Alumnus George Acock to receive Ohio State University Distinguished Service Award

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In recognition of outstanding service to the university, Knowlton School alumnus George Acock (BARCH ’63) has been named a recipient of a 2019 Ohio State University Distinguished Service Award. The award was established by the Board of Trustees in 1952 to recognize individuals who have rendered exceptional service to the university. Acock will be presented with the award at the Spring Commencement ceremony in Ohio Stadium on May 5.

George Acock

Spanning Acock’s 52 years of practice in Columbus, he has designed over $1 billion of construction and has been awarded 22 citations for excellence in commercial and residential design from national, state and local organizations. Included in this distinguished portfolio are significant buildings in the history of the Ohio State campus, among them Pomerene Hall, Sullivant Hall, the North Residential District and the Student Academic Services (SAS) building.

Arguably Acock Associates Architects’ most important campus project, the renovation and expansion of Thompson Library, houses many of Acock's own watercolor paintings of buildings and scenes from the Ohio State campus. His design for the library strengthened the iconic, historic image of the building, while expressing a fresh enthusiasm for intellectual change and growth. Acock transformed what had been an uninviting and underutilized structure into a destination on campus. Before the renovation, the library received approximately 3,000 visitors a day; it now sees as many as 12,000.

“George is the go-to person for very important projects, especially those (that) needed the touch of blending the old and new together,” commented University Trustee and Chair of the Master Planning and Facilities Committee, Alex Fischer, at a ceremony honoring Acock’s commitment to the university.   

For many years George Acock has elevated the reputation, success and vitality of the Knowlton School by serving as an instructor, philanthropist/fund-raiser, program designer and mentor. With a deep belief in the value of broad cultural exchange and real architectural experiences, he worked to establish the school's Italy Program. Through his generously endowed George Acock '63 Traveling Scholarship, numerous Knowlton School student have received financial support for scholarships and international travel programs.

In 2015, Acock was elevated to the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects, which recognizes architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. The College of Engineering named Acock a Distinguished Alumnus in 1999, and presented him with the college’s Benjamin G. Lamme Meritorious Achievement Medal in 2016.

by Knowlton School of Architecture Communications

Categories: AlumniAwards