Stephen Schreiber to Begin Role as President of the National Architecture Accrediting Board for 2023-24 on Nov. 5

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Stephen Schreiber, founding chair of the UMass Amherst Department of Architecture, will begin his role as president of the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB) on Nov. 5, 2023. He previously served as president-elect in 2022-23, and will serve as past president in 2024-25. Schreiber was first elected to the board in 2021 as a director.

 “I am honored to be selected as the president of NAAB, during a time of transformative time of change in higher education and in the profession of architecture,” says Schreiber.

The NAAB is the only accrediting body for professional architecture programs in the U.S. An NAAB accredited degree normally meets the minimum education requirement for architect licensure in the U.S. and is also recognized for licensure in Canada and in numerous other countries through international accords.

The NAAB recently adopted new conditions and procedures in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ASCA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the American Institute of Architecture Students and the National Organization of Minority Architects. During his three years as an officer, Schreiber hopes the NAAB will focus on issues of diversity and equity, public health and climate change crises, globalization, and the value of higher education.

Schreiber has been involved in architecture program accreditation for many years, including founding chair (originally director) of the Department of Architecture at UMass Amherst—the first public NAAB architecture program in New England. Schreiber also served on the executive committee of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) from 2004-07 (including a year as president) and as a director of the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards from 2017-20.  He is one of the few architects to serve as president of both ACSA and NAAB, the two principal organizations of architectural education in the country. He has been honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and as Distinguished Professor of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

Schreiber also served on the Town Council of Amherst from 2018-22 and as a member and chair of Amherst’s Planning Board from 2009-18.