
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales 277-5920, cgonzal@unm.edu
Sept. 10, 2007
Visiting Professorship Established at UNM in Honor of Marjorie Mead Hooker
The Marjorie Mead Hooker Memorial Visiting Professorship has been established as an endowed faculty position in the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning. The gift is from Van Dorn Hooker and his children, John Hooker and Ann Clarke.
“My parents have always been giving, generous people. They committed their lives to New Mexico and the architecture here as their adopted home. My father loves the university and helped create a great campus. His affection for the School of Architecture and Planning is demonstrated by his willingness to contribute further to make it even greater,” John Hooker said.
“Most top tier schools of architecture in the United States have a long history of being able to draw upon leading professionals in the field for short-term assignments with upper-division and graduate students. In addition to keeping UNM competitive, the infusion of a visiting professor to our design studios is extremely stimulating -- for both students and our regular faculty,” said Roger Schluntz, FAIA, dean, UNM School of Architecture and Planning.
Marjorie “Peggy” Hooker, who died at age 81 on Nov. 19, 2006 at her home in Corrales, was the first woman to serve on the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Architects. She served from 1987 to 1991 as the board’s secretary/treasurer.
Peggy received her architectural license in 1950, at a time when few women were architects. Peggy and her family lived in Santa Fe from 1951 to 1965 where she was an associate in the firm of McHugh, Hooker, Bradley P. Kidder and Associates. After moving to Corrales, she established her own practice in 1965. In 1968 Peggy worked with Max Flatow on the Albuquerque Urban Renewal Plan and remained with the firm of Flatow, Moore, Bryan and Fairburn and its successors for more than 20 years.
A member of the American Institute of Architects, Peggy was the first woman president of the Albuquerque AIA and the first woman to serve on the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Architects. She was awarded the New Mexico Architects’ Medal by AIA New Mexico in 2003. She was made an honorary member of the Association of University Architects in ceremonies at Cornell University in 1984. In 1990, she received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women.
Peggy paved the way for other women to enter the profession by showing that a woman can do equal responsible architectural work and enjoy the pleasure of trying to create what all architects strive to do – make the world a better place in which to live and work.
Schluntz added, “This endowment is indeed a very big deal for us. Van Dorn is a tremendous friend of not only this school, but also the entire university. We are indebted to his past work on the UNM campus, his scholarship and his extraordinary generosity.”
Peggy’s husband of 59 years, Van Dorn Hooker FAIA served as University Architect from 1963 to 1987. Under his guidance and leadership, more than 75 UNM buildings were constructed or remodeled. His book, “Only in New Mexico,” is a campus and architectural history of UNM’s first 100 years.
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