Contact: Sammy McDavid
An award-winning University of Florida faculty member is the new associate dean of Mississippi State University's School of Architecture.
James L. West comes to MSU from the U.F. College of Architecture's interior design department, where he taught since 1982. He was the college's 1997 teacher of the year.
West is a co-author of the "Accessible Design Review Guide" (McGraw-Hill, 1996), a standardized national reference for designing and specifying spaces, buildings and sites to be in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. Most recently, he completed for publication a manuscript titled "Guidelines for Designing Barrier-Free Environments for Handicapped Children."
MSU architecture Dean John McRae praised West's research achievements, particularly his work in helping architects and others meet ADA design requirements.
"Over the last 10 years, Professor West has received nearly $2 million in funded projects in the areas of handicap design, accessibility and lighting," McRae said. "He also has maintained an active practice as a registered architect, primarily in residential design."
West holds three degrees from Florida, including bachelor degrees in interior design and, with high honors, in architecture. His master's also is in architecture.
Established in 1973, the MSU architecture school enrolls some 250 students in a five-year undergraduate curriculum providing the state's only professional training in the field. The school emphasizes small towns and regularly uses local and state locations as teaching tools-an emphasis that sets it apart from traditional urban-based programs and has brought it national recognition and praise.
A graduate program in visualization provides an interdisciplinary, research-oriented curriculum in the applications of computer digital modeling and visualization for research and design projects that cross traditional boundaries.
Formal approval of West's appointment came at the September meeting of the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning. He succeeds Rodner B. Wright, now dean of architecture at Florida A&M University.