news-record.com

The Piedmont Triad Partnership has hired an architectural industry consulting team to asses the possibility of offering an accredited architectural program in the Piedmont Triad region.

The consultant team will be led by Sharon Mathews, former director of the National Architect's Accrediting Board, and by Rodner Wright, dean of the Florida A & M University School of Architecture, according to a news release today from the partnership.

The consultants will determine the feasibility of having an accredited architecture program at a Triad university that offers the "first professional degree," which leads to licensing, in this field.

The study is an outgrowth of the partnership's Architecture Action Team to evaluate architecture programs in the Piedmont Triad.

The assessment team consists of selected principals of architecture firms in the region and representatives from UNCG, N.C. A&T, UNC Charlotte, N.C. State and Elon University.

"Our industry leaders have difficulty finding fully- trained architects in our region and the prospects for developing a pipeline are slim," says Margaret Collins, Piedmont Triad Partnership's Creative Enterprises and the Arts Director.

Collins said in a written statement that, "A program that allows students that are enrolled in interior design and other design programs to get a 'first professional' architecture degree in the region would be of enormous benefit in attracting and retaining design talent for the architect firms in the Piedmont Triad."

The consultants will interview experts within the UNC system, regional educators and architect industry leaders prior to making recommendations in mid-May.