His story

Robert A. Ivy, FAIA, has served as an accomplished leader in two of the most influential positions in architecture, each for over a decade—as Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects and as Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, one of the most-widely known professional publications in the world. In both roles, he tackled the critical issues of our time and left the organizations remarkably changed for the better and poised for a new generation of growth.

As CEO of the AIA, Robert helped grow the association to record membership, at its high point reaching more than 95,000 members, all during difficult periods in American life, including the pandemic, racial reckoning, and the politics that divide the nation. The intentional curation of a talented, high performing team of senior leaders and staff enabled that tremendous success, together with emphasis on critical issues--climate action and equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Among his chief accomplishments is repositioning the association for the 21st century, an ongoing effort that has resulted in a bolder, assertive AIA. Through this transformation, he championed an extensive professional public outreach program, strengthened AIA’s advocacy presence, refocused the organization on its core values and revived its vital research and educational agenda. He also spearheaded additional change, including transforming AIA’s governance, launching a new foundation focused on minority scholarships, making AIA a ”digital first’ organization, and expanding its profitable lines of business.

He has served as a frequent keynote speaker, panelist, moderator, and media spokesperson for events coast to coast and around the world, from the White House and the Monterey Design Conference to gatherings in Europe and Asia. He has been interviewed by the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Bloomberg News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and as well as numerous television sources.

Prior to joining the AIA in 2011, Ivy served as longtime Editor-in-Chief of McGraw-Hill’s Architectural Record, a venerable New York-based publication. With his guidance, Record became the most widely disseminated architectural journal worldwide, a leader in addressing the critical questions of the time. Record’s staff was nearby when planes hit the twin towers in 2001, an event that provoked a leadership role for the publication as it helped guide the city and the nation toward a new design for Ground Zero. Likewise, the publication was active early in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, establishing an early partnership with Tulane University.

The publication developed editorial policies that drove significant discussion on technology, practice, and sustainability, as well as community-based design.

As Vice-President and Editorial Director for McGraw-Hill’s design and construction division, Ivy oversaw numerous print and web properties in the design and construction portfolio and sat on the senior leadership of the construction group, which included Dodge Database.

During his tenure, Ivy and Architectural Record garnered numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, an unusual accomplishment for a professional publication, and more than 30 Jesse Neal awards for business journalism.

In 2009, Ivy received the G.D. Crain award for his lifetime contributions to business media. The following year, he joined I.M. Pei, FAIA, as one of two living recipients of the title “Master Architect” by Alpha Rho Chi, a professional educational fraternity founded in 1914. He is the only architect thus honored in the 21st century.

His book, Fay Jones: Architect, was cited with the George Wittenborn Award for the “highest standards of scholarship, design, and production.” It will be reissued in its third printing by the University of Arkansas press in 2022.

He served three times as the U.S. Commissioner at the Venice Architectural Biennale, and he is a member of CICA, the International Circle of Architecture Critics. Since 2018, he has been awarded two lifetime achievement awards: the Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (2020), the organization’s first architect recipient, joining a small group of distinguished Mississippians; and another from the National Institute of Building Science for advancing architecture and the building sciences.

Ivy earned an M. Arch. Degree from Tulane University, and a BA (cum laude) in English from Sewanee: The University of the South (TN).

Prior to his career in New York and Washington, Ivy practiced architecture in Mississippi, where he lived with his wife and their three children. A dedicated preservationist, he still maintains an historic home there.

Areas of Expertise