Roderick Ashley, FAIA
NW&PR Representative to the AIA Strategic Council
Having joined the American Institute of Architects in 1983, I was not always the most active member. I became involved with the AIA Portland Design Awards program several years later but continued to stay on the periphery. I always seemed to find time to attend events but never stepped up get totally involved. As a sole practitioner I always felt there was never time for AIA. But that began to change and once the Oregon Design Conference began – I was hooked. I was a member of the AIA Oregon Council Board of Directors from 2005 until 2016, and after holding every executive committee position, I became President in 2014 and 2015. Prior to that I was the liaison from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon to the Center for Architecture and became Treasurer after several years on that Board. The Architecture Foundation of Oregon was started by five firms in Portland and I was fortunate enough to be invited to serve on their Board, eventually becoming President in 2016 and 2017. Each opportunity became a rich experience with a group of peers and friends that will never be forgotten. I guess I simply found some time…
Now as one of two Regional Representatives for the Northwest and Pacific Region, I am also a member of the AIA Strategic Council, Class of 2018-2020. My dual role is to both help lead the NW&PR and participate in the numerous activities of the Council. This is my last year in this position and I can say without a doubt that it has been one of the most rewarding opportunities I have had in connection with the AIA and during my professional career.
I am often asked what the Strategic Council is about and what it does. When Repositioning began in 2012, the governance model for the AIA was challenged and the National Board of Directors, consisting of over 60 members, was eventually reduced to 16 officers. Most members of the previous Board were Region Directors elected by members of their Regions. In reducing the size of the Board, part of the repositioning plan was to create the Strategic Council comprised of members that would become the strategic thinkers for the Institute. The new Board of Directors would have the fiduciary responsibility to the Institute’s members and the Council Representatives would be responsible for leading the strategic planning effort.
Tasked with creating the AIA’s Strategic Plan, the Council also became referred to as the “Think Tank”. Looking ahead to the future for changes, disruptors, opportunities, and how to assure success for its members and the profession, the Council is charged with researching and reporting to the Board on various conditions the Institute and staff might need clarification on, or topics they may not be aware of at all. A maximum of 60 elected Councilors (including 36 Region Representatives) meet four face-to-face times a year, hold monthly virtual assemblies, numerous study-group meetings, and conference calls to achieve their goals.
During my first two years on the Council I worked with the Transforming Architectural Education Study Group (TAE). We were looking far into the future to better understand both the needs of students and emerging professionals entering the profession, and of the profession and how practitioners were relying upon academia to provide the appropriate education for future architects. As circumstances quickly evolve students and practitioners need to be ready and trained for rapid transitions. Our work looked at trends in higher education in general and other professions that were also transforming their educational programs. This work led to our reviewing all of the documentation for assisting the AIA Board in their role at the National Architectural Accrediting Board’s ARForum 19, a collection of five collaterals (AIA, AIAS, ACSA, NCARB, and NAAB) in a progressive conference designed to transform the accreditation process for architecture schools. (Portland’s Barbara Sestak, FAIA, and former Dean at PSU is this year’s NAAB President)
Last year my Study Group encouraged the AIA Board to create a permanent staff position to continue our work as it was of utmost importance to both our current and future practitioners. This year I am working on the Technology’s Impact on Practice Study Group (TIP) in conjunction with the Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community. We are interested in what technologies are available, how they impact our practice, how our services are valued, and how technology in general is continuing to change how we practice. These study groups consist of Strategic Council Representatives and invited members from all AIA regions.
Presently there are 19 AIA regions; 11 multi-state regions like the NW&PR, 7 single-state regions, and the International Region. Approximately 43 percent of members are assigned to the single-state regions and the International Region has approximately 2,600 members. The NW&PR is the fourth largest Region and the largest multi-state Region with over 6,000 members.
Every year the NW&PR holds our Annual Meeting and Leadership Summit in conjunction with one of our component’s annual conferences. This year was to be hosted by AIA Idaho in Sun Valley, but for obvious reasons we have recently decided that we will convene a virtual event in September. It is at this gathering that leaders from the NW&PR’s components have the opportunity to discuss issues and opportunities affecting their members and operations. Several work sessions are held during this daylong event, and these sessions provide topics from our members that are delivered back to the Strategic Council to help assemble the next year’s study groups. The Annual Meeting is open to all members in the Region. However, to facilitate more in-depth and interactive conversation and collaboration, the Leadership Summit is reserved for component leadership only.
As President of AIA Oregon, I was very involved in and privy to the early conversations regarding restructuring the four Oregon Chapters into the single Chapter it is today, and was involved in many discussions and Board meetings regarding Repositioning. Assuring all members would have access to the same opportunities, strengthening member services, and streamlining governance were the main priorities. The local, state, and national tiers of the Institute were studied in detail. However, during the repositioning years, the study of Regions was overlooked due to the fact that Regions are not components of the Institute.
As you may be aware, AIA Portland and AIA Oregon introduced a resolution to study the region structure at the Conference on Architecture, A’18 in Las Vegas. Approved at the September 2018 Board meeting, a Task Force was appointed to study the issues raised in the resolution and prepare a final report to the Board. Han-Mei Chiang, 2018 AIA Portland Chapter President, and myself were selected to be on the twelve-person Task Force along with three national staff members and moderated by McKinley and Associates, a consulting firm that has been associated with many of AIA’s initiatives and knows the Institute well. .
At this year’s April AIA Board meeting, the Board voted unanimously to adopt a new model that will bring region responsibilities to the State Council and State Chapter level. Dissolving the regions and moving to the single-state model for selecting representatives to the Strategic Council is a move that is intended to provide more direct representation for members. A Task Force has just been assembled that will study the ramifications of this decision and help to prepare an operational plan that will be presented at next year’s Annual Business Meeting in Philadelphia during the A’21 Conference on Architecture. If the Board action is passed by delegates at that event, it is anticipated these changes will not occur until 2022. There is little other information available at this time as the Task Force is just beginning their work.
The College of Fellows (COF), Small Firm Exchange (SFx), Young Architects Forum (YAF), and the National Associates Committee (NAC) all have representation coming from the Regions. The NW&PR has five members from these organizations on the Region Board of Delegates. How this change impacts these organizations within the Institute will be studied and should be a critical component of the study.
There are five At-Large Representative to the AIA Strategic Council positions open annually on the Council, and are voted on by the Council in late July. I strongly urge any of you to look into this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the future of our profession and the Institute. Nominations are due June 19 at 5:00 EDT - instructions are available HERE. If you have any questions regarding this rewarding opportunity, please email me at roderickashleyarchitect@gmail.com or call 503 522 5558.