Underwood Adds President's Professor to List of Career Achievements

Interim Dean Mark Searle and SALA Director Darren Petrucci announced that School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture Professor Max Underwood has been selected by the university and President Crow as one of three President's Professors. President’s Professors are active in enhancing the quality of undergraduate education. They demonstrate evidence of (1) active, creative, and outstanding engagement with undergraduate students of all abilities in the learning process and (2) success in motivating and promoting a rich undergraduate experience. Nominees must hold the rank of tenured Full Professor at ASU.

Professor Underwood has been a faculty member in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at ASU for 23 years. When one speaks of Professor Underwood, you always hear his name followed with the phrase, “he’s an amazing teacher.” In the past two decades, Professor Underwood received four teaching awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), two National Teaching Innovations Honor Awards (1993-94), an AIA Arizona Educator Honor Award (2001), and a National Teaching Innovations Honorable Mention (2003). His most prestigious accolade was awarded in 1997, when he received the National Distinguished Professor Award and Medal from the Associated Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).

Professor Underwood’s greatest gift as a teacher is his ability to inspire his students, peers, and professionals without projecting his own design prejudices. His teaching method is conversational and tailored to the benefactors own strengths and desires. His vast knowledge of both the history and contemporary conditions of architecture serve as both a resource and model for all.