Following four years of architectural drafting in high school, Prof. Amundson headed to the University of Illinois, where he earned B.S.A.S. and M.Arch. degrees. After graduation he attained his license to practice architecture, working for architecture firms in Illinois, Delaware, and North Carolina. After several years of work as an architect, he changed direction, accepting a position as an instructor delivering the shop safety classes at a newly-launched architecture program, housed within a faith-based, liberal arts college outside of Chicago. While his primary responsibility was teaching the shop safety class and running the shop, he also had opportunities to teach the community service class, architectural design studio, and a furniture design/build studio. During his 17 years there, he built up the shop, shepherded it through the transition to a new building, integrated the art & design and interior design students into the shop experience, and made the transition to the digital fabrication age, learning his way around laser cutters, 3D printers, and CNC routers. He is passionate about teaching, good design, excellence in craft, learning through doing, materials, tinkering with machinery, and any and all things related to wood, especially veneer.
In his time outside of work, Prof. Amundson is passionate about the intersection of his faith and issues of social justice. That interest led him to help found two different chapters of Habitat for Humanity, serve on the Board of Directors of three chapters, and to serve as President of the student chapter he helped to found while a student at the University of Illinois. Later, his passion for affordable housing led to him be appointed by the Mayor of his Illinois hometown to serve as a founding member of the affordable housing commission there, helping to craft the city’s first inclusionary zoning ordinance. He served for twelve years on the housing commission, first as vice-chair and later as chair.
Prof. Amundson is married to the amazing woman he met in sophomore-year architectural design studio at the University of Illinois, has college-age twin boys, a thirteen year-old Pitbull, and a 104 year-old house that will keep him busy for at least the next 20 or 30 years.