Architect designs money tree for AUP+D

Visiting professor Theodore Seligson plans to give $300,000 to the Department of Urban Planning + Design.

UMKC recently announced that Theodore Seligson, a visiting professor at UMKC’s Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design (AUP+D), would be giving $300,000 to the school’s program, through the Seligson Fund.

“This gift will support an important aspect of the AUP+D program, which serves Kansas City and the surrounding community in architecture and urban planning,” said UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton. “The funding can address issues of the built environment, including architecture and architectural history, as well as other aspects of the design disciplines.”

Seligson, well known for his accomplishments in architecture and urban design, has received more than 25 national, regional and local awards for his projects. One of his designs has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and he was nominated in 2010 for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum .

Seligson graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and worked at Kivett and Myers, a well known local architecture firm, before starting his own organization.

He has made it a priority to support AUP+D , explaining, “It also is our intention to inspire others to join me in supporting this important endeavor.”

Seligson’s friends and colleagues, who set up the fund in his honor, expressed their gratitude.

“The department salutes and thanks Ted for his enthusiasm and unwavering support of our department’s mission and goals,” said Joy D. Swallow, associate professor and department chair. “This significant gift will ensure that we will keep our focus on what is important for our students, faculty and community partners now and in the future.”

ecarrell@unews.com