Office of the State Architect
 Mike
Fitts State Architect
The Office of the State Architect
provides staff support to the functioning of the State Building Commission
(SBC), whose responsibility is oversight of all building construction,
demolition, land purchase and leasing for State government. It is
chaired by the Governor, vice-chaired by the Lieutenant Governor,
and has as its other members the Speaker of the House, the Commissioner
of Finance and Administration, the State Treasurer, the Secretary
of State and the Comptroller of the Treasury.
The State Architect is selected by the SBC and serves as its Chief
Staff Officer. He/she is responsible for the supervision of all State
building construction and renovation projects approved by the SBC,
and is required to implement its rules, policy and procedures. The
State Architect also functions, unofficially, as the quasi-curator
of the State Capitol, and is relied upon to provide an architectural
perspective of State buildings of historical interest.
About the State Architect
A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Mike
Fitts graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire.
He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy and
served four years with the Underwater Demolition Team (now SEALS).
He received a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee
in 1957 and a BS in Architecture in 1971 (magna cum laude and first
in his class). Realizing the importance of the legal complexities
of the building industry and the State's role in administering State
projects, Mike acquired a law degree and is now licensed in the
fields of architecture, engineering and law. Mike has served as
State Architect since 1971, under six governors, and is the second
person to serve in that capacity since the position was established
in 1955. In 1991, Mike was chosen for admission to the American
Institute of Architects College of Fellows, one of the highest honors
the AIA can bestow on any member. Other memberships include the
National Association of State Facilities Administrators, National
American Institute of Architects Committee on Public Architecture,
Tennessee Prevailing Wage Commission, Tennessee and Nashville Bar
Associations, National Council of Architectural Registration Board
and member of the Advisory Board for the University of Tennessee
College of Architecture and Design. Mike is also an experienced
American Arbitration Association arbitrator and qualified State
Supreme Court Rule 31 mediator.
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