Faculty member Scott Wall has been named as director of the School of Architecture in the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Professor Wall, who is a 1983 alumnus of UT Knoxville, has taught in the college for six years. He will begin his five-year term as director on Aug. 1.
“I, along with the faculty, am very enthused that Scott Wall is assuming the position as director,” said Dean John McRae. “Wall has broad experience in academia and practice. Through his involvement with the college, he has a strong working knowledge of the architecture program and our vision for the future. I look forward to having him as a member of the college leadership team.”
Wall joined the College of Architecture and Design faculty after teaching at several institutions around the country, including Rice University; Tulane University, where he taught for 14 years; and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a visiting assistant professor.
“There are so many great things going on in the School of Architecture, and I want to help that continue to happen,” Wall said. “We have a great group of faculty doing incredible things on all levels. It is my priority to support what they’re doing. We can be one of the greatest programs of architecture in the country because of the people we have here.”
Wall’s experience in the practice of architecture includes work at Barber McMurry Inc. of Knoxville, Architectural Coalition of New Orleans, and Pope/Sherman Architects and Peter Waldman Architects, both in Houston.
Wall spent two and a half years teaching professional practice courses at the college while working at Barber McMurry. He eventually transitioned from the dual role of academician and practitioner to full-time teaching. Even with giving his “all” for the program, Wall knew there was more he wanted to — and could — do for the school, he said.
“I knew I wanted to be director of the school about a year or so ago, but I wasn’t ready then,” Wall said. “In January of this year, I realized it was time. I knew it was what I wanted to do, and I felt I could be good at it. I want to help people make this a better place. So I threw my hat in the ring.”
In the fall of 2008, a new search for a permanent director for the school began. The position had been held in the interim by Mark Schimmenti. Schimmenti took over in 2007 when Max Robinson, who had been the director for 10 years, decided to return to full-time teaching. Schimmenti will rejoin Robinson and the rest of the faculty as a full-time professor.
One of Wall’s most noteworthy contributions to the college has been the Finland Summer Architecture Institute, which he started at Tulane and brought to UT Knoxville in 2006. The study-abroad program focuses on the role of architecture and design as an integral part of Finnish national identity. In order to learn about Finnish architecture, students spend a great deal of time examining Finnish culture, history and traditions. The coursework for the program totaled 15 credit hours — a full semester of work. Some of the work from this program will be on display in November and December at the Ewing Gallery in the Art + Architecture Building in association with the “My Paradise: One Hundred Years of Architects’ Summer Cottages” exhibition.
Wall was named a Fulbright Fellow in 2003 and also was honored in 2007, along with former Dean Marleen Davis, for the urban design project “NOLA 2020: City Districts on High Ground,” a redesign of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Wall, born in New Hampshire and reared in Knoxville, received a bachelor of arts in European history from Davidson College before earning his bachelor of architecture with honors from UT Knoxville. He received his master of architecture from Rice University.