The William Kirby Lockwood papers contain materials created during his career as an architect and architectural illustrator, educator, and author.

William Kirby Lockard was born in Cobden, IL on July 24, 1929. He attended Kemper Military Institute and served in the U.S. Army for two years. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1952 from the University of Illinois and moved to Tucson, AZ where he worked for the architectural firm of Scholler and Sakellar, a highly influential firm known for the use of progressive Modern architecture. Lockard left the firm to pursue a Masters in Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962. Upon graduation Lockard returned to Tucson and taught in the College of Architecture at the University of Arizona, retiring as professor emeritus in 1999.

Lockard guest lectured at over twenty-five universities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain. He held numerous national and international workshops for teachers, students and architectural professionals and was a founder of the national Design Communication Association. While teaching, Lockard maintained a private architectural practice and published several books on architectural rendering. In 1965, Lockard was selected to design the Dove of Peace Lutheran Church in Tucson, a major commission that was widely published and resulted in Lockard receiving an award of merit from the Western Regional chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He joined the leadership of the Southern Arizona Chapter of the AIA in 1968 and designed his own home, designated a Historic Landmark by the City of Tucson in 2020.