About

Project committee meeting June 2010

The Paul R. Williams Project is a collaboration of individuals and organizations in which AIA Memphis and the University of Memphis are the core institutions.  The project began in early 2006 as an initiative of the Memphis chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in honor of the 150th anniversary of the AIA. The Memphis AIA 150 Committee developed two ideas, the first was a permanent downtown design center; the second was an exhibition or some form of public recognition of the life and work of Paul R. Williams (1894-1980), the first African American member of the AIA and the first to become a Fellow (FAIA).

Why would the AIA Memphis 150 Committee focus on Paul R. Williams, an architect who was born in Los Angeles and whose career, though national and international, was largely realized in Southern California? 

Memphis has an historical interest in Paul R. Williams.  His parents, Chester Stanley Williams, Sr. and Lila A. Wright Williams were from Memphis, where Chester Williams worked at the famous Peabody Hotel, and where Paul’s brother, Chester, Jr., was born before the family moved  to Los Angeles during the early 1890s.   Decades later in 1960, Paul R. Williams contributed his design for the original building of Memphis’ renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which was founded by his friend, the Hollywood actor, Danny Thomas.

The Paul R. Williams Project committee’s motivation was and is to help expand public knowledge about this American architect, whose extraordinary accomplishments were achieved against a background of pervasive racism in a particularly exclusionary profession. 

The AIA150 Committee presented the exhibit concept to the board of the Art Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM).  The University of Memphis has a young but exceedingly successful architecture program with close ties to the Memphis professional community, and AMUM’s director earned a Ph.D. in 20th Century art and architectural history with a specialization in mid-century American architecture. 

AIA Memphis also presented the Paul R. Williams project to the national organization, which sanctioned it as part of the AIA150 celebration.  The original project has expanded to include research, K-12 education and publication components.  Decisions are made by the Paul R. Williams Project committee listed below with AMUM serving as administrative center.   Additional participants sit on specific committees for the education, exhibition and publication segments of the project. 

Project committee meeting June 2010 Project committee meeting June 2010 Project committee meeting June 2010

