For immediate release - March 1, 2007

(DALLAS) – Clyde Porter, associate vice chancellor of facilities management and planning/district architect for the Dallas County Community College District, has been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects by its Jury of Fellows, based on his notable contributions to the profession of architecture. Porter will be invested in the AIA College of Fellows during a special ceremony this May during the organization’s 2007 national convention and design expo in San Antonio.

Porter is the first African-American in the Dallas AIA chapter to be selected as a Fellow.

The AIA College of Fellows, founded in 1952, comprises members of the institute who are elected as Fellows by a jury of their peers. Elevation to fellowship — one of the highest honors that AIA can bestow on its members — recognizes the achievements of those architects and their contributions to the field of architecture and society. This year, 76 AIA members were named Fellows from among the organization’s 81,000 members.

AIA Fellows must be members of the organization for at least 10 years and must have made significant contributions, either by: promoting the aesthetic, scientific and practical efficiency of the profession; or advancing the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of architectural education, training and practice; or coordinating the building industry and the profession of architecture through leadership in AIA or other related professional organizations; or advancing the living standards of people through an improved environment; or increasing the profession’s service to society.

Porter completed the direction of $78 million in districtwide construction, renovation and expansion projects for DCCCD in 2004. He also was involved with the preparation of the facilities master plan associated with the district’s $450 million bond program that was approved by Dallas County voters three years ago.

In 2003, Porter also was recognized for his professional accomplishments and contributions to the state by Gov. Rick Perry when he named the DCCCD architect an honorary admiral in the Texas Navy.

That same year, Porter also was recognized by the Texas Society of Architects with a Certificate of Commendation and by U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, whose 30th Congressional District includes Dallas and DCCCD.

Honors from both groups — and the Texas House of Representative and the Texas Senate — followed Porter’s receipt of a Citation of Honor from the Dallas chapter of the AIA. The award honored him for “recognizing the value that each campus brings to our community and for its (the district’s) commitment to enhance education through good design.” (DCCCD comprises seven individually accredited colleges, plus several additional locations, serving more than 64,000 credit and 25,000 continuing education students each semester.)

Porter, as DCCCD’s architect, has overseen more than $5 billion in design and construction projects during his professional career. He co-founded the Texas chapter of the National Association of Minority Architects, and he has raised minority participation in architectural and engineering projects by more than 50 percent. 

Porter, former chief architect for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit transportation project, is active in the community. He lectures regularly at area high schools and middle schools, and he fosters a DCCCD college student intern program to assist minority and needy students so that they can become architects, interior designers and engineers. 

A graduate of Prairie View A&M University, Porter is a registered professional architect and a registered professional interior designer in the state of Texas. He holds a National Council of Architectural Registration Board certificate. His previous employers include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the city of Corpus Christi and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service worldwide headquarters in Dallas. 

Porter also has earned a number of awards, including the Outstanding Man of Minority Business Development, presented by DFW Minority Business News; an AAFES Excellence Award for improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of construction projects; and several military honors, such as the U.S. Army bronze star, air medal and commendation medal for heroism.

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Press contact: Ann Hatch, 214-860-2478