Rand Elliott - Wall of Fame Class of 2011

When Rand Elliott told his mother he wanted to take a drawing class in his first year at Harding High School, she hesitated. Wouldn't it be too hard? No, he assured her. He could do it.

Elliott graduated Harding in 1968 and went on to gain international acclaim as an architect. His early years, though, were modest. His parents -- wheat farmers turned small business owners -- instilled the importance of hard work as he rode the tractor with his father or readied hangers at the family dry-cleaning business.

At Harding, there was Bruce Nutt, the drafting teacher who saw Elliott's raw talent and guided him. And then there was Clarice Wiser, a "persnickety" English teacher whose own love of words helped Elliott learn to express himself. "Those two things influenced my livelihood and my life," he said.

Later, as an architectural student at Oklahoma State University, Elliott met Bill Shillig, a professor who became his lifelong mentor.

Harding is a significant part of Elliott's history. The reverse is also true. Elliott was part of Harding's last graduating class before the school district converted it to a middle school and long before it became home to two charter schools.

Elliott, whose wife Jeanette is creative director at Ackerman McQueen, started Elliott + Associates Architects in 1976. Since then, the firm has won 259 awards for its architecture, interiors, lighting, and graphic design. It is the only architectural firm in Oklahoma history to win a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, and to date they have received the award on 10 occasions.

Rand Elliott's mother needn't have worried. That class wasn't so hard after all.

Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools Wall of Fame:
The WALL OF FAME AWARDS celebrate the long, rich history of the Oklahoma City Public School District by inducting alumni and community leaders who have added significantly to the quality of life in our state and country.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Education
• Oklahoma
• City
• Public
• Schools
• Harding
• High
• Architect
• Achievement