In his own words:

The most important thing I learned in school was history. Architectural history has played a large role in the things I think about when I begin a project.

If I could go to school again, I’d be sure to focus a little more on my work – on architecture, and then a lot more on other subjects.

The most satisfying thing about my current work is going into an area that’s disorganized, and giving some sense of order to it. There are a number of places in Arkansas where we’ve been able to leave things a little better than when we went there.

Right now, I’m working on an Operations Facility for the Bank of the Ozarks in Ozark, Arkansas and the New State Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas.

My favorite project is Lou Kahn’s Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth.

Words of wisdom: Focus on  your chosen vocation, but also consider the needs of the people around you and the many other things that are important in life. You have to be broadminded and aware.

About Tommy Polk:

Architect, all-star athlete and all-around good guy Tommy Polk received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Arkansas, where he was the first University of Arkansas football letterman to graduate with a degree in architecture. He began his career with a Fayetteville engineering firm and later worked with Edward Durrell Stone in New York City and Roy P. Harrover & Associates in Memphis.

In 1976 Polk returned to his home state of Arkansas to start a firm with Joe Stanley and Jeff Shannon in Little Rock. Their first major commission was the First National Bank in Fayetteville, an award-winning project credited in the revitalization of the Fayetteville Square. Polk’s designs are visible throughout the university community and include the addition to the Student Union, the Pat Walker Health Center, Bell Engineering Center and Northwest Quadrant residence halls.

Tommy Polk was a founding member of the School of Architecture Dean’s Circle, and he served on the School of Architecture’s advisory board and committee for the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. His firm has provided ongoing support for the school’s community design center and lecture series. He was awarded the school’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004 and the Arkansas Alumni Association’s Citation of Distinguished Alumni in 2006.