The issue of congruency was the topic among Professor Robert Livesey’s architecture studio during a discussion on the developing masterplan for a new Ohio State University airport. Until the arrival of Bruce McPheron, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost, College of Engineering Dean David B. Williams, OSU Alumni Association Interim President Andy Gurd, Vice Provosts Randy Smith and Kay Wolf and Knowlton School Director Michael Cadwell.

The unexpected visitors greeted Livesey with the news that he is the recipient of a 2016 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award annually recognizes a maximum of ten Ohio State faculty members for their teaching excellence. Recipients are nominated by present and former students and colleagues and are chosen by a committee of alumni, students, and faculty. Recipients are inducted into the university’s Academy of Teaching.

Congruency is also a prevalent theme that distinguishes Livesey’s pedagogical impact on his students over a teaching career spanning 30 years. A cornerstone in the learning experience of his former students is the high standard that Livesey sets and expects in his studio. Chuck Paros (MARCH ’95) stresses this point: “I think the life lesson is we understood that he cared, and I think that he kept the rigor and the expectations higher than we had ourselves.”

After three decades of teaching, Livesey’s interactions with students retain this high standard according to Jacqueline Stern (MARCH ’15). She comments: ‘‘He’s going to challenge you to push your ideas a little bit further and, with that, no move that you make within an architectural design is going to go unquestioned; and so, he has ideas about how you should proceed, and he’s going to hint at those types of things.”

The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching follows several recent recognitions that Livesey has received for his exemplary teaching and service within higher education. Livesey was named one of the 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015 by DesignIntelligence, which commented: “With an effective overview of the profession, Livesey has the ability to bridge the gap between the profession and academia; he knows what education new grads need to excel in the workplace.” He is the recipient of the AIA Ohio Teaching Award and, in 2012, was inducted as an honorary member of Class 106 of the SPHINX Senior Class Honorary, nominated by current student members of the organization and its alumni, in recognition of his unparalleled impact on and service to the university.

To recognize Livesey’s 30-year legacy of teaching and leadership at Ohio State, Knowlton School alumnus Navy Banvard (BSARCH ’82) has created the Robert S. Livesey Teaching Award Endowment Fund. Banvard will match other donations up to $125,000, with the goal of creating a $250,000 endowment that will be used to provide annual awards which recognize Knowlton faculty who excel in teaching and demonstrate commitment to Knowlton students beyond the classroom.

Make a gift to the Robert S. Livesey Teaching Award Endowment Fund