June 25, 2020
Penn State mourns the loss of architecture professor emeritus, alum Lou Inserra
![Louis Inserra, left, with his wife, Pat.](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_860xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/A-INSERRA-Lou-and-Pat.jpeg)
He really did make a lasting impression on his students with his wonderful knowledge and the real interest he took in each student’s design ideas.” – Bill Dahn (’80 B.Arch.)“He had the uncanny ability to find a historical precedent with an application to the problem on which you were working that could help clarify your thinking — and sometimes totally change the way you were thinking. It was always done with a subtle touch that encouraged further investigation and discussion,” said Dahn. Krieger echoed Dahn’s comments about the influence Inserra has had on his own life, both professionally and personally. “I hear his words often in my head when I’m alone with my thoughts,” said Krieger. “He was truly a great educator and as fine a man as one could hope to meet. I believe most, if not all, of us were touched by Lou’s steady hand during our years at Penn State.” In addition to his accomplishments in academia, Inserra designed a number of buildings in and around State College including the previous iteration of Schlow Centre Region Library, several modernist homes in the Vallamont neighborhood and his own house in the Pantops development of Port Matilda. “Lou Inserra had a tremendous interest in what was happening in architecture,” said Craig Zabel, associate professor of art history in the College of Arts and Architecture who teaches several courses on architectural history. “In the old Architecture Library down in the Engineering Units I often saw him sit down and carefully go through all the books in the New Book Rack on a regular basis.” Inserra is remembered by former students and colleagues for his rigorous studios, his dedication to learning from the greats in the disciplines of both architecture and education, and his insatiable thirst for knowledge. Willis and Muramoto recall that Inserra would eagerly consume every new architecture book that came into what was then the Architecture Reading Room in a tribute to their former colleague. “He always carried a little black notebook, in which he meticulously cataloged articles and books about the buildings he valued as teaching tools. During studio, Lou would guide individual students on ‘safaris’ to the library, pointing them to exemplars applicable to their projects,” they said. Inserra graduated from the five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture program at Penn State in 1958 and earned his Master of Architecture degree from Yale in 1959. An avid tennis player and a true lover of nature, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Patricia; his four children: John, Anne, Mark and Michael; and eight grandchildren. Plans for a memorial tribute at Penn State are still being arranged and will be announced on the Stuckeman School website when they are available.
![Louis Inserra, left, with his wife, Pat.](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_680xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/A-INSERRA-Lou-and-Pat.jpeg)
Schools and Departments:
Department of Architecture, Stuckeman School
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