Rex to lead SDSU’s new Department of Architecture

The new architectural program at South Dakota State University moved one step closer to reality with the naming of Brian T. Rex as department head.

Rex is associate dean for academics and chair of instruction in the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University in Lubbock where he also holds an appointment as an associate professor.

“Professor Rex’s experience in the profession and as an educator makes him an especially good fit for SDSU and this new program,” said Jerry Jorgensen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “His background, including the recent re-accreditation efforts at his current university, will allow him to bring his experience with the latest architectural accreditation standards to his new position.”

The architecture program was approved by the Board of Regents in June. Rex will arrive at SDSU in March and will develop curriculum for the undergraduate and graduate program and will teach the program’s first classes in the fall semester of 2010. As department head, he also will lead the university’s application for program accreditation through the National Architecture Accrediting Board.

“Professor Rex brings to SDSU a depth and breadth of experience that are perfect for the challenge of building a new architectural program from the ground up,” said Laurie Stenberg Nichols, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “He’s the right choice for SDSU as an architect who understands sustainable design, one of the key focus areas in the new program.”

Born in Ohio and raised in Texas, Rex earned a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from The University of Texas at Arlington, a Bachelor of Architecture from Carleton University at Ottawa, Canada, and a Master of Science in advanced architectural design from Columbia University in New York City.

Before going to Texas Tech, Rex held teaching positions at the University of Colorado, the University of Oklahoma, Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Rex’s professional architecture career has ranged from work as a draftsman and estimator to being the designer of residential, commercial and institutional buildings.

Rex’s experience includes serving as a design coordinator for the Nebraska Lied Main Street Foundation which seeks to help small towns revitalize and preserve their downtown areas. “That experience will be very beneficial,” Jorgensen said. “We hope to be able to do something similar in South Dakota.”

At SDSU, Rex will oversee the creation of the state’s first Department of Architecture. In his role as department head Rex will build the program through developing curriculum and facilities and hiring faculty and staff.

“I am excited and honored to be a part of this new program at SDSU,” said Rex. “What attracts me most about coming to South Dakota State University and to South Dakota is the overwhelming support this new architectural program seems to enjoy from the professional community, the SDSU academic community and the founders’ group.”

A founders’ group of South Dakota architects and alumni was instrumental in helping form the new program. “Together, over the next few years we’re going to build a tradition of teaching architecture at SDSU that advocates for healthy, well-designed and sustainable communities by using the place where we live as the primary laboratory,” said Rex.

Recruiting for the fall class of architecture students is well under way. Jorgensen reports that student interest in the new major has been robust.

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges.  Architecture will be added to the more than 200 majors, specializations and minors currently offered at South Dakota State University. The institution also offers 23 master’s degree programs and 12 Ph.D. programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.