Alumni Spotlight

Terrence O'Neal recognized for accomplishments in architecture

Terrence O’Neal, ’81, credits his success as an architect to his experience at Kent State University and his passion and dedication to his work.

“I am never lukewarm about anything,” O’Neal says. “Once I take on a commitment, I give it 150 percent.”

Originally from Cleveland, O’Neal holds both a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in architecture from Kent State. O’Neal says he chose Kent State because of the quality and reputation of its architecture school.

“Kent State is the place that made the dream of being an architect come closer to reality,” he says.

O’Neal was recently elected the 2006 president of the American Institute of Architects for New York State (AIANYS). He is the first African-American to hold this honor.

The AIANYS promotes and strengthens the profession of architecture and ensures the health, safety and welfare of the public it serves. The AIANYS also increases the public’s awareness of the role architecture plays in the built and planned environment.

O’Neal says his experience at Kent State and working at architectural firm Bauer, Stark and Lashbrook in Toledo, during the summers, prepared him to enter the profession with confidence.

He says Kent State’s College of Architecture is “unique” because it combines an emphasis on design and design theory with a strong focus on the technical aspect of building technology.

“This is not easily done in a design curriculum,” he says. “Many schools of architecture emphasize design theory, to the detriment of building technology, and vice versa. The preparation of a Kent State architecture graduate is unrivaled.”

In 1993, O’Neal founded Terrence O’Neal Architect LLC, a full-service architectural, design, project management and planning firm in Manhattan (http://www.terrenceonealarchitect.com). Last year O’Neal’s wife, Heather Philip-O’Neal, AIA, joined the firm as design principal.

Since its inception, his firm has been successful with projects including a series of rehabilitations for Covenant House New York; over 40 large-scale multihousing developments; fit-outs for major corporations including NBC Universal and Prudential Financial; interior work for healthcare institutions; and new construction and renovations for public schools.

O’Neal says architecture has progressed from exclusively focusing on design.

“An architect’s training provides the ideal background for problem solving,” he says. “This ability puts the architect in a position not only to lead a building project, but also to synthesize the needs of the community in general, toward the betterment of the environment.”

Dr. Steven Fong, dean of the College of Architecture, praises O’Neal’s dedication to involving architects in public policy.

“We teach that architects should be committed leaders in their communities. Terrence [O’Neal] has accomplished that,” Fong says. “He has demonstrated values we have tried to have our students and graduates understand. He has made his alma mater proud.”