Memorable Architecture Faculty

The “Portrait” piece of the June PAW chronicled the singularly sage and supportive William “Bill” Shellman, professor extraordinaire of the architecture department (“He Practiced What He Preached and Influenced Architecture”). Michael Graves was head of the department, and the gift of his direction was formidable and firm, but the department’s heart and soul rested in the warmth and kindness lent liberally to all there by Bill Shellman and his colleague Professor Heath Licklider.

Shellman’s skill with a pencil was performative, and five or six deft strokes from his hand could convey more than many an image of unlimited detailing by anyone else. And then, of course, there was the homespun sense and sagacity that spilled forth at random moments of his wit and wisdom.

The two classic bon mots of the studio that come to mind (and that might have been from either of the “two amigos,” Shellman or Licklider):

- “If any of you actually intend making architecture your career, it will help if you come from money.”

- “If any of you intend a career in architecture, start somewhere you don’t plan to stay. Doctors bury their mistakes, but the best an architect can do is cover them over in ivy.”