Reflections on an Extraordinary Year

by Marshall Purnell, FAIA
2008 AIA President

Summary: Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA, has some parting thoughts he would like to share with fellow AIA members as he leaves the office of AIA President after what he terms “the most extraordinary year of my life.”

View the video. Read the transcript below.

This time last year I was hunched over my laptop, sweating over what to say on one of the most important nights of my life—my inauguration as AIA President. People were flying into Washington from all over the country. Friends, professional colleagues, members of my firm, mentors, AIA Board members I had worked with and learned from, former AIA Presidents, and family members—my kids, my two brothers, and most of all my Mother.

But the toughest crowd would be the ghosts in that room: The AIA’s founders (who might have been surprised to see this guy joining their fraternity); along with the first women of our profession…the first architects of color…those who had overcome physical handicaps to pursue a career in architecture…refugees from other countries whose politics or ethnicity or religion barred them from practice.

In other words, everyone . . . everyone who believed in and had fought to fulfill the promise of the American dream of freedom and equality. Everyone whose struggle to widen the embrace of this profession had made me and that special night possible.

How would I measure up to their expectations?

How would I measure up to the expectations of my Father, Curtis Purnell?

Dad had passed away a little more than a year before. But he’d lived long enough to know his son had been elected AIA President. I remember as a teenager coming home from one of my summer jobs complaining about my boss being on my back. Dad listened to me whine. Finally, when I ran out of steam looked at me and said: “A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.”

That’s a lesson no son forgets!

Like the society we serve
Since that night, we’ve been through a lot. You, the members, have elevated the reputation of our profession as stewards of our planet, as key to sustainability.
You, the members, have volunteered hours, days, weeks to serve your profession and your communities through the AIA, whether by responding to disaster or making it easier for an elderly neighbor to continue living in her home. You’re adopting and adapting technology to bring even greater value to your clients. You’re working more collaboratively to deliver projects on time and on budget, and while you’re at it, transforming the business model of our profession. Clients respond to that, even in bad times.

I’m also aware of the progress we’re making together toward the day when our profession looks like the society we serve.

Coming to terms with the emergence of a global and diverse society hasn’t been easy. Even those who saw the opportunities weren’t always sure how to get there. Yet, thanks to the vision and courage of many of you, the AIA developed tools and allocated resources to help us bend the arc of history toward the day when it will touch the horizon of our dream, a dream that sees everyone of talent welcomed into this great profession.

Can we get there?
Let me put it this way: My great grandfather, Fred Davis, was born a slave in Mississippi back in 1837. He died in 1949, the year before I was born. Think of the changes he saw in that one lifetime. Think of the changes we’ve seen in our own. Think of what the future may hold!

We’re blessed as a profession. We’re blessed by a deep-rooted commitment to aspire for something better, something better for our industry, our clients, and the people we serve. This is our legacy and our destiny. This striving for something better is who we are as a profession—helping one another through our community, our family, and the AIA.I know that as a fact, because—let’s face it—I wouldn’t be here speaking with you had it not been for the support of AIA members everywhere.

It’s the season to be grateful. And as I search for words to express the depth of my gratitude for what you have given me, I keep coming back to a simple phrase—“Thank you!”

It may not sound like much. But it comes from the heart in profound gratitude for the most extraordinary year of my life.

Thank you and best wishes for every future success.