Harry G. Robinson III

Robinson was born at Freedman's Hospital on January 18, 1942, in Washington, D.C., to Harry G. Robinson, Jr. and Gwendolyn Herriford Robinson. He had an older sister, Joan. His grandmother, Mamie Hill Robinson, graduated from Howard's teachers college in 1887. His father was born in 1908 in a home where Howard University's William H. Greene Stadium now stands. His father often boasted of being "born on Howard's 50 yard line". His grandmother later sold the property to the university for $10. Robinson was nicknamed "Butch" while growing up. Robinson graduated from Howard University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree (with design honors). He received the Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart, He then enrolled at Harvard University, where he obtained an MCP in urban design in 1972 from the Graduate School of Design. Robinson began his career working as an urban planner for the D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) from 1968 to 1972. ==Teaching career==

Robinson's teaching career began when he taught architecture at the University of the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1970 and again from 1971 to 1974. Robinson has long advocated equal access for African-American architects, but argues that black architects should seek work where they can get it. "I don't want to ask for anything. It's embarrassing to me," he told Newsday in 1991. "I have a new sense of being a radical. I really had to, with the barrage of negative press and complaints of what we don't have. I'm tired of it. ... We simply aren't going to get large corporate work. That's a different network. But we have our own network. We have the black church, we have the black sororities and fraternities. Of course we want equal access, but no profession is without its barriers." Robinson was named Howard University's Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President for University Administration in 1995. During this time, he sponsored a process to craft a campus master plan. He continued at Howard as the James E. Silcott Professor of Architecture. ==Government service==

Robinson is a long-time member of the board of directors of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which helped to build and now maintains the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In 1981, when the memorial's Memorial Wall design was approved by the memorial jury, controversy erupted over the Minimalist design. In January 1982, a new element—a realistic bronze sculpture by Frederick Hart known as The Three Soldiers—was added to the memorial. In October 1982, the Commission of Fine Arts approved the erection of a flagpole to be grouped with The Three Soldiers. Controversy continued over both how close The Three Soldiers should be to the Memorial Wall, and whether the flagpole should be erected. Robinson opposed putting the statues near the wall, saying this "would impose its imagery upon the visitor's experience and weaken the impact..." He was the commission's vice chairman from 2000 to 2002, and its chairman from 2002 to 2003. He also voiced strong views about the Washington Metro's decision to place glass-and-steel canopies over all Metro station entrances. When Metro brought its design before the CFA, Robinson said, "Not only is it dull, it's offensive." Robinson led the commission in strongly criticizing the canopies. "Metro cannot build what they have shown us," he said in July 2000. "It isn't going to happen." The Park Service withdrew the plans. In December 1995, Robinson was named chairman of a 14-member ad hoc panel established by President Bill Clinton to propose a redesign of the closed segment of Pennsylvania Avenue NW between the White House and Lafayette Square. The panel proposed a "town square" idea that would remove the pavement and plant a field of grass, as well as add retail, food service, and educational kiosks to make the area a more attractive gathering place. Unsightly security barriers would be replaced with more decorative planters, The panel's design plan extended these decorative motifs several blocks in every direction from the White House. (As of 2012, no long-term plan has been proposed.) ==Other roles==

Robinson co-founded TRG Consulting in 1976, and remained with the firm as of 2009. and a trustee of the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum. In 2010, Robinson was named an executive consulting architect for the American Battle Monuments Commission. He was the first African American to serve in this position. Robinson is a member of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City. ==Honors and professional positions==

Robinson was a 1969–1970 Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and a 1969-1970 United States Department of Transportation Urban Transportation Research Fellow. He received the Richard T. Ely Distinguished International Educator Award from the Lambda Alpha International honorary society for the advancement of land economics in 1991. He was given the Honor Award from the National Organization of Minority Architects in 1991, and a special award in 1992. Hampton University bestowed its 125th Anniversary Citation for Leadership In Architecture on him in 1993. In 2003, Robinson received the Centennial Medal of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (the organization's highest honor). He is a recipient of the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architecture Societies Architect of the Year award and the Howard University College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science Distinguished Alumni Award for International Leadership. He was inducted into the Washington, D.C., Hall of Fame in 2006. Howard University honored him with the Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement award, the highest alumni honor bestowed by the university, in 2008. He also received the Silver Medal from the D.C. chapter of the Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honor Society. ==Publications==

In 1997, Robinson and Hazel Ruth Edwards co-authored The Long Walk: The Placemaking Legacy of Howard University, a history of Howard University with a special focus on its campus. ==Personal life==

Robinson is married to local radio station executive Dianne Robinson. They have three daughters: Erin, Leigh, and Kia. ==References==