Mr. James McCrery II

Renewing the Classical Tradition: Architecture as Cultural Recover

• What does is mean to “build classically” in the modern world?

• How does architecture embody and transmit culture? 

• In what sense can architecture contribute to cultural renewal?

• How does a classical building support the moral and intellectual formation of students? 

• What responsibilities come with building in the classical tradition today? 

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 in the Summit Park Gymnasium

6:00 PM – Reception a the Summit Park Campus

7:00 PM – Talk begins in the Summit Park Gymnasium

About the Speaker

James McCrery is the founding principal of McCrery Architects, PLLC, a Washington, DC based firm committed to the design of churches, civic and university buildings, and unique commissions for clients desiring rich, legible meaning incorporated into their buildings.

His built works and contributions throughout the United States have received many awards and have been favorably reviewed in The New York Times, City Journal, The Washington Business Journal, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, Period Homes, The New York Post, Country Life (U.K.), The Washington Post, Traditional Building, The Washington Times, New York Daily News, The Classicist, and the National Review.

He is an internationally recognized leader in classical architectural design and construction. McCrery is the design architect of the recently completed Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, Tennessee, The Saint Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken South Carolina, and the St.Thomas Aquinas Chapel at the St. John Newman Center - University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is the architect of the Book and Gift Store in the United States Supreme Court Building. He designed the pedestal for the statue of President and Governor Ronald Wilson Reagan that stands in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol as well as the pedestal for the recently completed statue of The Reverend Billy Graham that stands in the Capitol Rotunda's Crypt.

His current work includes a new master plan and Revolutionary War Memorial for the North Carolina State Capital Grounds, a new mountaintop Benedictine Monastery in rural Tasmania, and several commissions for new buildings at Hillsdale College.

James is a tenured member of the faculty of the School of Architecture and the Allied Arts at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC where he is the founding Director of the Concentration in Classical Architecture and Urban Design. He is a founding member of the National Civic Art Society; a National Design Peer of the U.S. General Services Administration, and in December 2019 was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the United States Commission of Fine Arts.