High Profile New Appointee to RIAS Senior Team
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland is delighted to announce that Dr Deborah Mays is to take up a senior role in the organisation. Dr Mays joins the Incorporation in late spring, moving from Historic Scotland where she was Director of Policy and Outreach.
Dr Mays undertook her Modern History and Art History degree at St Andrews University, going on to complete her doctoral thesis on the early 20th century Scottish architect, John Kinross. After joining Historic Scotland in 1986 she held a variety of senior posts, ranging from Area Inspector to Head of Listing and Deputy Chief Inspector.
With her extensive knowledge of Scottish architecture, Dr Mays has helped Scottish Ministers meet their responsibilities for protecting and promoting Scotland’s extraordinary buildings and places. She has also played a key role in implementing legislation and policy, the compilation and management of the statutory lists of historic buildings and the Inventories of Gardens and Designed Landscapes and Historic Battlefields.
Dr Mays has researched, published and lectured widely on Scottish architects and architecture. Her recent publications include papers on the development of historic building legislation and listing in Scotland and a jointly edited book on Scotland’s post-War architecture. She is a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
RIAS President, Sholto Humphries, commented:
“The RIAS is the lead organisation for Scotland’s architects and for promoting knowledge and understanding of the nation’s architecture. We are absolutely delighted that Dr Mays, who has devoted her whole career to Scotland’s architecture, is joining the Incorporation’s executive. There are few who can rival the breadth of Deborah Mays’ knowledge. Our senior management team, under Secretary, Neil Baxter, has already benefitted from the recent arrival of Malcolm Cooper, the former Chief Inspector of Historic Scotland. Deborah’s arrival will further strengthen the team and will greatly enhance the Incorporation’s ability to support and promote Scotland‘s architects and its architecture.”
Dr Mays added:
“I am thrilled to be joining the RIAS at an important time in its evolution. A strong architectural profession is crucial to ensuring the care of Scotland’s architectural heritage and that the quality of new development remains high. These are particularly testing times for the profession and the whole construction industry. Working together with its partners in Government, in Scotland’s local authorities, within commissioning organisations and with others in the public and private sectors, the Incorporation has a major role to play in improving the lives of all of Scotland’s people. I look forward to playing my part.”