News and Information

2009-2010 School Year to be Full of Opportunities for Our Members


Welcome to another engaging year with the AIAS! We hope you will take advantage of the many benefits and resources that membership in the AIAS offers you. As our 2009-2010 Quad Directors will explain in detail below, there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.

Listen to Why Students Belong to the AIAS.

There are many ways to stay knowledgeable about AIAS activities. We consistently update the AIAS Web site with content related to the profession and education of architecture, and opportunities for you to become involved at the local, regional, and international levels. In addition, the AIAS will be publishing several podcasts throughout the year. If you have not done so already, please subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes. Finally, the AIAS produces a semi-annual scholarly journal, Crit, the Journal of the AIAS, which you will receive as part of your membership.

We are looking forward to learning more about you and your chapters and meeting you at AIAS conferences throughout the year.

Please let us know how we can assist you this year and beyond.

JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW

Sincerely,
Je'Nen M. Chastain, Assoc. AIA
2009-2010 President
E jchastain@aias.org

Brett Roeth
2009-2010 Vice President
E broeth@aias.org

Northeast Quad
Congratulations to the chapters selected to host the future Quad conferences: Drexel University (Fall 2009, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Northeastern University (Spring 2010, Boston, Massachusetts) and Syracuse University (Fall 2010, Syracuse, New York). The Northeast has experienced excellent turnout at Quad Conferences in recent years due to increase in communication and membership. Communication is a huge advantage for the Northeast, being the most condensed Quad, so let's aim to set a record breaking attendance for these Quad Conferences to show our members the benefits of the AIAS at the chapter, Quad and all levels.

Contact:
David M.A. Guerriero
Director, Northeast Quad
E northeast@aias.org

Midwest Quad
After and exciting weekend in Washington, DC for the Grassroots Leadership Conference the chapter leaders of the Midwest Quad were able to gather to decide on where the upcoming Quad Conferences will take place. The Midwest Quad is happy to announce that the University of Nebraska will be hosting our fall 2009 conference in Lincoln, NE, followed by the University of Kentucky who will be hosting the spring 2010 conference in Lexington, KY, and finally, the fall 2010 conference will be hosted by Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture in Spring Green, WI. Each of these host schools have presented exciting proposals which contain great content that the members of the Midwest can look forward to. More details to come soon!

Contact:
Jared Sang
Director, Midwest Quad
E midwest@aias.org

South Quad
During the Grassroots Leadership Conference for 2008, the South Quad led the way by changing the structure by which we elect chapters to host Quad Conferences. Through the decisions made by last year's chapter Presidents of the South, Savannah College of Art & Design has had over a year to plan for the fall 2009 conference that they will be hosting in Savannah, GA. The theme is Making & Breaking the Grid, which will take place October 22-24. SCAD will be contacting chapter Presidents with more information about this conference soon. We are looking forward to seeing as many faces attend as possible! This year at Grassroots 2009, the South voted on our spring 2010 conference which will be hosted by the University of Houston in Houston, TX, as well as our fall 2010 conference which will be hosted by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in Knoxville, TN.

Contact:
Sarah Abel
Director, South Quad
E south@aias.org

West Quad
This fall the West Quad will be trying something new by focusing on sustainability, as the chapters will be invited to attend USGBC's Greenbuild conference for 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. This decision came at the result of seeking an inspiring location for the Quad to meet during the fall semester in absence of a tradition Quad Conference hosted by a school. In the spring of 2010 the West Quad will be heading up to northern California, as UC Berkeley will host the spring conference in Berkeley,CA. Finally, in the fall of 2010, the West Quad chapters will be heading even further north, as the conference will be hosted in the Palouse by the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. As the chapter Presidents of the West Quad joined me at the Grassroots Leadership Conference this summer, we concluded that the goal for our Quad this year will be to find ways for us to overcome our vast geographic spread so that we can still connect in meaningful ways, especially working to involve chapters such as Hawaii and Kuwait. We aim to reach out to one another in order to support those that are unable to travel by encouraging chapters who are close by to collaborate and perhaps co-host small events. Notes and information from our discussions in DC should be distributed soon.

Contact:
Tyler Ashworth, LEED AP
Director, West Quad
E west@aias.org