Bob Bliss, founder of U.’s architecture grad school and an influence on a generation of builders, dies at 97

Robert Bliss, who influenced many of Utah’s major architects as the founder of the University of Utah’s Graduate School of Architecture and championed the preservation of Utah landmarks, has died.

“Most of the [architecture] firms in the state are led by graduates [who] were students when he was dean” of the U.’s Graduate School of Architecture, said Edward Smith, professor emeritus of what’s now the U.’s College of Architecture + Planning.