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ALUM Spotlight Batey M. Gresham Jr. '57
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Batey Gresham is one of four distinguished recipients of the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is the highest honor given by the Auburn Alumni Association. It recognizes recipients for outstanding achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity and stature, and service to the university.

Gresham, 71, co-founded Gresham, Smith and Partners, a Nashville firm whose projects have included the Nashville International Airport, the Alabama Power Company headquarters in Birmingham and the Nashville City Center Building. The firm also has worked on projects for the National Council of Christians and Jews and the King Faisal Medical City in Riyadh. Gresham also was personally involved in the design of AU's Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Six years ago, Gresham and his wife, Ann, established the first endowed professorship in the 90-year history of the AU College of Architecture, Design & Construction.

At Auburn:
Enrolled at AU specifically to learn how to be an architect. Decided on his career path as a teenager and was so passionate about architecture that he attempted to skew the results of a high-scholl career assessment test. "I had already made up my mind, so when I took the test, on every question I'd think, 'How would an architect answer this question?,' even though I'd never met one. But I came out with a remarkably high score indicating that I should be an architect. I always liked solving three dimensional problems...it just seemed to fit."

After Graduation:
Worked with a couple of Tennessee firms and on his own before hanging his shingle in 1967 with one partner, a draftsman and his wife as office manager. Gresham, Smith and Partners now employs more than 700 people in 14 cities. Its projects have included the Nashville International Airport and AU's Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

Favorite Auburn Memory:
"I met my wife the first week (at church) during freshman orientation. The first time I saw her, I had one of those experiences I can't explain. I knew I had to see her again. As it turned out, one of my classmates lived across the street from her, so he quickly became a friend."

Biggest Regret:
Pursuing business for his firm at the expense of volunteering service to professional organizations. He now spends time "giving back" by serving as president of the Middle Tennessee chapter of the American Institute of Architects and will serve as president of the statewide chapter next year.