September 6, 2019

Paula Wallace: Recipient of 2019 Hall of Fame Special Leadership Award

Paula Wallace is the president and founder of the Savannah College of Art and Design, the most comprehensive art and design university in the United States. Under Wallace’s leadership, SCAD has earned numerous top programmatic and institutional rankings.

Wallace served as academic dean and provost of SCAD for 22 years before becoming president in 2000. As president, she has led the university in unprecedented growth and championed many of its most popular annual events, including Sand Arts Festival, SCADstyle, SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and SCAD deFINE ART. She also founded three teaching museums: SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, the SCAD Lacoste History Museum in France, and the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah.

An honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Wallace has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2018 Southeast Emmy President’s Award, 2017 ASID Nancy Vincent McClelland Merit Award, 2016 Arthur Ross Award for Stewardship, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2016 Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award, and the 2016 Roger Milliken Honorary AIA Legacy Award. During her tenure, SCAD’s legacy of historic preservation has advanced with the revival of more than 100 historic buildings on its campuses and the university has been recognized with prestigious honors by the AIA, the American Society of Interior Designers, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and UNESCO.

Featured Coverage 

Q&A: SCAD President Paula Wallace on Design Education Today

> View all 2019 Hall of Fame inductees

> See the complete list of Hall of Fame members

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