WASHINGTON – Dec. 13, 2024 – The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are honoring Raymond “Skipper” Post, FAIA, with the 2025 Edward C. Kemper Award.
The Edward C. Kemper Award, named in honor of the AIA’s first executive director, is given annually to an architect who has contributed significantly to the profession through service to the AIA.
Post has dedicated nearly 60 years to advancing AIA and the profession at all levels. Through extensive community and organizational service, Post has bolstered the public’s perception of architects’ work while simultaneously operating a productive office dedicated to design excellence. His seemingly inexhaustible vigor and enthusiasm have led to countless meaningful appointments, and his leadership has profoundly influenced his colleagues and the built environment.
Upon graduating from Texas A&M in 1963, Post began work in his father’s firm, following in his architectural footsteps. The following year, his father was killed in a car accident, leaving Post with no father, no job, and a widowed mother. After receiving an offer from another local firm in Louisiana, Post became more involved in architectural practice and, notably, AIA. Influenced by his parents’ focus on civic responsibility, he taught leaders in his community about the value of good design.
By the mid-1960s, Post was running for AIA offices and for seats on the boards of numerous community organizations, including the Camp Fire Girls Council, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, and the Round Table Civic Club. His leadership in AIA began in 1968 when he was elected secretary-treasurer of AIA Baton Rouge. Now, after six decades, Post has served in nearly every local and national AIA office, including the AIA College of Fellows and the Council of Former Presidents.
Post entered AIA national leadership in the early 1980s when he was appointed to chair the American Architecture Foundation Minority Scholarship Program and to serve on the Convention Credentials Committee. Later, he served on the AIA Board of Directors as a representative for the Gulf states region. In the 1990s, Post accepted more than 30 appointments at all levels of AIA. Among the most consequential was his service as AIA’s president in 1996. When he stepped into the role, Post inherited a multimillion-dollar deficit. At the end of his term, that deficit had been erased.
In 2014, a number of former AIA presidents and chancellors convinced Post to run for office in the College of Fellows. He held positions in the college’s executive leadership and became chancellor in 2018. As chancellor, he urged the college to complete a full review of its financial stability, explore best practices for developing donors, and maximize grant funding resources. He also fulfilled the college’s primary goals of working with emerging architects through programs such as 2+2, the Young Architects Forum, and the Latrobe Prize, the college’s $60,000 annual grant for research projects with practical application for the profession.
Visit AIA’s website to learn more about Post’s selection as the 2025 Edward C. Kemper Award recipient.
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mtinder@aia.org
