Woodbury University's Norman Millar Elected ACSA President

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Woodbury University and its School of Architecture are honored to announce that the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) elected Norman Millar, dean, Woodbury University School of Architecture, as president of its prestigious organization. The appointment recognizes Millar's extraordinary leadership and forward-thinking vision.

"Norman's vision of the architect-citizen as designer and cultural builder is particularly relevant as architectural practices transform," says Kenneth R. Nielsen, Ed.D., president, Woodbury University. "Woodbury congratulates Norman on his election as ACSA president and is proud of his role in helping architecture students achieve their educational and professional goals while expanding into new areas of architectural specialization and alternative practice."

Founded in 1912 to advance the quality of architectural education, the ACSA tackles the critical contemporary issues facing architecture within and outside the university setting. In November, Millar successfully co-chaired the 2011 ACSA Administrators Conference: Old School New School held in Hollywood. The event, which brought together an international group of highly regarded architecture faculty and administrators, underscored his ability to instigate productive dialogue and to forge common ground between different educational models.

"Architectural education faces the challenges of a complex and rapidly changing world," says Millar. "As educators, it is time for us to rethink what we are doing and forge a path through the dramatic shifts in global, national and regional economies. It's time to find the opportunities within the challenges of changing demographics, regulation, technology and the environment."

Millar officially takes the position of the ACSA vice president/president-elect on July 1. He will assume the position of president on July 1, 2013.

An AIA registered architect, Millar established his Los Angeles-based practice Norman Millar Architects in 1985. His work has been widely published and awarded. He has led the growth in the architecture programs at Woodbury University since 1999, during which time enrollment has nearly tripled in size and several new graduate programs have been established. Prior to joining Woodbury, he taught at several Los Angeles institutions including the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), USC, Pasadena's Art Center, and UCLA.

Millar holds a Master of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania School of Design and earned a certificate from the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate at the Lusk Center for Real Estate in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He served as an accreditation team member on several NAAB accreditation visits and is a regent for the California Architectural Foundation.  He also serves on the Hollywood Design Review Advisory Board, the advisory board for the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, and the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the AIA.

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California.  Woodbury University School of Architecture is a network of hubs strategically sited within the Southern California megalopolis: Los Angeles, Burbank, Hollywood, and San Diego. Together, these sites form a critical infrastructure for architectural investigations. The school's undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture and interior architecture train students as entrepreneurs, architect citizens, and cultural builders.

SOURCE Woodbury University