Edward C. Kemper Award

The Kemper Award is open to AIA members in good standing. To be eligible, nominees must affirm that neither they nor their firm employs unpaid intern architects, including working students (as defined in Section 11.0 of the AIA Rules of the Board).

Members of the AIA Board, Strategic Council, and past AIA National Officers are not eligible to be nominated until three (3) years have passed since the end date of their service.

Nomination

Any AIA member in good standing, as well as AIA Board members, Strategic Council members, components, and Knowledge Communities may make nominations for the Kemper Award.

Nominator responsibilities

If your nominator is an individual, they must affirm that neither they nor their firm employs unpaid intern architects, including working students (as defined in Section 11.0 of the AIA Rules of the Board).

Nominators are required to write a letter of support for the candidate that introduces the submission. Nominators also assist the candidate by acting as a point of contact for the reference writers and providing guidance as needed.

 

Finalist rollover

Finalists who are not selected may rollover their application materials to the next cycle for consideration in the initial pool of applicants.

Fee: There is no fee to apply to this program. 

2026 Deadline

Submissions are due by 5pm ET Thursday August 7, 2025. All materials must be submitted via the online application portal (i.e., cannot be accepted via email, phone, shared online drive, fax, post, etc.) by the prescribed deadline(s): deadline extension or exception requests will not be granted. Applicants and interested parties are encouraged to seek award assistance well in advance of application deadlines to minimize the risk for ineligibility and/or application noncompliance rendering the entry removed from review.            

Formatting Requirements

For information on templates for required uploaded forms (e.g., Image Release Form, Application Release Form, Copyright Information File), and information on format of portfolio document (e.g., page size / orientation standards), or addressing letters of recommendation, please visit the AIA Awards FAQs webpage. 

Applications that do not conform to the program's formatting requirements for uploaded materials (e.g., required forms, letters of reference, and portfolio documents) are subject to automatic disqualification. AIA does not accept release forms with altered terms. 

Application Components
Extensive information on the materials required to submit an application is housed in the AIA online application portal. Please reference the information in this portal when the program is receiving materials for the 2026 season. 

Review Criteria

Candidates are evaluated based on how their contributions have had a significant impact on the profession through service to AIA or an architecture-related organization.

• 
  AIA Values
  Throughout the submission, candidates are encouraged to highlight any aspects of work or life experience that may have reflected contributions or sensitivity concerning areas of special interest to AIA, its members, and the architecture profession, including but not limited to the Public Policies and Position Statements of the AIA. These might include such areas as diversity, sustainability, or the mentoring of emerging professionals, to the degree the candidate has had the opportunity to address them, or as these topics may enhance the presentation.
• AIA Framework for Design Excellence
  While Whitney M. Young. Jr. submissions are not required to fit comprehensively within the framework principles, candidates are strongly encouraged to consider submission materials in this context. For additional information visit the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.

Finalist information

If you are selected as a finalist by the Advisory Jury, the next stage of the awards process includes a vote by the AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council (the Jury) at their joint meeting, typically in early December. During their deliberations, the Jury may have questions or request additional information.

Finalists are asked to provide contact information and ideally be available on the day of the vote to respond to any requests.

Recognition for this program typically includes the following elements but may be subject to change. Recipients will receive additional information about this cycle’s recognition benefits with their selection notification.

• Promotional recognition in AIA communication channels.
• Invitation for the recipient or a recipient representative to attend selected AIA Awards event celebrations, commonly held during the annual AIA Conference on Architecture & Design.
• Elevation to AIA Fellowship, as eligible.

2025: Raymond "Skipper" Post, FAIA

2024: Sho-Ping Chin, FAIA

2023: Jeff Potter, FAIA

Recipients of this award from 2025 to 2023 can be found at AIA award winners. For previous recipients please contact AIA Archives.