Michael McClure

Michael A. McClure, FAAR, AIA, is an architect, educator, and academic leader whose work bridges professional practice, research, and higher education in the built environment. He currently serves as Dean and Professor in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University, where he leads a nationally recognized, multidisciplinary college within a Carnegie R1 land-grant institution. His leadership emphasizes the integration of design disciplines, technological innovation, and a purpose-driven educational mission aligned with contemporary practice. McClure's career reflects a sustained commitment to the reciprocal relationship between academic inquiry and professional practice. He is a founding partner of emerymcclure architecture, an award-winning design and research practice recognized internationally for its explorations of resilience, regionalism, and hybrid architectural systems. The firm's work ranging from residential and experimental installations to speculative research has been widely exhibited, including multiple appearances at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and has received numerous national and international design awards. Prior to his appointment at Kansas State University, McClure held significant leadership roles at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, including Interim Dean and Associate Dean of the College of the Arts, and Distinguished Professor in the School of Architecture and Design. Across these roles, he contributed to strategic planning, curriculum development, global engagement initiatives, and interdisciplinary collaboration across the arts. McClure's scholarly work, often in collaboration with Ursula Emery McClure and other partners, engages themes of environmental adaptation, cultural landscapes, and the intersection of local conditions with global forces. His publications and design research explore concepts such as hybrid tectonics, resilience in coastal environments, and the evolving identity of place, particularly in the Gulf South and Mediterranean contexts. His work has been supported by prestigious honors, including the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, and has been disseminated through academic conferences, journals, and invited lectures internationally. Educated at Washington University in St. Louis and Columbia University, McClure brings a broad intellectual and professional background shaped by practice in leading architectural offices in New York and sustained engagement with global design cultures. His contributions to the discipline are further reflected in his service to professional organizations, editorial boards, and design juries, as well as his ongoing commitment to advancing architectural education and the role of design in addressing complex societal and environmental challenges.