"There is staying power in quality": Architecture alum helps sustain transformative travel tradition

When Patrick Fugeman arrived at the University of Kentucky from his eastern Kentucky hometown in 1964, world-class architecture felt far away.

Growing up in Ashland, Kentucky, Fugeman encountered architecture primarily through books and magazines. That changed during his first semester in the UK School of Architecture, when he joined fellow students on the program's annual trip to Columbus, Indiana.

"It really opened my eyes to all the possibilities that are out there," Fugeman said. "Here's a small town that's brought in world-class architects to do world-class buildings for their city. It inspired me to think beyond the edges of my small town and maybe even beyond the state of Kentucky."

Today, Fugeman is helping ensure future UK architecture students can have that same experience. Through a recent gift, he is funding half the cost of the School of Architecture’s annual Columbus trip for the next five years, helping preserve a longstanding tradition that has introduced generations of students to some of the nation's most celebrated examples of modern architecture.

For Fugeman, the value of the trip was not simply seeing famous buildings. It was discovering how thoughtful design can shape communities. He recalls touring a striking church and an architecturally significant fire station, experiences that challenged his assumptions about what architecture could be and where it could be found.

The trip also sparked a lifelong passion for travel and learning. Inspired by the experience, Fugeman later spent a summer traveling throughout Europe, visiting historic architectural landmarks across England, France and Italy. There, he gained a deeper appreciation for the relationship between historic and contemporary architecture and the ways buildings can influence generations of people.

Those experiences reinforced a lesson he first encountered in Columbus: great architecture is not reserved for iconic landmarks. It can be found in the buildings communities use every day.

"Why does a simple public utility building, like a fire station, have to be ordinary?" Fugeman said. "Why can't it be good architecture? Why can't a school or a hospital or a clinic be good architecture? It can be a source of pride for a community."

That philosophy guided Fugeman throughout his career. After graduating from UK in 1970, he worked in architectural practice in Florida before specializing in health care design and eventually leading major hospital projects in Delaware. Whether designing schools, clinics or large health care facilities, he carried with him the belief that architecture should serve people while elevating the places they inhabit.

Now, Fugeman hopes students who participate in the Columbus trip will gain some of the same lessons that shaped his own career.

"I would hope that they see the quality of design and use of materials," Fugeman said. "I hope they understand that it's not the latest fad."

More importantly, he hopes they come away with an appreciation for architecture that endures.

"There is staying power in quality," Fugeman said.

It's a lesson Fugeman first encountered as a freshman architecture student in Columbus more than six decades ago. Thanks to gifts like his, future Wildcats will continue to have the opportunity to discover that same lesson for themselves — ensuring that the tradition, and its impact, has staying power too.