CADC’s 2021 Awards Banquet Recognizes Teaching and Service
To honor outstanding faculty, staff, students and industry supporters, the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) held its annual awards banquet on Thursday, October 21. CADC Dean Dr. Vini Nathan welcomed the crowd and invited speakers from the college to present awards.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and International Programs Dr. Ben Farrow presented one student from each of the college’s undergraduate majors with the award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Those awardees included Meagan Edwards (architecture), Ben Renfro (building construction), Natalie Hamlin (environmental design), Alexandria Crowe (graphic design), Katherine Koons (industrial design) and Brittany Noe (interior architecture).
Farrow was followed by Dr. Karen Rogers, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, who presented Outstanding Graduate Student awards. Those honorees included Yikuan Peng (building construction), Darrick Godfrey (executive masters in building construction), Landon Ritterling (industrial design), Romina Delgado (landscape architecture) and Brian Dunn (real estate development).
The heads of CADC’s three schools, Christian Dagg of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (APLA), Clark Lundell of the School of Industrial and Graphic Design (SIGD) and Richard Burt of the McWhorter School of Building Science (BSCI), each presented an Outstanding Teaching Award and a Distinguished Service Award. Professor Kelly Bryant of the graphic design program and Assistant Professor Jennifer Pindyck of interior architecture both received Outstanding Teaching Awards. That award was also given posthumously to beloved building science Lecturer Roger Rice. Distinguished Service Awards went to the Lee County Remembrance Project (APLA), Mark Grantham, Executive Director of Auburn Opelika Habitat for Humanity (BSCI), and Mike Rogers of construction firm Rogers & Willard, a member and past president of CADC’s Executive Board (SIGD).
Asha Marie Pogge, Administrative Assistant in the Dean’s Office, was awarded CADC’s Employee of the Year. Dean Nathan also recognized several faculty members who will be changing roles. Dagg and Lundell will both be stepping down from their leadership positions to rejoin the faculty at the end of this semester. Associate Dean Karen Rogers will be retiring at the end of the 2021-22 academic year.
In the final presentation of the ceremony, Dean Nathan presented housing finance provider Fannie Mae with the Industry Legacy Award for its support of Rural Studio’s Front Porch Initiative. “Auburn University is proud to be a vital part of Fannie Mae’s goal in helping people throughout the country find a safe and secure place that they can call home,” Nathan stated. “Fannie Mae is committed to eliminating the barriers to homeownership in the communities that need it most but can most often afford it the least.”
Dean Nathan ended the evening by introducing a short “dance performance” by Mac the Robot Dog, BSCI’s four-legged Boston Dynamics robot that can be utilized in a variety of construction industry settings. “Robots like Mac already play a vital role in many aspects of construction, and new applications of technology are emerging constantly and quickly,” Nathan said. “Our college has been an early adopter of cutting-edge technology and I wanted to share a delightful piece of technology that can make us smile!”