Architect 2014-07.pdf

14
DIALOGUE
ARCHITECT THE AIA MAGAZINE JULY 2014 WWW.ARCHITECTMAGAZINE.COM
WITHIN
THREE YEARS,
A MAJORITY
OF AIA BOARD
MEMBERS
COULD BE
UNLICENSED.
NOT YOUR FATHER’S
INSTITUTE
THE AIA IS REVAMPING ITS BOARD, SHRINKING THE ROSTER FROM ABOUT
50 PEOPLE TO NO MORE THAN 16. AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.
I’M STILL kind of in shock, but in a good way.
At the AIA Convention in Chicago last month,
delegates voted overwhelmingly to overhaul
the Institute’s national governing structure.
The vote is majorly significant, and I don’t just
say so because I’m the editor of the official AIA
publication. The existing, roughly 50-person
board is being reduced to a group of no more
than 16. As a result, the AIA stands to act much
more nimbly on behalf of the profession.
As with any healthy diet, it will take some
time for the board to slenderize. The obsolete
positions—notably the 35 regional directorships
and four vice presidencies—won’t be filled
when the current holders’ terms are up, a
process of attrition that the AIA speculates
could last as long as three years.“The board
showed tremendous leadership. We have more
work to do putting the new structure into
place, but the overwhelming support tells me
we have a mandate to move forward,” says AIA
President Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA. “This is
the new AIA, and I’m so proud to be a member.”
The regions get seats on a new advisory
body called the strategic council. The board’s
11-person executive committee will also disband,
which is no great loss because the revamped
board is basically a judicious reworking of it:
1. Four officers elected by the delegates at the
annual convention, namely the president
and first vice president/president-elect,
both for one-year terms, and the secretary
and treasurer, both for two-year terms;
2. Up to eight at-large directors, three elected
by the delegates and three more elected
by the strategic council, all for three-year
terms, plus as many as two selected by the
president (subject to board approval) for
terms that expire when hers or his does;
3. An associate director with a twoyear
term, a Council of Architectural
Component Executives (CACE) director
with a one-year term, and a student
director; and
4. The AIA’s Executive Vice President/Chief
Executive Officer (EVP/CEO), who can’t vote.
According to the official AIA statement,
“the strategic council’s role will be to advise
(but not bind) the board” on “goals and
objectives,” “public policy,” and “operation
plans and budgets.” Moreover, “it can form
committees and ad hoc work groups (subject
to board approval), and will determine its own
leadership structure.” The council is limited to
60 representatives:
1. From the board, the president, first vice
president/president-elect, secretary,
treasurer, and the EVP/CEO, as well as
the immediate past president;
2. Approximately 35 representatives selected
by region for staggered three-year terms
and an international region rep with a
three-year term;
3. Associate, student, and CACE reps for
terms to be determined by the board; and
4. Ten at-large reps, chosen by the council to
serve staggered two-year terms.
The at-large board directors and at-large
council representatives can be architects,
associates, students, CACE reps, or members of
the public. Now read the preceding sentence
again, and do the math. If the reduced size of
the board doesn’t strike you as noteworthy, this
should: Within three years, a majority of AIA
board members could be unlicensed.
I’m not saying it’s likely from a political
perspective, but, apparently, it’s possible. And
the possibility alone suggests that a tectonic
shift is occurring at the AIA. Its leaders seem to
be inviting a new relationship with associate
members, architectural interns, and former
practitioners who, for too long, have felt like
second-class professional citizens. With so
many of our colleagues questioning the value
of licensure and the narrow way that the title
of “architect” is currently ordained, the AIA is
sending them an incredibly positive message
by making its governance more inclusive.
ELI KAPLAN