A memorial and symposium to honor the life and work of Robert Walters, University of New Mexico emeritus professor of architecture, is set for Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 4 -7 p.m. in Pearl Hall Auditorium on the UNM campus.
The symposium features a panel that includes Cindy Terry, architect; Bart Prince, architect; Don Schlegel, professor and dean emeritus; Christopher Mead, dean, College of Fine Arts; and Wesley Pulkka, artist and journalist. The panel will be moderated by Associate Professor Kramer Woodard.
Following the symposium, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., a memorial reception will take place in the Pearl Hall Gallery. The reception gives friends and colleagues the opportunity to have refreshments and share memories.
For more information, contact Makita Hill.
Walters’ contributions, including the instruction of hundreds of architecture students at UNM, are extensive and profound.
Born in Indiana he was drafted into the Navy during WWII and became a frogman as an underwater demolition expert serving in the Pacific. While in a Navy V12 program he studied engineering.
Walters studied art at UNM College of Fine Art with Enrique Montenegro, Raymond Jonson and later in Mexico City with Jose Clemente Orozco. Although never formally educated as an architect, he worked for more than eight years with architects in Indiana and New Mexico and passed the licensing exam to become a registered architect in New Mexico. The day after he passed the exam he opened his office in the early 1960’s and practiced for more than 30 years. Some of his most important architectural work includes the Highlands University library, its College of Education and several dormitories.
Walters started teaching design courses at UNM in the late 60’s and was responsible for the education of several generations of architects. In 1992 he retired from the School of Architecture and Planning and enjoyed a successful career as a painter. His paintings have been exhibited at the Albuquerque Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as museums and galleries in the Southwest. In 2007 his drawings and sketches were on display at the AIA-NM Gallery.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920. E-Mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by bhendrix at October 14, 2008 02:32 PM