From TOLEDO CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
The Toledo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has announced that Arsenio T. Rodrigues, PhD, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC, NCARB, CoA, has been named the 2022 Architect of the Year in recognition of his commitment to the profession.
Arsenio Rodrigues is a registered architect in India and the United States. In 2018 he was appointed founding Director of the BGSU School of the Built Environment, comprising of the departments of Architecture and Construction Management. Previously, Arsenio served as Director and Assistant Dean of the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University – one of only seven Historically Black College and University Architecture Programs in the nation.
As an educator at PVAMU, Arsenio devoted 10 years of his life to teaching and mentoring minority students at a historically Black university. His leadership efforts were instrumental in helping the PVAMU M.Arch. degree program secure NAAB accreditation in 2012 and 2018.
For his leadership efforts at an HBCU, he received ten teaching, leadership, and service awards. In 2016, Arsenio was invited as part of a cohort of PVAMU delegates to attend the “2016 White House Initiative – National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Conference – HBCUs: Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability” in Washington, DC.
Over the years, Arsenio has contributed in meaningful ways to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the community, and the profession at large. At BGSU, his efforts have directly contributed to the School securing a $1 million gift from Owens Corning Foundation to create scholarships for under-represented and minority students.
In addition to developing programmatic needs and fundraising efforts, Arsenio spearheaded a school expansion proposal for a new 23,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility at BGSU.
In 2019, he was instrumental in bringing faculty and students together to successfully secure NAAB Initial Accreditation for the M.Arch. degree program. Since his arrival at BGSU, Arsenio has worked tirelessly with faculty, staff, and students to increase recruitment, retention, and graduation rates in the School. Both programs in the School are now seeing strong and sustained growth.
Arsenio has worked on several design projects in India and the United States. He has also been actively engaged in teaching several architecture and construction management courses. Arsenio has served as Associate Editorfor journals and he has presented his work and research at national and international conferences/symposia. He is the recipient of more than forty scholarships, fellowships, grants, and awards. His teaching and direct involvement with students in the classroom has resulted in over twelve student awards at the regional and national level.
In 2017, Arsenio was invited to travel to Japan, where he was designated a Japan Studies Institute Fellow (AASCU). He recently served as a juror on Ohio’s Percent for Art Commission and was appointed as the AIA Ohio Schools Director on the AIA Ohio Board of Directors.
Arsenio earned his B.Arch. degree from Goa University and M.Arch. and Ph.D. degrees from Texas A&M University. He holds several certifications including, NCARB, LEED AP, EDAC, and Health Systems/Design.
Arsenio feels deeply humbled to be recognized for this award and is grateful to AIA Toledo and the multitude of architecture and construction management professionals in the northwest Ohio region, who have done so much over the years to touch the lives of students and forever impact the future of our profession and the built environment.
Arsenio Rodrigues will be presented the 2022 AIA Toledo Architect of the Year Award at the AIA Toledo Honor Awards Celebration this month.
