BIOGRAPHY
Curriculum Vita
Robert McKinney, Director of the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is an architect and educator. He received the Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette earning the faculty award for his thesis on elderly housing, and the Masters of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He held the ranks of associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor for nine years. For the past eight years he has served in an administrative capacity as acting director, coordinator of architecture, and then director. He has held many offices in the AIA South Louisiana Chapter and he is the current secretary/treasurer for AIA Louisiana. He chaired the State of Louisiana Architects Selection Board.
His research currently concentrates on historic architecture, integrating technology into design, and design pedagogy. He has been funded by the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation to conduct the Historic American Building Survey. The Louisiana Board of Regents has funded him on enhancement grants to integrate technology into the School of Architecture and Design’s three programs, architecture, industrial design, and interior design. He has worked with the School’s Community Design Workshop on five projects working with municipalities and community organizations, and with the university students to visualize and develop ideas. His work on these projects has been presented and published in numerous national conference proceedings.
Of the concerns facing society, three of the utmost of importance to McKinney’s work are relevant education, preserving historic architecture, and integrating technology. This includes the educational objectives of public universities to provide a critical liberal education upon a comprehensive technical understanding; it also includes educating the larger community of the concerns and issues it faces. Robert McKinney is establishing these career objectives: first, as an educator for seventeen years having taught design studio, materials and methods of construction, housing, and historic documentation; second, as Administrator, Coordinator, then Director at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and finally, as a researcher serving the community.
