MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Johnson (19th), Blackmon, Horhn, Michel, Carmichael

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING SAMUEL MOCKBEE, THE 2001 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS.

WHEREAS, Samuel Mockbee has recently been named the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Winner of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts; and

WHEREAS, a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award, Samuel Mockbee has been making news and winning awards as long as he has been teaching and practicing architecture; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Mockbee, a Meridian native, has been nationally and internationally recognized for his work on projects as diverse as the Mississippi Pavilion at the 1984 World Exposition, the National Center for Physical Acoustics at the University of Mississippi, to the work of the Auburn Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, in 1967, he won a Progressive Architecture Award for three charity houses near Canton to help three families break the cycle of poverty; and

WHEREAS, in 1992 and 1997, the Barton House and Shiloh Falls House won a Record House Award from Architectural Record Magazine and the Cook Residence in Oxford won a prestigious AIA National Design Award in 1994; and

WHEREAS, the recognition of the Cook Residence by the American Institute of Architects makes it one of only two buildings in Mississippi which have been honored by the National AIA; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Mockbee has also received the Apgar Award from the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., and was one of five national architects honored for environmental, social and aesthetic contributions by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum at a White House Ceremony last year; and

WHEREAS, recently, Mockbee's work has concentrated on his teaching program known as the Rural Studio, established in 1993 through Auburn University, where students design/build homes and community buildings for needy families in Hale County, Alabama, one of the most economically distressed regions in the United States; and

WHEREAS, while his ideas and influence have reached far beyond Mississippi's perimeter, Samuel Mockbee continues to live and work here serving as a model to others to follow; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize the achievements and contributions of this Mississippian who has brought honor to his community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend Samuel Mockbee, the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Winner of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be furnished to Samuel Mockbee and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.