EUGENE, Ore. -- (March 23, 2009) - The University of Oregon will host the 97th annual meeting for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) March 26 to 29 in Portland.

The three-day event will address architectural issues such as urban and environmental concerns, the economic and social value of architecture and interdisciplinary collaborations. Attendees will discuss ways architecture can improve while maintaining social, economic and environmental integrity.

The ACSA is a non-profit membership association founded in 1912 to improve the quality of architectural education in the United States. It is represented by more than 250 schools and 5,000 faculty members who work in architecture.

Keynote panelists will include:
- Michael Pyatok, founder of Pyatok Architects in Oakland, Calif., who has developed more than 30,000 units of affordable housing.
- David Miller, an architecture professor from the University of Washington and co-founder of Miller/Hull Partnership, a leading Pacific Northwest firm.
- Adele Santos, the 2009 ACSA/AIA Topaz Prize winner, which is the highest award given to architectural educators. She is principal architect in the San Francisco-based firm, Santos Prescott and Associates, and educator at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Patricia Patkau, co-founder of Patkua Architects of British Columbia, Canada and educator at University of British Columbia.

Registration for the event is available at www.acsa-arch.org. The event will be held at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW 6th Ave.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Karen Johnson, AAA Communications, 541-346-3603, karenjj@uoregon.edu
Source: Mark Gillem, conference co-chair, Department of Architecture, mark@uoregon.edu
Link: www.acsa-arch.org

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