The Board of Trustees elevated the departments of Architecture and Construction Science from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences (CEAPS) to the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science (TSACS) in 2010. The school is named after Robert Robinson Taylor, the first accredited African-American architect, and the first Black to receive an Architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor is credited with developing the school’s program in architecture and was often placed in charge of the day-to-day operation of the school in the absence of founder and first President, Dr. Booker T. Washington. Most buildings on campus built prior to 1932 were designed by Taylor, including the original Chapel, Dorothy Hall (now Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center), Tompkins Hall, The Oaks (Washington’s family home), and White Hall. For 40 years, Taylor assisted Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) principals Booker T. Washington and Robert R. Moton in developing and managing the school's buildings and infrastructure and directing its Department of Mechanical Industries. In addition to the numerous buildings at Tuskegee Institute, Taylor also designed significant structures in Selma, AL, Birmingham, AL and in Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina.TSACS is founded on a belief in the power of architecture and construction science to uplift the human condition and give form to society‘s highest aspirations. Students are prepared to become citizen architects and builders - community leaders who provide a vision of a better-built environment.
Our mission is to develop skilled professionals who are capable of playing active roles in shaping communities through the building of meaningful places for all people. As such, our intent is to keep working to help our current and future students to have a competitive advantage that will both distinguish themselves from students at peer institutions and advance their career goals. We also envision a new identity in the minds of alumni and stakeholders to help carry out our mission and the academic rigor to nurture a generation of highly competitive designers and builders.