Art Clement decided he would be an architect in the sixth grade, after learning about Frank Lloyd Wright and his Guggenheim Museum. Seven years later, Clement enrolled in NC State in 1966, part of the first wave of African American students attending the university. He began studying architecture in what was then called the School of Design. No one in the school looked like him, but he was committed to completing the five-year program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had two parents who looked like me, and I couldn’t go back home and tell them I was going to drop out of school and wasn\u2019t going to be an architect,\u201d Clement said. \u201cI had to keep plowing through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He competed on the track team, joined a community-focused design group and trained in the ROTC. During weekends, he hung out with his friends from high school who were studying engineering at NC State. In his senior year, he co-founded the Eta Omicron chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou need to find your community when you’re in a big school like that, especially as a minority student,\u201d Clement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His design coursework focused heavily on problem-solving. One project involved designing a beach chair \u2014 something that was comfortable but could withstand the elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean Henry Kamphoefner had recruited faculty members from around the world, so students received a broad education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a rich assortment of faculty viewpoints,\u201d Clement said. \u201cThe school wasn’t wedded to a certain philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1971, Clement became the first African American to graduate from the School of Design. But he didn\u2019t have time to congratulate himself. He went on to earn his Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before serving in the Army for two years and then launching his career as an architect. Drawn to preservation architecture, he spent the next 30 years working with nearly a dozen historically Black colleges and universities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI enjoyed planning, readapting and rehabilitating older buildings, as well as identifying and preserving a college\u2019s heritage and linking the significance of its historic buildings and landscapes to its history, culture and future development,\u201d Clement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now retired, Clement stays connected to his alma mater by speaking with African American College of Design students and alumni. He encourages them to push through setbacks and believe in their own potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy advice to students here is, you have to stay focused,\u201d Clement said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have some disappointments. You have to maintain a positive attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Read other stories from our 75th anniversary.<\/a><\/p>\n