— No. 1 producer of African American Architecture Graduates and Undergraduates! —
Prairie View A&M University’s School of Architecture program prepares graduates for leadership roles in transforming America’s cities and improving the quality of life through sustainable solutions that enhance the built environment. With an educational focus, students are challenged to develop their abilities in problem solving, creative thinking and decision making. This is achieved in a student-centered environment that fosters personal development and professional excellence.
The School of Architecture is housed in the Nathelyne Archie-Kennedy Building. Selected to design the building from five nationally recognized architects who participated in the competition Michael Rotondi of Roto Architects created this most unique facility. HKS of Dallas served as the Architect of Record. The design began in 2002, with ground breaking held in August 2003, and the School of Architecture moved into the 105,000 sq. ft. building in August 2005.
Dr. lkhlas Sabouni, Dean, SOA
Dr. Ikhlas Sabouni received a Master’s and a Doctorate of Architecture from Rice University in Houston, Texas. At Rice, she won the William Dunlap Darden Award in Architecture for her outstanding doctoral dissertation. Dr. Sabouni is a Dean and Distinguished Professor at the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). She also served as a Special Assistant to the President at PVAMU for 6 years. Dr. Sabouni led the Architecture Program through several successful reaccreditations visits. Most importantly, she transformed a very small unaccredited Department of Architecture into a well-recognized autonomous School of Architecture. Under her leadership, the School of Architecture has been recognized by Diverse Issue of Higher Education as number one in the nation in producing the largest number of African American undergraduates and graduates in Architecture and related fields.
She has been awarded several teaching honors: Texas Society of Architects (TSA) Edward J. Romieniec, FAIA Award, American Institute of Architecture (AIA) Houston Chapter Educator Award, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Distinguished Professor Award, PVAMU Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University System Regents’ Professor, and College of Engineering and Architecture Faculty of the Year three times.
Dr. Sabouni received several service awards from TSA, AIA, and ACSA and she served on several national, regional, and local boards including AIAS, ACSA, TSA, Texas Architecture Foundation, Texas Sustainability Consortium, HBCU Universal Design, HBCU Architecture Schools Consortium, and Tau Sigma Delta (TSD) Honor Society. She also served as Secretary, Vice-Chancellor, and Chancellor of the ACSA College of Distinguished Professors. She is currently serving on the AIAS and TSD Boards and ACSA Leadership Committee. Dr. Sabouni served on the AIA Equity in Architecture Commission and on several equity and diversity panel discussions. She has also chaired several National Architecture Accrediting Board visiting teams nationally and internationally.
Nathelyne Archie Kennedy, distinguished alumna
Nathelyne Archie Kennedy
Nathelyne Archie Kennedy, a professional engineer, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering in 1959 from Prairie View A&M University. Following college graduation, Ms. Kennedy worked as a Bridge Design Engineer with an engineering firm in Chicago, Illinois, and later with an engineering firm in Houston, Texas. In 1979 she became a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
In 1981, Nathelyne Archie Kennedy started her own business venture in Houston, Texas. She is Founder and President of Nathelyne A. Kennedy &Associates, a professional civil consulting engineering firm located in Houston, Texas. The Kennedy organization employs engineers, technicians, construction managers, inspectors, administrative, and managerial personnel specializing in civil engineering of highways, streets, bridges, public transit and parking facilities, water and wastewater systems, aviation facilities, marine terminals, sports complexes, and various other types of specialized projects.
Ms. Kennedy’s professional engineering career spans 50 years of progressive experience as a design engineer, project engineer, project manager, and as the principal-in-charge of civil engineering projects performed for a broad spectrum of government, municipal, and regulatory agencies, as well as for private industry clients.
The first female engineering graduate from Prairie View A&M University and the first African American female professional engineer registered by the State of Texas, Ms. Kennedy has been recognized numerous times by her alma mater and its alumni association. In 2006, the new Architecture and History & Culture facility on the Prairie View A&M University campus was named the “Nathelyne Archie Kennedy Building” in her honor.