Hopkins Elected President

Eugene Hopkins, FAIA, will be the 2003 AIA first vice president/president-elect and will serve in 2004 as Institute president. AIA delegates elected Hopkins during the Institute’s national convention in Charlotte. Election results were tallied May 10. Hopkins’ term as first vice president begins in December 2002.

Currently a partner of SmithGroup, Hopkins works out of the firm’s Detroit and Ann Arbor officers, where he is a senior vice president leading its architecture, engineering and planning initiatives in design excellence. Before that, Hopkins founded Architects Four (1983–98), an AIA Honor Award-winning small firm specializing in historic preservation.

Hopkins served as 2002 vice president of the Institute and sat on the Board of Directors from 1999–2002. He was the jury chair for selection of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education in 2000. He has also served as a member of the Historic Resources Committee since 1985 and was a member of the national Resolutions Committee (1997–’98). He was elevated to the College of Fellows in 1997.

Hopkins also has been active on the local and state levels of the AIA, serving as vice president (1987) and president (1988) of the AIA Huron Valley component. Subsequently, he was president (1994) of AIA Michigan after having served as vice president, treasurer, and secretary. He chaired the state component’s Finance Committee from 1995–2001.

“The profession is changing. My mission is to prepare members for excellence in practice and work collectively and creatively to expand our professional influence,” Hopkins said in his campaign statement. “My goal is to address these issues using focused implementation and fiscal responsibility.” Some of the issues Hopkins will address during his term are the role of the architect, the PIAs as a resource for knowledge, mentorship and education, and environmental stewardship.

Hopkins and his wife, Jane, live in Ann Arbor and have one daughter.

Blackmer, Ellerthorpe, and Schwennsen
Named VPs

Bruce E. Blackmer, AIA; Robin M. Ellerthorpe, FAIA; and Katherine Lee Schwennsen, FAIA were elected to serve as AIA vice presidents in 2003.

Bruce E. Blackmer, AIA, is the managing principal of Northwest Architectural Company, a 90-person firm with offices in both Spokane and Seattle. His AIA roles include all AIA Spokane leadership positions, Washington Council director and Public Awareness Committee member, the Northwest and Pacific Region’s design awards chair, planning chair, finance chair, and regional director. He was an AIA Summit 2000 International Design Award program juror and has chaired several regional design award juries. Blackmer leads the national Professional Interest Areas (PIAs) Program as chair of the PIA Executive Committee and has served as a speaker at component meetings, the CACE national annual meeting, and national PIA Council meetings. Blackmer’s experience spans small, midsize, and large firms; government; and academia. Living in Washington, Texas, Maryland, and Minnesota has provided him with a geographically diverse perspective.

Robin M. Ellerthorpe, FAIA, is a principal of OWP/P Consultants, Chicago, a diverse team performing cross-market services within a firm of 360 people. Ellerthorpe served in leadership positions at the chapter level, including state IDP coordinator and president of East Tennessee AIA. Within the professional interest areas (PIAs), he has served on the Public Architects PIA, as chair of the Corporate Architects PIA, and as PIA Council chair. Robin current is Facility Management PIA vice chair. An original member of both the Practice & Prosperity and Redefinition task forces, Ellerthorpe played an integral part in direction of the 1997 edition of AIA B141, AIM (Aligning the Institute for the Millennium strategic long-range plan), The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th edition; and the 2002 AIA convention. Ellerthorpe has made presentations as a thought leader to the AIA’s Board on the topics of the PIAs, redefinition of the profession, and AIM.

Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, is the associate dean of the Iowa State University College of Design and an associate professor of architecture. Prior to returning to her alma mater (BA, 1978, March, 1980) to teach design and professional practice, she practiced for 10 years in professionally critical areas, including office and project management, marketing, and design. Schwennsen has served the AIA and the profession at all levels, including as director, Central States Region (2000 to present), chair of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education jury; AIA Education Honors Awards jury; and Educators and Practitioners Net PIA. On the state and local levels, she has served as president of AIA Iowa, on the City of Des Moines Architectural Advisory Committee, and as vice president of the Iowa Board of Architectural Examiners. Schwennsen also is a member of the NCARB Education Committee, NCARB Certification Through Licensure Task Force, AIAS Studio Culture Task Force, NAAB Validation Task Force; NCARB Internship Implementation Task Force; and NAAB Visiting Teams.

Livergood Elected Secretary

Delegates to the AIA convention on May 10 elected Lawrence R. Livergood, AIA, to serve as Institute secretary in 2003. Livergood is a managing partner of Architectural Expressions LLP, a 28-person A/E firm located in Decatur, Ill. He served on the national board as a regional director for Illinois from 1999–2001 and currently is a Richard Upjohn Fellow of the Institute. He has chaired the AIA’s Membership Systems Advisory Group, National Membership Committee, and Membership Policy Advisory Group and served as vice chair of the Component Affairs and Membership Advisory Committee. Livergood has been active in the AIA Illinois and Central Illinois chapters, serving as president of both. Active in his community, his service ranges from chairing the AIA Illinois/State of Illinois Health Facilities Task Force to serving on the Decatur Mayor’s Task Force on Downtown Revitalization.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.