SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Sept. 29, 2026 – With their annual Architecture Day right around the corner, it would be easy for those at Drury University’s Hammons School of Architecture (HSA) to sit back and bask in the glow of a record-setting fall class.
Admittedly content in the past to take what came their way, HSA Dean Joshua Nason and Associate Dean David Beach ‘97 are taking a different approach after 78 new Architecture students enrolled for the start of the Fall 2006 semester.
“We’re in the process of adjusting our recruiting philosophy after the successes of the past year,” Nason says. “While it’s always been our mission to make sure students have a great experience while they’re visiting and while they’re in the program, we’re a little more intentional in growing our enrollment now because we can taste the possibility of what this class could mean for our school and the university.”
Architecture Day, Drury’s yearly invitation to prospective students interested in pursuing an architecture and building design education, is set for Friday, Oct. 2, in Springfield. Interested students will have an opportunity to meet professors, tour Drury’s state-of-the-art design studios, and participate in interactive workshops and other hands-on activities.
Architecture has become one of Drury’s most successful programs since its inception in the late `80s. Nason believes Drury’s liberal arts setting has a lot to do with that success.
“We are one of the very few Architecture programs in a liberal arts setting. And we spend a lot of time talking about why that’s important,” he says. “You have the opportunity here to learn how architecture interfaces with religion and philosophy and graphic design, or English and writing, and craft a path into a very specific way that you approach it. That’s creative problem solving and critical thinking. Students see it as a viable advantage for them as they go into their profession.”
While this year’s growth may not be tied directly to any one thing, Beach believes the growth of HSA’s social media presence has a lot to do with it.
“The bigger picture is how we’ve started to engage social media that touches multiple areas of the life of this program,” Beach says. “The social team is constantly finding interesting ways to engage and build stories, and the narrative is really positive. And that’s made a really good change.”
One thing Nason and Beach both want to make clear is that as HSA continues to grow, this school is for everyone.
“What we try to communicate with people is there are a lot of reasons to not do something, but if you’re interested in that thing, we will teach you what you need to know,” he says. “You will gain the skills you need to know. You don’t have to come in knowing anything. But you also don’t have to be from a certain financial bracket, a certain demographic. Come as you are. You are part of our family. You will build the skills that you need, and your authenticity will actually make us better. And together we’ll make the world better.”
Beach concurs.
“The program has a history of being forward-thinking and being ahead on issues that matter to cities and communities,” Beach says. “Any growth is along the trajectory that’s been set since the foundation of this program. There’s already so much momentum and motion here that it’s exciting to carry that on and find ways to communicate that to the next generation of students.”
For more information on Architecture Day, visit drury.edu/currentevent/architecture-day.
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Media Contact: Cris Belvin, Director of University Communications & Media Relations | (417) 873-7392 | gbelvin@drury.edu