Salahuddin Choudhury, professor of architecture in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1974, Choudhury’s scholarship focused on the ideas of symbol and mode.

In the classroom, he had an unwavering commitment to the Vitruvian ideal of the education of an architect across his four decades of teaching. Vitruvius, the Roman author, architect, and civil engineer who lived during the first century BC, believed the successful architect and engineer should have both theoretical and practical knowledge based on a broad and deep understanding of all the sciences, arts, and even nature.

Consequently, Choudhury developed a graduate teaching model grounded in questions of philosophy, knowledge, aesthetics, and culture in relation to the education of an architect. He advocated the study of literature and poetry as important aspects of a professional education in architecture.

He raised the importance of the idea of connoisseurship as a form of aesthetic judgment in relation to the education of an architect and encouraged students to study film, photography, and music as important components of their education.

Choudhury participated in numerous study abroad programs in Europe, guiding architecture students to better understand their place in the world.

Choudhury received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from East Pakistan University and his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis.

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