Endowed professorships to honor three beloved architecture profs

Texas A&M former students have established three new endowments for professorships honoring the stellar careers of three much admired Department of Architecture professors — John Only Greer, Rodney Hill and David Woodcock — who have all taught generations of aspiring Aggie architects.

In addition to holding a faculty position for 49 years at Texas A&M, John Only Greer , who retired in 2011, was served as department head, interim dean and executive associate dean.

His former students have established the John Only Greer Architectural Heritage Professorship , which will reflect his dedication to maintaining the college’s heritage and archive, now maintained by the Technical Reference Center.

"John Only has been such a part of the history of the college, we thought it fitting the professorship be applied to recognizing and promoting that history," said Jim Snyder ‘78.

Donations to the [Greer professorship] (https://secure.imodules.com/s/1436/gid3give/index.aspx?sid=1436&gid=3&pgid=351&cid=1001&dids=75) can be made securely online at the Texas A&M Foundation website.

Professor Rodney Hill has inspired decades of students since coming to the college in 1969. Former students are honoring Hill, one of the college’s most celebrated teachers, with an endowed professorship that will bear Hill’s name and extend his legacy of creativity to the classroom and studio.

“The spark that starts the creative process is self-discovery,” said Hill. “Thus it became my challenge, joy and passion to assist each student to find his or her own path to self-discovery, thereby unlocking the creative process within.”

The Rodney Hill Professorship in Creativity and Design will be a permanent source of support for a college faculty member whose teaching and research mirrors the creative legacy Hill established over the past four decades.

A donation to the [Hill professorship] (https://secure.imodules.com/s/1436/gid3give/index.aspx?sid=1436&gid=3&pgid=351&cid=1001&dids=74) can be made securely online at the Texas A&M Foundation website.

Before his 2011 retirement, David Woodcock was the face … and voice … of historic preservation education at Texas A&M.

“It is nearly impossible to go to a preservation meeting and not run into someone who hasn’t either been taught by him directly or been influenced by him,” said Bob Warden, associate professor of architecture and director of the Center for Heritage Conservation. “He has brought a tremendous amount of renown to the college.”

The David Woodcock Professorship in Historic Preservation will be a permanent source of support for preservation studies in the college and a tribute to a beloved faculty member whose leadership shaped studies at the Department of Architecture for decades.

A donation to the [Woodcock professorship] (https://secure.imodules.com/s/1436/gid3give/index.aspx?sid=1436&gid=3&pgid=351&cid=1001&dids=73) can be made securely online at the Texas A&M Foundation website.