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Alumni Awards List

RICHA WILSON has pursued her interests in architectural history and preservation in Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Africa. Originally from Weston, Missouri, Wilson came to KSU to pursue a Bachelor of Architecture. During her final year of study, Wilson served as president of the College's student council where she played an important role in organizing activities including Design Weekend and Open House. Her leadership and service while a student were recognized with her selection by the architecture faculty to receive the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, one of the highest honors given to graduating architecture students at KSU. In addition, her exemplary academic achievements were recognized by selection for membership in the Tau Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key honorary fraternities, as well as through receipt of several awards and scholarships. Upon graduation, she was employed in Manassas, Virginia, as an intern architect at Parker/Reinhart Associates. From 1989 to 1992, she relocated to Washington, D.C., as an intern architect/job captain at The Weihe Partnership. Wilson began her move toward a career in historic preservation in 1992 when she worked in Russia and Lithuania for the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Shortly thereafter, she entered the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Oregon in Eugene. While there, she was self employed as a building design and preservation consultant, completing such work as a cemetery preservation plan, historic structure reports, and surveys of historic districts. Upon completing degree requirements this past summer, she received a Master of Science and the first Walton Excellence in Research Award. From 1995 to 1997, Wilson volunteered for the United States Peace Corps and was placed in Malawi, a country in southeast Africa, where she worked for the Blantyre Town Planning Department as a preservation planner and head of the building inspection section. She also contributed her time to non-profit organizations such as Save the Children and Habitat for Humanity in Malawi, preparing cost estimates for rural schools and hospitals and developing standard construction methods for low-cost housing. Wilson was recently hired as Architectural Historian for the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service in Elko, Nevada. In this capacity, Wilson is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and managing historic structures in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, which covers six million acres throughout Nevada and parts of California. During her career, Wilson has presented her work at various professional conferences and meetings and has had her work published in several monographs and journals. She is currently spending her free time acclimating to Nevada's high desert climate and exploring archeological sites, ghost towns, abandoned gold mines, and other remnants of the early American West.