center, where the architecture department and her father’s office were then located. Designed by Edward Durell Stone, a friend and mentor of her father, the building was completed in 1950 – the same year the first students, including Fay Jones, graduated from the department of architecture. It also happened to be the year that Hein was born.

“Growing up, my experience had so much to do with that building,” she said. “It was such an exciting feeling to be surrounded by the beauty of my father’s office and in the presence of the architecture faculty at the time. My ties to the university inspired my gift, because of how important and meaningful it was to me at a young age.”

Her time in the Fine Arts Center was so special to her, and her love of music and the performing arts so strong, that she enrolled in the University of Arkansas as a music major.

Hein earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1972, a Bachelor of Music in 1973 and a Master of Music in 1975 – all from the U of A. She then moved to New York City to pursue the dream of living in the city she considered to be the “center of the universe.”

Despite moving to the Northeast, the U of A and Hein’s hometown of Fayetteville always remained close to her heart. When she considered what she wanted her father’s legacy to be, she thought back to her family home.

“I want my father’s  legacy to be recognized in this house that he designed, built and lived in,” she said. “It signifies a full circle – the way he built the architecture program at the University of Arkansas and this house and how this physical gift of a built house is being given to the school. It’s beautiful symmetry. ‘Poetic’ is the best word to describe this donation, and it represents my recognition of my father’s legacy and my history with the university.”

Williams’ dedication to his architecture students stands out to Hein. Even when tasked with juggling the growth of his program, hiring new faculty and staff, being involved with campus planning and leading accreditation efforts, she remembers him putting his students first. She also recalls her mother, Faye, supporting his advancement of the school and even working alongside him in the early days of the architecture department.

“My dad’s ability and vision for an expanded department meant the students would have the opportunity to have a broader education,” she said. “He wanted them to be able to graduate from the university and go on to work as successful architects in their field.”

Hein says it was important to her father to invite practicing architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, to visit campus and lecture to his students.

“It was always exciting for people to meet the visiting architects and artists my dad invited to campus,” she said.

In the spirit of this tradition, the family of Frank Doughty, one of Williams’ students, created the John G. Williams Fellows Endowment in the early 1990s, so practicing architects could continue to be brought to campus to interact with students.

Hein credits Dean MacKeith for a renewed emphasis on funding for this endowment and says she is grateful for his work.

“I admire and respect Peter, and I can see his vision,” she said. “He has a wonderful opportunity to create something special for current and future students.”

In 2021, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding by Williams. Additional details about Hein’s gift will be released in conjunction with that celebration.

“I’m proud that what started as my dad’s efforts led to it being named a school of architecture,” Hein said. “He would be so impressed and happy to see how it has grown, developed and flourished.”

Hein is a member of the Arkansas Alumni Association and is counted as a Thoroughred for her 12 years of consecutive giving to the university.

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.