Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State University senior from Jackson is the new vice president of the American Institute of Architecture Students.
As required for the position, Catherine A. McNeel will live in Washington, D.C., for a year beginning July 1 and work in the executive offices of the American Institute of Architects, the parent organization. Her election took place during the recent national AIAS meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
A 2001 Jackson Preparatory School graduate, she is the daughter of Richard and Charlotte McNeel and a fifth-year student in the MSU architecture program's five-year curriculum. [The McNeels' residential ZIP code is 39211.]
Under McNeel's leadership as president during the 2004-05 school year, Mississippi State's AIAS chapter was named the nation's best in 2005.
A part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, MSU's 33-year-old architecture program is among 113 accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. It is the only professional program of its kind in Mississippi.
The national student organization currently is celebrating its 50th year. During this time, two other MSU students have held the office of AIAS vice president--Whitney Powers in
1984-85 and Irene Dumas Tyson in 1988-89. Also, Paul Matheny and Melanie Hartwig served on the national board of directors in 1993-94 and 1994-95, respectively.