HU Architecture Program Remains Accredited

Hampton, VA -The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Inc., recently reaffirmed the accreditation of the Hampton University Master of Architecture program for a six-year term.

“We have a program that is able to produce high caliber architects,” said Robert Easter, chair of the Department of Architecture and alum of the program. “The reaccreditation shows that our program is stable.”

The visiting team from the accreditation board noted the development of HU architecture students in their report stating, “The students seem to understand their roles as future graduates, emerging professionals, and future practitioners.” In addition the report also referenced the students’ leadership skills by stating, “they realize the importance of finding new solutions to complex problems, likewise, devising new research methods to arrive at new conclusions.”

Graduates from the HU program include John S. Chase, the first African American to practice architecture in Texas and a co-founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA); and John Spencer, HU professor emeritus who chaired the department for 25 years.

The HU Department of Architecture is the only accredited architecture program in Hampton Roads, Va. and one of only three accredited architecture programs in Virginia.

The Department of Architecture was initially accredited in 1969. In 2003, the department initiated curriculum for the Master of Architecture first professional degree. The first class from the revised program graduated in 2008. Hampton has produced the second largest number of African-American registered architects in the United States.