SPOKANE, Wash. — Douglas Menzies, AIA, NCARB, associate professor of architecture, has been awarded the 2003 Washington State University Spokane Faculty Excellence Award in recognition of his outstanding teaching, creative scholarship, and community service.
Menzies was the first design faculty member on the Spokane campus, teaching a course in 1990 and then moving to Spokane in 1995 from the Pullman campus, where he had taught since 1978. He first taught classes in the basement of what was then the Farm Credit Building (now the Metropolitan Financial Center), where WSU Spokane leased several floors for instruction and administration. He designed and assembled the studio desks himself, and taught CAD on computers with 386 processors—now antiques, in the world of desktop computers.
In presenting the award, Rom Markin, WSU Spokane interim chancellor, cited Menzies’ glowing teaching evaluations, award-winning professional design work and community service through leadership of student projects such as a studio that developed design concepts for Yakima’s downtown.
Menzies received the American Institute of Architects award for his design of the Blue Chip Lofts, a downtown revitalization project, along with Matt Melcher, assistant professor of interior design at WSU Spokane. The Browne’s Addition home he designed for himself and his wife Joan Menzies in Spokane received first place in the 1999 Spokesman-Review Home Awards Competition, and he has been involved with community projects such as the planned relocation and expansion of the Fairchild Air Force Base Heritage Museum and the effort to adaptively reuse the Casket Factory in Spokane’s Peaceful Valley neighborhood for use as a community center and to provide moderate-income housing.
A past president of the Spokane chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Menzies received his Master of Architecture with an emphasis in city design from the University of Minnesota. He is a registered architect in both the states of California and Washington and has worked as a professional in the field for more than 30 years.
The award was presented at the WSU Spokane commencement ceremonies. Menzies received an engraved pewter medallion and a check for $1,000. Sterling Savings of Spokane is the sponsor of this year’s award.
Web sites:
WSU Spokane: www.spokane.wsu.edu
Interdisciplinary Design Institute: www.idi.spokane.wsu.edu
Yakima downtown revitalization project: www.spokane.wsu.edu/academic/design/yakima/
