William K. Reilly
Vincent Scully Prize
November 8, 2011 6:30 - 8:30 pm
On November 8, 2011, Mr. William K. Reilly received the thirteenth Vincent Scully Prize and presented an original talk, titled "From Military Base to an Urban Jewel: The Transformation of San Francisco’s Presidio." The Scully Prize was instituted in honor of Vincent J. Scully, the Sterling Professor Emeritus of the history of art at Yale University and a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Miami. For more than four decades, his teaching and scholarship have profoundly influenced prominent architects and urban planners.
The National Building Museum’s Vincent Scully Prize recognizes exemplary scholarship, criticism, or practice in architecture, historic preservation, or urban design. Former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly received the Prize for his commitment to smart environmental planning, comprehensive land use and preservation of open space. Under his leadership, the Environmental Protection Agency increased the national profile of environmental concerns. As a presidentially-appointed member of the Presidio Trust, he worked to successfully transition this historic property into the urban fabric of San Francisco. And as president of the World Wildlife Fund, he helped to preserve open space and critical habitats across the world.
About William K. Reilly
In 1968, fresh from planning school and a four-month project in Turkey, Reilly went to work for Urban America, Inc., where he worked to integrate century-old concerns for urban beautification, an issue which had been brought to the forefront of the American conscience by the civil rights movement - concerns which would grow into the environmental justice movement which he dealt with when he was at the EPA.
In 1970, during the Nixon Administration, Reilly became a senior staff member of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) under Russell Train, who would later become the second EPA Administrator in 1972.
Reilly moved from CEQ to become president of The Conservation Foundation, which merged with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1985. After the merger, he served as president of World Wildlife Fund until taking over as administrator at the EPA in 1989. During his tenure, the EPA moved towards regulating acid rain and worked to reform the Clean Air Act. After only a few months in office, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred. Based on this experience, he later oversaw a report on reforming regulation of the oil industry.
After leaving the EPA during the final days of 1992, Reilly returned to World Wildlife Fund. Reilly is founding partner of Aqua International Partners, L.P., a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies engaged in water and renewable energy. AIP was formed in 1997 and is based in San Francisco.
The Scully Prize jury recognizes Mr. Reilly’s work as EPA Administrator helping to raise the profile of environmental concerns, his efforts as a board member of the Presidio Trust helping to run the Presidio National Park in San Francisco, his efforts to preserve open space with WWF’s Habitat Preservation Fund and for his current work lecturing widely about the importance of preserving the environment.
Read the full text of Mr. Reilly's Scully Prize lecture.
The National Building Museum is grateful for the generous donations to the Vincent Scully Prize received since its inception, which sustain the program.
Watch the event video:
