Architecture Firm Supports UA Student Travel

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Landscape architecture students sketch views from the Villa Farnese in Caprarola, Italy.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Affording the required semester of study abroad will get a little bit easier for University of Arkansas School of Architecture students thanks to a $50,000 gift from PB2 Architecture and Engineering.

The Rogers firm, formerly Perry L. Butcher & Associates, recently made a gift to create the PB2 Architecture Honors College International Experience Endowment, which will support international travel for honors architecture students. The gift will be matched by $50,000 from the Matching Gift Program to create a $100,000 endowment

"Foreign travel is critical to expanding our students' frame of reference as designers, and we are grateful to PB2 for making this part of the students' educational experience more affordable," said School of Architecture Dean Jeff Shannon.

"We feel that the architectural history and urban experience that students encounter abroad is vital to the success of the School of Architecture's program, which we're pleased to support," said John Mack, AIA. "From a professional standpoint, we look at a strong school of architecture as being vital to architecture in the state."

With the cost of the semester abroad coming on top of ongoing expenses for materials and field trips to project sites, the professional degrees offered by the School of Architecture are costly to pursue.

"Fortunately, we have received generous support for our school's programs from design professionals across the country and especially in the region. This is our largest gift ever from an architectural firm, and we appreciate PB2's leadership and vision," said Charlotte Taylor, director of development for the UA School of Architecture.

Architecture firms that have created endowments to support the School of Architecture during the UA Campaign for the Twenty-First Century include Brackett-Krennerich & Associates, PA of Jonesboro and Fayetteville; Miller Boskus Lack Architects, PA of Springdale; and Howell & Vancuren and the McIntosh Group, both of Tulsa, Okla. Other firms who have supported the school's campaign include Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects Ltd. and Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Inc, both with offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville. Little Rock firms Roark Perkins Perry and Yelvington; Steelman Connell Moseley Architects, PA; the Wilcox Group; and Witsell Evans & Rasco also have created endowments for the School of Architecture.

"These funds are used to support faculty research, student scholarships and awards, our lecture series, and other events and programs that enrich the students' experience," Taylor said.

Foreign travel introduces School of Architecture students to a wide range of cultural and architectural experiences. Here, architecture professor Russell Rudzinski and student Matthew Cabe view Zacatecas, Mexico.