Pentecost appointed new president

Dr Ray Pentecost FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP is the new
president of the International Academy of Design & Health

Dr Ray Pentecost FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP has been appointed the new President of the International Academy for Design & Health (IADH).

Announced during the Gala Awards Dinner evening at the 7th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition in Boston in July, Pentecost takes on the role following a successful term as president of the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA AAH), when the AAH board repositioned that organization for growth.

Appointed by Dr Alan Dilani, founder and director-general of the IADH, Pentecost’s role will be to work closely with the IADH leadership to establish a platform for international growth in areas where the IADH is uniquely well-suited to have an impact. The appointment of President is for a two year term with an option to extend by a further two years on the agreement of the board.

Already recognized as the organizers of the premier forum in the world for sharing research on the relationship between design and health, the Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition, and for publishing a top tier journal in the field, World Health Design, the IADH will launch a multi-disciplinary graduate degree in design and health next year.

The new Master of Science degree will offer students from around the world an opportunity to study and do research in the field of design for health using a curriculum built around multiple study venues and involving a multi-national faculty of distinguished industry experts. Pentecost, an award-winning educator in health architecture, will be directly involved in bringing this new degree program to life.

In his acceptance remarks Pentecost suggested that chief among his priorities would be positioning the organization for the significant logistical demands that will accompany the organization’s targeted growth worldwide: “The Academy enjoys a superior reputation worldwide for high quality conference programming, as well as outstanding publication content and format. The opportunity here is to build on that success to launch an education and research initiative that will positively impact the health of nations around the world.”

Clark Nexsen shares Pentecost’s commitment to improving health through design, which explains how Pentecost can offer himself to the IADH as a volunteer President. Widely known for his passion for blending the fields of public health and architecture, and for encouraging greater research on the impact of design on health, Pentecost commented: “It simply was an invitation too exciting to refuse. I am deeply honoured to have been given this opportunity that offers as its centerpiece the potential to influence both the design community and personal health on a global scale.”