Alan M. Hantman, CCNY alumnus and former Architect of the U.S. Capitol, will deliver the 2024 Rudin Lecture on Sept. 19.
Alan M. Hantman, the 10th Architect of the U.S. Capitol, returns to his alma mater on Sept. 19 as The City College of New York’s 2024 Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar. His lecture, 5:30 p.m. in the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture’s Sciame Auditorium, is entitled: “Under the Dome: Politics, Crisis, and Architecture at the United States Capitol,” which is the title of his latest book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the lecture, and Hantman will sign copies after his talk.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Click here to RSVP and for directions to the Sciame Auditorium.
Hantman was in the first graduating class of what became CCNY’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture. He earned both Bachelor of Science (1964) and Bachelor of Architecture degrees (1966) from CCNY, followed by a Masters in Urban Planning from the Graduate Center, CUNY in 1979. He currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Spitzer School.
A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), Hantman was appointed 10th Architect of the U.S. Capitol in 1997 by President Bill Clinton and unanimously confirmed to a 10-year term by the U.S. Senate. With a staff of 2,300, he was entrusted with the operation and preservation of all buildings and grounds on Capitol Hill, and the design and construction of the largest addition to the Capitol in its history.
He led the Architect of the Capitol federal agency, responsible for all architecture, historic preservation, engineering, renovation, new construction, and facilities management for the United States Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, all Congressional office buildings, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, the U.S. Botanic Garden, the National Garden, and the Capitol Power Plant, as well as the care and improvement of nearly 300 acres of historic Capitol grounds.
Hantman oversaw the planning, design and construction of the three-story underground expansion of the Capitol, which is the ninth and largest increment of growth since 1793 when the design for the Capitol was first selected by President George Washington. This expansion is the most significant project undertaken by the Office of the Architect of the Capitol since the Dome and extensions to the Capitol were built more than 150 years ago. He retired in 2007.
Before his appointment as Architect of the Capitol, Hantman was Vice President for Architecture, Planning and Historic Preservation at Rockefeller Center in New York City. He played a leading role in Rockefeller Center Corporation’s Capital Improvement Program, along with strategic planning responsibilities, with oversight of all art, architecture, and historic preservation issues.
Previous Rudin Scholars have included: former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite; former Congresswoman Patricia S. Schroeder; author Walter Mosley, ’91MA; former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw; filmmaker Ric Burns; Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Nobel Prize-winning author Mo Yan.
About the Samuel Rudin Lecture
The Samuel Rudin Visiting Scholars Lecture provides an opportunity for members of the college community to interact with outstanding scholars, business leaders, and government officials, enriching the education experience on campus. The program is also intended to foster communication within the academic community of New York City. Samuel Rudin, a civic and philanthropic leader in New York City, was a member of the Class of 1918 at City College and went on to a prominent real estate career. The Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program is supported by a grant from the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.
For more information, email: events@ccny.cuny.edu .
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
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