Frances Halsband, FAIA, was inaugurated as the 61st Chancellor of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Halsband was elected Chancellor by members of the College of Fellows citing her leadership and service to the AIA, the profession of architecture, and her community.
Halsband is a founding partner of Kliment Halsband Architects, now a studio of Perkins Eastman. Kliment Halsband Architects has received numerous awards, including the 1997 AIA Architecture Firm Award, and the 1998 Medal of Honor from the AIA New York. Halsband’s various roles in academic and civic life have provided a unique perspective on the many voices that shape planning and design today. She served as Architect Advisor to the Brown University Corporation, architectural review panel member for Harvard University, and architect advisor to Smith College. Her research papers on campus design have been published in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Places Journal. Halsband was the first woman president of AIA New York and the Architectural League of New York. She is a former Commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and has served as an Architectural Advisor to the US Department of State Office of Overseas Building Operations and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Frances received a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Design from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in 2019.