Teresa Rosano receives AIAS Faculty Advisor Honor Award

Teresa Rosano, associate professor of practice in the School of Architecture, received the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) Faculty Advisor Honor Award, recognizing her sustained commitment to student mentorship, inclusive education and professional leadership.

The national award honors faculty advisors who champion a healthy learning culture, advance the AIAS mission and make a lasting impact on architecture students. Rosano currently serves as faculty advisor to the University of Arizona AIAS chapter and has been a long-standing advocate for student engagement beyond the classroom.

“It’s especially meaningful to receive an award from a student organization - and this being my first AIAS Forum makes it even more special,” Rosano said. “As a mentor, I often think about what I can share with students that would have been useful to my twenty-something self. One of the most important things is to take advantage of opportunities like this: to travel, to meet new people and to connect with fellow architecture students.”

Students said Rosano’s dedication, teaching approach and personal support are central to her impact. Francisco Zazueta, AIAS president for 2025–26 and a fifth-year architecture student, wrote that Rosano’s influence extended far beyond the studio.

“As a student of Teresa’s for the past five years, I have experienced firsthand her exceptional teaching style and dedication to her students,” Zazueta wrote. “Teresa’s impact on my education has been profound.”

He also emphasized her attentiveness to students’ individual circumstances and learning needs.

“I have also witnessed Teresa’s genuine care for her students on a personal level,” he wrote. “She is passionate, considerate and genuinely cares for her students, demonstrating this through her thoughtful decisions for our studio and her attention to individual concerns.”

Ryan Smith, director and professor in the School of Architecture, echoed those sentiments in his letter supporting Rosano’s nomination, describing her as a model educator and mentor.

“There is no faculty member more worthy of this award than Teresa,” Smith wrote. “She consistently and dedicatedly shares her love of architecture and her commitment to the discipline to her students.”

Smith highlighted Rosano’s inclusive, student-centered teaching style and her ability to bridge professional practice with architectural education.

“She engages students directly in a co-learning environment,” he wrote. “She is inclusive, empathetic and exemplifies excellence in practice and teaching.”

Rosano brings more than 25 years of professional practice into the classroom as co-founder and principal of Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, an award-winning firm recognized nationally for its modern desert architecture. Her teaching portfolio includes studios focused on universal design, justice in the built environment and community-engaged projects, including partnerships addressing homelessness and housing insecurity in Tucson.

The AIAS Faculty Advisor Honor Award adds to a growing list of accolades recognizing Rosano’s impact at the university, state and national levels. For Rosano, however, the recognition from students carries special weight.

“This award reinforces why mentoring matters,” she said. “Architecture education is not just about buildings — it’s about people, connection and preparing students to lead with empathy and purpose.”