Jerome J. Sincoff, FAIA, former president and CEO of HOK, received the Dean’s Medal for distinguished service to the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts March 18. Sincoff’s many credits include serving as project executive for the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis honored seven outstanding architecture and art alumni at its third annual Awards for Distinction dinner March 18.

The awards recognize graduates who have demonstrated creativity, innovation, leadership and vision through their contributions to the practices of art, architecture and design as well as to Washington University and the Sam Fox School.

“The fields of architecture, design and the visual arts are constantly evolving,” said Carmon Colangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School and the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts. “And yet these awardees — who are selected by their fellow alumni and by current faculty — demonstrate that certain things remain constant. Their original thinking, creative problem-solving and commitment to professional excellence will inspire the next generation of practitioners.”

Distinguished alumni for 2010 are Mary K. Bryson (BFA ’88) of Langhorne, Pa.; Walter Eckenhoff, FAIA (BA ’72, MArch ’75) of Chicago; Micki Lippe, (BFA ’65) of Seattle; and Susan Pruchnicki, AIA, LEED AP (BA ’86, MArch ’88), of St. Louis.

In addition, Holly Williams Leppo, AIA, LEED AP (MArch ’00), of Camp Hill, Pa., and Andrew Scott Paluba (BFA ’00) of New York will receive the 2010 Young Alumni Award. Jerome J. Sincoff, FAIA (BArch ’56), of St. Louis will receive the Dean’s Medal for distinguished service to the school.

The awards ceremony took place at the Coronado Ballroom, 3701 Lindell Boulevard. For more information, contact Aly Abrams, (314) 935-7223, or aly.abrams@wustl.edu.

Distinguished alumni

Mary K. Bryson (BFA ’88), Langhorne, Pa.

Bryson is an acclaimed medical illustrator and founder of Bryson Biomedical Illustrations Inc.

Over the past 19 years, she has collaborated with scores of scientists, physicians and other specialists to transform complex technical information into visual images that communicate with broad audiences. Her illustrations are featured on the award-winning Web site breastcancer.org. Pharmaceutical clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Wyeth-Ayerst, Sanofi Aventis, Otsuka International and Johnson & Johnson.

She also has illustrated 11 books, ranging from the children’s book Gross Anatomy, an Off- Color Coloring Book to the textbook Anesthesia and Orthopaedic Surgery.

Walter Eckenhoff, FAIA (BA ’72, MArch ’75), Chicago

Eckenhoff is co-founder and principal of Eckenhoff Saunders Architects Inc. (ESA), a 40-person office based in Chicago. Though ESA has developed an extensive portfolio in many sectors, it has particular expertise in the design and planning of healthcare institutions. In the past 20 years, ESA has overseen $600 million in new health-care facilities, including four hospital campuses for the NorthShore University HealthSystem, three outpatient family-care campuses and the Evanston/Northwestern University Research Park.

Eckenhoff also is a longtime member of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, where he has served two terms as chair of the Board of Trustees.

Micki Lippe (BFA ’65), Seattle

Lippe is an acclaimed jewelry artist whose one-of-a-kind and production necklaces and earrings have been shown at galleries and museums across the United States. Her most recent work — frequently inspired by hikes through the great forests of the Pacific Northwest — finds her moving away from the elegant precision of previous pieces to reflect the seeming randomness of the natural world.

Over the years, she has displayed in more than a dozen solo exhibitions and scores of group shows, including 16 museum exhibits. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Tacoma Art Museum and the Racine Art Museum.

Susan Pruchnicki, AIA, LEED AP (BA ’86, MArch ’88), St. Louis

Pruchnicki is a principal with Bond Wolfe Architects, a St. Louis design firm that has developed a range of educational, municipal and commercial projects.

Her many honors include multiple AIA Design Awards and Illuminating Engineering Society Awards. Most recently, her work for the Maplewood Public Library was recognized for Excellent Adaptive Reuse by the St. Louis County Historic Buildings Commission.

A past president of AIA St. Louis, Pruchnicki founded the AIA’s Diversity Committee, which partners with the Sam Fox School’s Alberti Program and the AIA’s Young Architects Forum to pair middle school children with young architects.

Young alumni award

Holly Williams Leppo, AIA, LEED AP (MArch ’00), Camp Hill, Pa.

Leppo is an architect and vice president at SMB&R Inc., an architecture, structural engineering and interior design firm. She specializes in adapting old building forms for new uses, including the study of applicable building codes; accessibility requirements; appropriate historical forms and proportions; and integration of new technologies, building materials and techniques into the historic context.

In addition, Leppo has authored five technical review guides designed to assist candidates for the Architect Registration Exam.

She recently was named one of Building Design + Construction Magazine’s “40 Under 40: Superstars of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Industry.”

Andrew Scott Paluba (BFA ’00), New York

Paluba is co-founder and creative director for Rebecca & Drew Manufacturing, a New York-based fashion design and manufacturing company predicated on a revolutionary new sizing system that Paluba developed with Rebecca Matchett.

His responsibilities include product design and development, creative direction, marketing development (including e-commerce Web site architecture and programming; promotional materials; art direction and photography) and merchandising in Rebecca & Drew’s retail stores.

In addition, Paluba certifies factories all over the world to manufacture clothing that features the company’s patented TrioFit system.

Dean’s medal

Jerome J. Sincoff, FAIA (BArch ’56), St. Louis

Sincoff is former president and CEO of HOK, one of the world’s largest architecture firms, and former dean of the Sam Fox School’s College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design.

He served as project executive for the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; Mobil Headquarters in Fairfax, Va.; and Bristol-Myers Squibb Headquarters in Lawrenceville, N.J., among many others.

Major St. Louis-area projects include Nestle Purina Headquarters, the Edward Jones building and the preservation and renovation of Union Station. A past president of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Board of Commissioners, he chairs the museum’s Expansion Advisory Committee.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

The Sam Fox School is a unique collaboration in architecture, art and design education. Offering professional studio programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the Sam Fox School links four academic units — the College of Art, College of Architecture, Graduate School of Art and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design — with the university’s nationally recognized Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

For more information about Sam Fox School, visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu.