Ian Macdonald

• Dip. Arch. Tech. Ryerson University
• B.Arch, University of Manitoba

• Manitoba Association of Architects
• Fellow and Life Member, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

Ian graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1969 and interned at the 1500 Don Mills Road office of John Parkin in Toronto. Following registration with the Ontario Association of Architects in 1972, he joined John Margison and Partners, creating and managing the architecture and project management wing of that practice.

Ian’s involvement with design education began in 1974 when he took a CIDA-funded senior administrative position with the Department of Technical Education and Vocational Training in Lusaka, Zambia. Upon his return to Canada, he joined the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba in 1978. He was appointed Head of the undergraduate Department of Environmental Studies in 1988 and initiated major program reform and development, including the creation of the Department of Environmental Design in 1990. He was promoted to the rank of full Professor in 1993 and served as Head of the graduate Department of Architecture at the University of Manitoba from 1999 until his retirement in 2005.  He is a recipient of the University of Manitoba Outreach Award, acknowledging his contribution to the development of foreign study opportunities.  He was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus by the University of Manitoba on October 29, 2006.

Ian served a four-year term as Chairman of the Council of Canadian University Schools of Architecture. (CCUSA). During this time, he represented CCUSA on the RAIC Board of Directors, chairing the Syllabus Task Group and serving on the National Architectural Policy Committee. He was a member of the Manitoba Association of Architects Council from 1997 to 2001 and was awarded the MAA Certificate of Appreciation for service to the profession in June 2002. He remains a registered member of the Manitoba Association of Architects and is a Fellow and life member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Ian, following his retirement from the University of Manitoba in 2005, continued to play a central role in the development of the Bachelor of Science in Architecture program at Athabasca University which would be Canada’s first online architecture program. He also initiated the creation of the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University and was inducted into the Order of Athabasca University on June 08, 2012.