Robert Beckley was an American architect and Dean Emeritus of the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning from 1987 to 1997. Beckley earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati and his master's from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1963, he began instructing at the University of Michigan. Beckley worked on projects in Milwaukee, including two urban design centers, one for the African American community and one for the Latino community. Beckley founded the architectural firm, Beckley/Myers Architects, with his colleague Sherrill Meyers. Beckley died in 2015 at the age of 79.