Greetings and happy 2026! I trust that your new year is off to a fantastic start. I am Jeff Hausman, the new President of the Michigan Architectural Foundation. I am truly excited and humbled to be taking on the role of president for the next two years. I owe a debt of gratitude to Chuck Lewis, all of those that held this role before. I also want to thank two people in particular: Doug Kueffner and Carl Roehling, for their service to MAF. Both of them will continue to be Trustees on the board, but both deserve a significant thank you for their leadership. Doug just completed six years on the Executive Committee as Vice President, President and Past President where he provided expert guidance on our mission of “Advancing Awareness of How Architecture Enriches Life”. Carl completed eight years as Treasurer and under his leadership the MAF endowment has grown substantially. Thank you to both Doug and Carl for their great work.
I am also pleased and excited to announce that we have two new members of the Executive Committee: Alan Cobb will be serving as Secretary and Norm Hamann, Jr. will serve as Treasurer. I am confident that they will provide excellent guidance to MAF in the coming years.
In addition, I am very excited to welcome Jason Ide, Leo Mendez, and Tom Reder to the MAF board, and to also welcome Kathy Banicki back to the board. These four board members are already motivated to support MAF by creating new opportunities and continuing MAF’s success.
Speaking of new opportunities and continued success, I am very pleased to announce that through the generous contributions of our donors and the prudent investment of our endowment, the MAF board has increased both our grant and scholarship awards by 30% for 2026. The number of scholarships also increased with the introduction of four new awards for 2026. The Evans Graham Preservation award will be $30,000 and the Fellows Fund for Equity grant will be $5,000. A total of $57,500 will be awarded through 16 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students studying to become architects in the State of Michigan.
As we start 2026, there will be two great opportunities to support MAF. The Damian Farrell Architectural Awareness fundraising event ‘The La Dolce Vita’ will take place March 28 at the Ann Arbor Golf and Outing Club, you can sign-up online here. Registration will be open soon for MAF’s 25th annual ‘Fore a Great Cause’ golf outing, which will be held on May 18 at the Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon.
It is truly amazing what MAF is accomplishing through the work of our board and committees, along with the generosity of our donors. It is a testament that architecture does matter and can influence and enrich our lives. I look forward to working with the board, committees, donors, and the public to support our continued success. Together, we can look forward to the coming year with excitement and commitment to making a positive difference in the appreciation of how architecture enriches our lives.
Please let me know if you have any questions about MAF, our mission, approach and commitment to architecture in Michigan.
Stay warm and keep smiling like this chinstrap penguin that I recently saw in Antarctica, where it was sunny and warmer than it is in Michigan at this time of year. Remember spring is getting closer every day.
All the best,
Jeff Hausman, FAIA, LEED AP