In Memoriam: Robert Paschal Burns

Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Winter 2006

Former Phi Kappa Phi National Artist (1998-2001) and former Forum Arts columnist Robert P. Burns died in a car accident on October 28, 2005. He was seventy-one years of age. Burns, one of North Carolina's most influential architects, was a professor emeritus at North Carolina State University (NCSU), where he served as head of the architecture department from 1967-1974 and from 1983-1991.

He received his undergraduate degree at NCSU and his master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1979. In 1996, Professor Burns was awarded the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed on NCSU faculty. Former Phi Kappa Phi National President Wendell McKenzie, who has known Professor Bums during his years at NCSU, sums up the loss this way: " Bob Burns touched so many in so many profound ways. His passing is a great loss for all of us. He was the consummate professional, colleague, gentleman, and friend."