Patrick N. Ankney, Principal, Kendall/Heaton Associates. Patricia Oliver, Dean, UH Hines College of Architecture & Design. John P. O’Connell, Principal, Kendall/Heaton Associates

Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc., an architecture firm in Houston, made a generous $250,000 gift to the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design at the University of Houston to create its first ever endowed professorship within the College.

William (Bill) Doyle Kendall’s firm, Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc., is responsible for such iconic Houston buildings as Bank of American Center, St. Luke’s Medical Tower, 1500 Louisiana, Audrey Jones Beck Building MFA|H, Asia Society Texas Center and the Alice Pratt Brown Hall at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. A visionary who collaborated with the likes of Philip Johnson and John Burgee Architects, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Pickard Chilton Architects and Taniguchi and Associates — all of whom also left distinctive touches on the Houston landscape during their careers — Kendall contributed to the transformation of cityscapes and the industry itself.

Bill Kendall earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Houston in the late 1960s. It is fitting, then, that his firm is initiating the Bill Kendall Memorial Endowed Professorship in Architecture and Design in the Hines College. Many of Kendall’s former colleagues and prominent industry partners are stepping up to make additional donations to the endowment, as well.

This is the first endowed professorship at the Hines College, a momentous appointment which will aid in the study of building materials and building technology. The architect who holds this endowed position will broaden course offerings, spearhead new research and increase the University’s engagement with the architecture and engineering professional communities in Houston and beyond.

“As an alumnus of the Hines College, Bill Kendall was instrumental in recruiting me to the University of Houston. I am thrilled to be able to continue his legacy in the architecture community through this professorship,” said Patricia Oliver, dean of the Hines College.

For more information about the Hines College, visit www.uh.edu/architecture/.