Ornelas President of NAAB
Wendy Ornelas, FAIA, has begun serving as president of the
Board of Directors of the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Her
2010 term in the office began on Saturday, October 24, 2009.
As president she will be implementing the new Conditions for Accreditation, which were revised in 2009. The
revision process was a two-year endeavor which entailed extraordinary
collaboration between the collateral organizations, and ultimately the writing
and editing by the then president-elect Ornelas and Secretary John Senhauser. The
first schools to be accredited under these standards will submit their
self-study Architecture Program Report
during the fall of 2010 and be
visited the following spring of 2011. Kansas State University will be among the
first schools visited under these new Conditions
for Accreditation.
The NAAB is made up of members from the four collateral organizations of the
architectural profession-the American Institute of Architects, the Association
of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the American Institute of Architecture
Students and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Ornelas
is one of three members nominated by the Association of Collegiate Schools of
Architecture (ACSA) to represent the organization on NAAB’s 13-person board for
the 2007-2010 term.
Currently a professor of architecture and associate dean of the Kansas State
University College of Architecture, Planning and Design, Ornelas has been a
member of the K-State faculty since 1989. She is a
member of the graduate teaching faculty, director of the college’s PhD program
in environmental design and planning, and director of the Department of
Architecture’s internship program. She has also received widespread recognition
for her teaching.
Ornelas is the first woman and first Latina in the State of Kansas to achieve Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects (AIA). AIA Kansas presented Ornelas with its 2006 Henry W. Schirmer Distinguished Service Award in recognition of distinguished leadership and service to AIA Kansas. She has also held numerous leadership and service roles in the ACSA. She is also serving a four-year term on the Kansas Board of Technical Professions, having been appointed by former governor Kathleen Sebelius.
The successful architecture firm of Condia + Ornelas, of which she is a partner, received design awards for Gaia salonspa, Coco Bolo’s Woodfired Grille & Cantina and Thomas Joseph Studio One. Additional noteworthy projects designed by the firm include Mercado gourmet grocery store (the space was recently renovated), and della Voce Restaurant, all located in Manhattan.
Ornelas earned a bachelor of science in architecture from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a bachelor of architecture and master of architecture, both from Oklahoma State University.
The mission of the NAAB is leadership in, and the establishment of, educational quality assurance standards to enhance the value, relevance and effectiveness of the architectural profession. NAAB is the sole agency authorized to accredit US professional degree programs in architecture. Since most state registration boards in the United States require any applicant for licensure to have graduated from a NAAB-accredited program, obtaining such a degree is an essential aspect of preparing for the professional practice of architecture.
There are currently 151 NAAB
programs housed in 117 institutions offering NAAB accredited professional
programs in architecture leading to the Doctor of Architecture, Master of
Architecture or Bachelor of Architecture degree.
Read more in “AIA This Week”
For more information, contact:
Wendy Ornelas, 785.532.5950
Diane Potts, 785.532.1090