UB faculty, staff member elected as fellows

UB staff member Kelly Hayes McAlonie and architecture dean Robert G. Shibley recently were inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), respectively.

Election to the College of Fellows is highly selective for both the AIA and AICP, and represents the top echelon of professional architects and planners.

McAlonie, director of the Capital Planning Group, was recognized for her work in promoting equity in the architecture profession, promoting the work and legacy of Louise Bethune — American’s first professional female architect and the first woman admitted into the AIA — and dedicating her career to developing ways of educating the public about architecture and architects.  

She worked with UB to create the AIA Buffalo/WNY sponsored Bethune Lecture Series and developed a permanent exhibit of Bethune’s work at AIA’s national headquarters. In 2011, she co-curated Buffalo’s Bethune at the Buffalo History Museum, the first local exhibit on Bethune in 25 years. All three projects helped make Bethune a nationally recognized name.

In 2008, she received the National AIA Young Architect of the Year Award.    

“Admission to the AIA College of Fellows is a career-long goal of mine, which I am delighted to have achieved,” says McAlonie. “The fact that I am following the steps of Louise Bethune makes it particularly special for me.”

Shibley, in recognition for his work over the past four decades, received one of the highest honors presented by the AICP for his leadership and advocacy of planning in service to the public. His work includes Buffalo’s award-winning “Queen City” plan series that engaged more than 6,000 citizens and underpins the city’s current renaissance.

More recently, Shibley oversaw a sustainable development plan for Buffalo Niagara that received the American Planning Association’s 2016 National Planning Achievement Award for Public Outreach.

Professor of architecture and dean since 2011, Shibley has received 13 lifetime achievement awards, including the American Institute of Architects’ 2014 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. He is also a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.  

“I’m honored by the recognition,” says Shibley. “This is also a tribute to our faculty and students and the countless community leaders and citizens who have been insistent partners in planning for the public good, in Buffalo and beyond.”