Peter MacKeith is Dean and Professor of architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. Appointed in July 2014, and reappointed in 2019, he is the fifth dean of the school and a nationally recognized design educator and administrator. MacKeith received his Bachelor of Arts in Literature and International Relations, with distinction, as an Echols Scholar from the University of Virginia (1981) and his Master of Architecture and the Alpha Rho Chi Medal from Yale University (1985). An advocate for contextual design and Nordic architecture, Peter connects academia and practice to strengthen communities through design.

A nationally recognized leader in advancing the cause of a forest-centered culture and economy, and the cause of a wood-product centered approach to architecture, engineering and construction, MacKeith lectures and presents frequently on these topics, most recently for The Architect’s Newspaper, the Sustainable Forests Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, and the International Living Future Initiative. He has worked with the World Trade Center Arkansas to organize a state trade and industry delegation to Finland in 2021, to advance the state’s interests in environmental and economic development, particularly in its forests, timberlands and wood products industries, and with the production team of the PBS series “America’s Forests” on two episodes devoted to the Arkansas forests and forest communities. In 2021, AIA Arkansas awarded MacKeith the Award of Merit in recognition of his contributions to the state’s architecture and education culture.