For only the third time in the College of Architecture and Planning's (CAP) 40-year history, a CAP architecture faculty member has been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Joseph Bilello, CAP dean and professor of architecture, will be inducted into the AIA College of Fellows June 10 during the AIA national convention in Los Angeles.

"Fellowship is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow," said Wayne Drummond, dean of the University of Nebraska's college of architecture, who nominated Bilello for the award. "Elevation to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of the architect as an individual but also elevates those who have made significant contributions to architecture and society."

Bilello's career is marked by many accomplishments. During his five years as CAP dean, he has brought new vision to CAP's leadership, founded the CAP Indianapolis Center and is a member of the leadership team for Building Better Communities, a Ball State initiative designed to spur economic development and quality-of-life advancement in Indiana by applying the university's strengths in applied research and hands-on learning to projects across the state.

Bilello's accomplishments outside the university include:

• Earning international recognition as an architectural education leader for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the Architecture Centers Consortium and the Initiative for Architectural Research
• Earning teaching awards at five institutions internationally
• Contributing significantly to architectural research as principal architectural investigator in windstorm mitigation research at Texas Tech's Wind Engineering Center.

During his tenure, CAP's architecture and landscape architecture programs have earned national rankings from Design Intelligence, the national rankings entity for architecture. The publication ranked Bilello among the nation's top 30 architectural educators. He was also selected to run for the presidency of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

For eight years, Bilello served as the AIA director of education where he created programs that have continued to promote excellence in architectural education and encourage connections among educators and practitioners nationally. He has written and edited 20 volumes of the AIA's Architectural Education Initiative monograph series.

A celebration with alumni and CAP friends will take place in conjunction with the convention, Bilello said.

The other two CAP faculty members who have received this award are Tony Costello, the recently retired Irving Distinguished Professor of Architecture, and Charlie Sappenfield, CAP's founding dean.

"I feel greatly honored to receive this affirmation for the work I have been able to contribute to the profession and society," Bilello said.

The AIA's College of Fellows, founded in 1952, is composed of members who are elected to fellowship by a jury of their peers. Its purpose is to stimulate a sharing of interests among fellows, to promote the purposes of the AIA, to advance the profession of architecture and to be of ever-increasing service to society.