The American Institute of Architects appointed KSS Architects founding partner Allan Kehrt, FAIA, LEED AP, as Chair of the 2010 Jury of Fellows. Kehrt is one of three founding partners of the award-winning architectural design and planning firm KSS Architects, which has offices in Princeton, N.J., in Philadelphia.

This February Kehrt's one-year appointment as Chair will conclude his three-year term on the jury. The jury's five-day January session, which runs this week, culminates with the announcement of the select architects who have been elevated to the distinction of Fellow, one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a member.

Kehrt said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time on the AIA Jury of Fellows and as Chair.

"The Jury of Fellows experience has to be one of the most intense, but rewarding, experiences of my professional career," he said. "It is a very humbling undertaking to be confronted with the extraordinary accomplishments of those seeking Fellowship. It is something I will never forget."

Jurors are appointed to the Jury of Fellows by the National AIA and serve a three-year term.

The American Institute of Architects developed the Fellowship program to elevate architects with at least 10 years of membership to the AIA who have contributed significantly to architecture and society and have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession on a national level, according to AIA's Web site. Fewer than 2,765 members out of 86,000 AIA members, or about 3 percent, were recognized as Fellows, as of 2009.

Kehrt became a member of AIA's College of Fellows in 2001. He currently lives in Cranbury, N.J.