Apr 14, 2022
Rice Architecture is pleased to share the news that our own John Casbarian has been announced as a Gold Medal honoree for the 2022 Laureates Award. The Gold Medal Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Association of Rice Alumni, and recognizes outstanding service in promoting the ideals of the founder of Rice University, deep dedication to and advancement of academic excellence, and uncommon generosity of time and means in support of Rice.
“John Casbarian has educated many generations of our students, constantly advocating for the importance of practice and international outlook in architectural pedagogy,” says Igor Marjanović, the William Ward Watkin Dean of Rice Architecture. “He has devoted his entire career to Rice—an uncommon occurrence in American academia—so we salute John on his well-deserved recognition and we thank him for his lifelong service and love for our institution.”
Through five decades of innovation, strategic leadership and unwavering dedication to Rice students and faculty, John Casbarian has pushed the Rice School of Architecture to become an international beacon of excellence. The dean emeritus, Henry and Albert K. Smith Professor and director of external programs has created a blueprint for impact that spans education and the profession.
A member of Baker College, Casbarian earned a B.A. in architecture in 1969, an MFA at the California Institute of the Arts in 1971 and a B.Arch. in 1972. A year later, he joined the Rice faculty and, simultaneously, co-founded the internationally acclaimed firm, Taft Architects, where he serves as partner today. Some of their noted projects include the Rice Children’s Campus and the Rice School.
As associate dean of the Rice School of Architecture from 1997 to 2009, he launched, in 2002, the Rice School of Architecture Paris (RSAP), an advanced program of study combining studio, theory, technology and culture, which now serves as the anchor of the university-wide Rice Global Paris program. He also expanded the school’s unique Preceptorship Program, which places students in top architecture offices around the world for a year-long practicum. He served as dean in 2009 and also interim dean in 2019, leading the school for two years and through the worst of the COVID-19 crisis. As one nominator described, “I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that few of our alumni can even imagine the school prior to or without John.”
Casbarian’s dedication and generosity extend beyond the classroom. He and Natalye Appel ’80 served as magisters for Lovett College, and both are proud Rice parents to Claudia ’12 and Julia ’20. He has served on the Rice Design Alliance Advisory Board, as an inaugural member of the Faculty Senate, as a faculty representative to the Rice Centennial Commission and as co-chair of Rice Homecoming and Reunion. One nominator noted, “John’s devotion to Rice has spanned eras and many deans. He is the bedrock of the Rice School of Architecture.”
A full list of Laureate Award honorees can be viewed here: https://alumni.rice.edu/2022-laureates-award-honorees