Organizing Committee Members

  • Lee Askew, III, FAIA, Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects, Memphis
    Lee Askew III, FAIA, one of the founders of Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects, a well-known and established Memphis architectural firm, is responsible for the design of many iconic Memphis buildings including Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the FedEx SuperHub. A member of numerous community, cultural, and civic boards including the Memphis College of Art, Askew served as President of AIA Memphis and co-founder of its Past-Presidents Council. As the Chair of the Memphis AIA 150 Committee, he has pledged their continued assistance and support in the procurement, documentation, design and installation of the Paul R. Williams exhibit. As designer of several exhibitions for the Memphis Wonders Series of International exhibitions, his experience will inform the design of the Paul R. Williams exhibition.
  • Terry DeWitt, AIA retired, former principal, Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis
    Terry E. DeWitt, AIA retired, a 1982 graduate of the University of Memphis with additional study at the University of Illinois and the University of Kansas was a principal with Hnedak Bobo Group of Memphis, TN. He served as project manager on diverse design projects for the hospitality, entertainment industries and state, local and federal governments, and urban design. Prior to his tenure with Hnedak Bobo Group, Dewitt was a product designer in the metal building industry for 24 years. DeWitt is chairman of the Paul R. Williams Project sub-committee, AIA Memphis/AIA 150, and has continued in this capacity and will focus on securing sites for the exhibit and fund raising.
  • Bradford Grant, AIA, NOMA, Associate Dean and Director, School of Architecture and Design, Howard University
    Bradford C. Grant, AIA, NOMA, is the Director of the School of Architecture and Design and Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences at Howard University. Prior to joining Howard University, Grant was Chairperson of the Department of Architecture at Hampton University. Grant's community design work and research on the role of African American architects published in the Directory of African American Architects has earned him the Universal Design Education Award, the Virginia Downtown Development Association Award, AIA Education Honor Award and the AIA Institute Honor for Collaborative Achievement. Grant is past president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and past vice president, western region of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Grant serves as liaison with NOMA and with architects who were colleagues of Williams, as well as with schools of architecture throughout the country. He is the project liaison in Washington, D.C.
  • Wesley Howard Henderson, PhD, AIA, Principal, Wesley H. Henderson, AIA, Architectural Services
    Wesley Howard Henderson, PhD, AIA, NOMA is an architectural historian and consultant. Henderson's 1992 doctoral dissertation at UCLA, Two Case Studies of African-American Architects' Careers in Los Angeles, 1890-1945: Paul R. Williams, FAIA and James H. Garrott, AIA is the only existing academic study on Paul R. Williams' life and work. He is co-editor of African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary (2004). Henderson will help edit the project's interactive timeline, an important component on both the website and in the exhibition. He will also research, help write and edit the final exhibition narrative. He will participate in interviews with Williams' colleagues with whom he formed relationships during his dissertation research.
  • Heather Koury, Executive Director, AIA Memphis
    Heather Koury is Executive Director of AIA Memphis and will function as a coordinator with the professional community in Memphis for the project. Under her leadership, the AIA chapter has expanded its focus from just a professional association to include community outreach and education. Prior to this position, Koury was a strategic planning consultant for local not-for-profit organizations. Koury has been an active volunteer and board member with various local and state-wide arts groups including 3 years on the Community Arts and Media Grant Review Panel for the Tennessee Arts Commission. Koury is fundraising for the Paul R. Williams Project, particularly the education programs, through the AIA and institutions that support its educational goals.
  • Leslie Luebbers, PhD, Director, Art Museum of the University of Memphis
    Leslie Luebbers, PhD, the principal investigator/project leader, has 28 years of curatorial, arts organization management, project management, and community outreach experience. For 18 years, she has been the director and program director/curator for AMUM. Her doctorate is in 20th century art and architecture; her dissertation was on mid-century American architecture. Her responsibilities in this project include: project director for the exhibition, publications, fundraising, liaison with AIA, the Benjamin Hooks Institute, NOMA and other community organizations, as well as liaison with collaborating university departments, and she will over see the evaluation process and reports.
  • James Lutz, AIA, Visiting Associate Professor, School of Architecture, University of Minnesota
    Jim Lutz, AIA, is an architect and visiting associate professor at the University of Minnesota. Prior to this position he was an assistant professor in the architecture program at the University of Memphis where he taught for eight years. He also directed the activities of the Center for Sustainable Design at the FedEx Institute of Technology, which developed plans for energy efficient, environmentally responsible affordable housing. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. Before moving to Memphis in 1999, he practiced architecture with a California-based firm for fifteen years, designing residential, commercial and institutional projects. He is a frequent speaker on issues relating to architecture and design. He is co-chair of the 2009 College Art Association panel entitled Paul R. Williams: African American Architect to the Hollywood Stars (And That's Just the Beginning).
  • Daphene R. McFerren, JD, Director, Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Change, University of Memphis
    Daphene R. McFerren, JD, is the director for Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. The mission of the Hooks Institute is to preserve the historical record of the American Civil Rights Movement and facilitate conversations and collaborations that address contemporary issues of disparities that deny individuals full rights to participate in society. The Institute's efforts are directed to support scholarly research on race, community outreach initiatives for programs to improve the life choices of community members and to build coalitions with other organizations to leverage resources to tackle systemic problems. McFerren will serve as a consultant on the Paul R. Williams Project as the goals of the project and the Hooks Institute are similar.
  • Jimmie Tucker, AIA, NOMA, Self Tucker Architects, Memphis, Past President AIA Memphis
    Jimmie Tucker, AIA, NOMA, is a practicing architect and adjunct professor at the University of Memphis. He has a degree from Princeton University in Architecture and Urban planning as well as a Master's Degree in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis where he was recognized in 2006 as one of its Distinguished Alumni. As co-founder of Self Tucker Architects and with over twenty-five years in the field he is most proud of his firm's work on community revitalization projects such as the National Civil Rights Museum and the STAX Music Academy and Museum. Both projects have received national and local design awards. Actively involved with many community boards and initiatives, Tucker will serve as the primary liaison with the African American professional, business, civic, and academic communities in Memphis and across the country. He is immediate past President of AIA Memphis. He was a co-presenter for a seminar regarding the life and work of Paul R. Williams at the 2008 NOMA National Conference.
  • Melody Winetraub, Instructor, Art Education, Art Department, University of Memphis
    Melody Weintraub, MAT in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Art Education and Doctoral student in the University of Memphis College of Education, is an Instructor in art education, licensed by the State of Tennessee with a Visual Arts K-12 Endorsement. At the University of Memphis she has taught graduate and undergraduate levels of Art for Children; Art for Secondary Education; Practicum in Elementary, Middle and Secondary Education and supervised student teachers. She has presented at the National Art Education Association and Tennessee Art Education Conference. She has a decade of K-12 classroom art instruction experience in both private and public schools and over 20 years experience in community art instruction including art camp curricula and adult art instruction. Weintraub is the author/illustrator of the children’s book The Little Bird (2001) and illustrator of ABC’s for Teachers by Billie McDonald Jeffries (1993).

Project Contributors

Eric Bork, a University of Memphis graduate student in studio art and museum studies, assisted with bibliographic research.

Deborah Brackstone, with over 30-years experience in academic and special libraries, is the primary research archivist for digital imagery and the project bibliographer.

Sharon Price Fairbanks, a University of Memphis graduate student in history and museum studies, assisted with historical research.

Donalyn Heise, EdD, Coordinator of Art Education, Art Department, worked with AMUM on developing K-12 education programs for the project.

Marcello Vavala, Preservation Associate at the Los Angeles Conservancy and on the board of the Santa Monica Conservancy, is the project field researcher.

Lara Wistock, a University of Memphis graduate student in museum studies, assisted with bibliographic research.