R. Wayne Drummond, dean and professor emeritus in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Architecture, died March 24 at his lake home near Branson, Missouri. He was 83.
Born on February 22, 1943, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Drummond was the son of Havis and Helen Drummond. He was a 1961 graduate of Istrouma High School where he was an outstanding student and athlete. He earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Southwestern Louisiana, but after a career-ending injury, he transferred to Louisiana State University to pursue a degree in architecture. During his studies, Drummond earned a scholarship to study architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Music and Fine Arts in France and won the LSU Honor Award in Architecture in 1967. He attended Rice University for graduate school and received an award for his master's thesis in 1969.
Drummond was an architectural educator at the University of Kansas and Clemson University in the 1970s. He worked in private practice in Texas, Kansas and Washington, D.C before taking the position of chair of the department of architecture at Auburn University from 1979-1987. After Auburn, he served as the first dean of the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University until 1990, and then the University of Florida until 1999, when he joined the faculty at Nebraska. He retired in 2011.
Drummond will be remembered on campus not only as a talented architect and visionary academic leader but also as a mentor, colleague and friend whose influence shaped generations of designers, planners and educators. His leadership helped secure the college’s independence and reinforced its enduring spirit of collaboration, excellence and innovation.
Drummond served as the national president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, president of the National Architectural Accreditation Board, and president of Tau Sigma Delta, the honor society for architecture and related professions. He has served as an educational consultant and evaluator on numerous international projects in the middle east and Asia including a year as a senior research associate and educational consultant to King Faisal University, College of Architecture and Planning in Saudi Arabia. He was also instrumental in setting up the first female college of architecture at Effat University, a private women's university in Saudi Arabia.
In 2011, Drummond won the prestigious Harry F. Cunningham Gold Medal, the highest honor AIA Nebraska bestows for distinguished achievement in architecture. Drummond was nominated by his peers for the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education in 2014. Drummond was selected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects; and a Fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska. He also received honorary membership in the American Society of Landscape Architects, the organization’s highest honor for non-landscape architects. Only 207 honorary members have been inducted since 1899.
In 2017, he received the Distinguished Service Award from The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and in 2020, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Florida College of Architecture. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the College of Architecture at the University of Florida and the President's Award from the Florida Association of the AIA. Federal Awards include the U.S. Federal Design Award from the Public Building Service for his work on court houses and hospitals.
Drummond is survived by his wife Gayle, daughter Paige (Tom), son Todd (Natasha), and grandchildren Chelsea (Dodge), and Tyler (Rachel), sister-in-law, Margaret, and nieces and nephews Kerry, Maury, Mark, Monica, Randy, and their families. He was preceded in death by both parents and his brother, Maury Drummond.
Remembered fondly as a kind, patient, generous, and compassionate husband, father, grandfather, and uncle. Drummond is also remembered by hundreds of thankful students and colleagues who note his integrity, strong leadership by example, mentorship and care for his students and faculty, and passion for architectural education.
A celebration of life will be held in Lincoln with date and details to be announced.
