the Architectural Education Foundation,
AIA Colorado
Since the first $600 scholarship was presented in 1961, The Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado, has awarded more than $800,000 in scholarships, grants and other prizes to more than 400 students, architects and teachers. The annual awards program exceeds $50,000 from income received through investments and donations.
During the past four decades, individual architects and firms have made substantial contributions to the foundation as memorials. Individuals and organizations allied with the construction industry also have made significant donations in the past. Many donors send a contribution to the fund, instead of flowers, to memorialize a lost loved one, friend or associate. The foundation continually seeks new funds in the way of endowments, donations and memorials from the design community and the AIA Colorado membership at large.
The foundation provides assistance to AIA Colorado and its members so that AIA Colorado can conduct professional education programs accessible to the membership and the design community. Requests for such grants should be submitted to The Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado, 3320 E. 2nd Ave., Denver, Colo., 80206.
The Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado, was born in 1934 out of the devotion of five men to the practice of architecture. On Jan. 23, 1934, Robert K. Fuller, FAIA, announced on behalf of himself and four other men the creation of a special trust fund “to advance the interest of the profession of architecture in the State of Colorado.”
The foundation was conceived a decade earlier by the founders of the Allied Architects Association: Robert K. Fuller, FAIA; William E. Fisher, FAIA; George H. Williamson, FAIA; William Bowman, AIA; and Fred Montjoy, AIA. Their vision long had been “to provide an instrument whereby, someday, sufficient income would be realized to be able to award scholarships, grants, prizes, etc. to the betterment of the profession.” (All quotes are from the original articles of incorporation.)
The first aim of the foundation was quite modest: the assets were to be “held intact and allowed to grow” until the principal would be large enough to ensure a “good annual return therefrom.” The founders hoped that the amount in the fund would serve as a “nucleus” that would increase in value and, now that it formally was established, also attract additional donations. By 1944, however, no new contributions had been made and of the five founding fathers of the fund, only the fund’s chairman, Fuller, survived.
On Dec. 18, 1944, the foundation was transferred to the Colorado Chapter, AIA (predecessor of the Colorado State Society of AIA and now AIA Colorado) as a chapter investment fund. Fuller was designated as its permanent trustee. By early 1961, the fund had achieved its first aim “… a good annual return.” It then was deemed wise to incorporate as a separate, tax-free entity to be known as the Educational Fund, Colorado Chapter, AIA. On Feb. 16, 1961, the foundation was incorporated as a separate, tax-exempt, non-profit corporation under that name. Its broad purpose, as reported in the December 1961 issue of the Colorado Chapter, AIA, newsletter, The Addenda, was (and remains today) “to advance education in architecture by granting of scholarships, prizes and financial aid to deserving students in architecture and to teachers or architects interested in research projects directly related to and of value to the architectural profession.”
At its November 1961 meeting at the old Boulder Country Club, the Colorado Chapter, AIA, awarded the $600 William E. Fisher Memorial Scholarship to James E. Koentop, a fifth-year architectural engineering student at the University of Colorado. This was the first scholarship awarded by the Educational Fund, Colorado Chapter, AIA. It had taken only 27 years for the five founders’ original dream (to be able to make such awards for the betterment of the profession) to come true.
Fuller died in 1966, and the Colorado Chapter, AIA, asked his son, Kenneth R. Fuller, FAIA, to assume the responsibility of the position of permanent member of the board of trustees. Upon the death of Kenneth in 1998, Robert K. Fuller II, AIA, became the third permanent member of the board.
In 1969 the AIA in Colorado was restructured into a state society with two chapters (now four), and the fund’s name was legally changed to the Educational Fund, Colorado Society of Architects, AIA. In 2001 the trustees reincorporated the fund with updated articles and bylaws and a new name that reflected the fund’s evolution: The Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado. Today the board of trustees of The Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado, consists of the following five members: the current president of AIA Colorado is the foundation president; the current president-elect of AIA Colorado is the vice president; Robert K. Fuller II, AIA, is the permanent secretary/treasurer; and the past president and executive director of AIA Colorado serve as trustees.
The following is a listing of the Architectural Education Foundation, AIA Colorado Scholarships:
Anniversary Scholarship - $1,500 award for third- or fourth-year study in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Boulder)
AIA Colorado, North Chapter Scholarship - $1,000 award to an AIAS member in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Boulder)
Gary G. Landin, AIA Scholarship - $1,500 for fourth-year study in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Boulder)
C. Gordon Sweet, AIA Scholarship - $1,500 award to any student with proper qualifications in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Boulder)
Michael Kephart, AIA Scholarship -$1,000 award for a full-time graduate study in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
Kenneth R. Fuller, FAIA Scholarship - $2,000 award for first- year study in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
DeVon M. Carlson Scholarship - $2,500 award for graduate study in the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
William & Priscilla Muchow, FAIA Scholarship - $5,000 award for graduate study in architecture at the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
Temple Hoyne Buell, FAIA Scholarship - $2,500 award for graduate study in architecture at the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
Robert K. Fuller, FAIA Scholarship - $2,000 award for graduate study in architecture at the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado (Denver)
James H. Hunter, FAIA Scholarship - $2,000 award for travel and study in the Americas
Arthur & Florence Fisher Traveling Scholarship - $5,000 award for international travel and study
Rodney S. Davis, AIA, Traveling Scholarship - $4,000 award on odd-numbered years for travel and study
Hobart D. Wagener, FAIA, Traveling Scholarship - $5,000 award for travel and study
2009 Grants and Scholarships
Your study or research may be eligible for a grant or scholarship from the AEF, AIA Colorado.
Deadline:
TBD - March, 2009
Application:
Available in early 2009
Send submissions with applications to:
AEF, AIA Colorado
1515 Arapahoe St., Ste. 1-110
Denver, CO 80202
Note:
All grants and scholarships are awarded at the AIA Colorado Young Architects Awards Gala.
Questions?
Call 303.446.2266
