Equity in Architectural
Education Consortium

About

The Equity in Architectural Education Consortium (EAEC) leverages various resources and forms of capital to collectively reduce inequities and disparities for current students of color and other underrepresented groups in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs of architecture.

Mission

Our shared goal is to ultimately impact the fields and disciplines where our students will take up careers. The EAEC was founded in 2018 by architecture schools, departments and programs at: Florida International University (FIU), Hampton University, Howard University, Morgan State University (MSU), Tuskegee University, University of Michigan (UM), University of Oklahoma (OU), and Florida A&M University (FAMU).

Stacked Mentorship
A Meta-Mentorship Model

Mentorship is crucial to the diversification, growth, and agency of the discipline and profession of architecture. Among the learned professions, in 2021 there are ~100,000 registered architects in the United States; 1.33 million licensed lawyers; and 1 million licensed physicians. Although this is a simplification, it implies the general trend where our capacity to serve society through the built environment (architecture) is one-thirteenth our capacity through social justice (law) or one-tenth of our capacity to serve its physical health (medicine). This disparity suggests that architecture’s contribution to a just and healthy world would greatly increase through the growth in the number and diversity of practicing architects.

The Stacked Mentorship Program (SMP), a principal Consortium initiative, builds upon existing apprenticeship and mentorship practices in architectural education and practice. Unique to the SMP is the creation of a mentorship “stack,” horizontally across institutions, and vertically (high school, college, graduate, doctoral, through early and advanced professional practice) to consolidate a new, meta-mentorship community supporting students of color and other underrepresented minorities in architecture.

Five Mentorship Stacks:

To date we have developed five “slices” of our meta-mentorship stack along with three shared programming initiatives.

Stack 01: Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and Consortium Mentors

Advanced degree students at EAEC schools serve as mentors to DPS high school juniors enrolled in the ArcPrep Program. (Began in 2015 the ArcPrep cohort consists of students from Cass Tech, Renaissance, and Western International, all minority-majority schools.)

Stack 02: Prototyping and Fabrication

Recent graduates with continuing roles in our FabLab, current students, and faculty from Taubman’s Master of Science Digital and Material Technologies (MS-DMT) program have structured and developed with FAMU faculty and students new virtual methods for teaching and learning fabrication and prototyping concepts and methods in a remote context.

Stack 03: Doctoral and M.Arch Mentoring

Doctoral candidates in architecture and urban design serve as mentors for M.Arch thesis students, who have just completed their first literature review and thesis draft.

Stack 04: Faculty and Junior Faculty Development and Exchange

Junior and senior faculty professional development opportunities that include serving as guest reviewers, shared classroom exchanges, as well as finding new opportunities for shared research and scholarship. All of our students, especially students of color, benefit from seeing themselves represented in their faculty in architecture programs across the country.

Stack 05: In the Profession and Practice

As the discipline of architecture remains a sparsely-trodden path for most young people, especially students of color, many inherited narratives and exclusive structures are major, long-standing, and enduring challenges for both the discipline and profession to overcome, where in architecture, current rates of professional attrition remain highest among women and people of color. (NCARB) The Consortium Mentors Stack 05, looks to both young and seasoned professionals to build new networks that support underrepresented career paths in architecture.

Parallel Programming

Under Consideration
Speaker Series
(Architecture as a Social Act)

Under Consideration is a discussion series that is student-led and developed. The series organizers, led by Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers, planned eight sessions to take place during the series’s inaugural academic year. They created the series around the inspiration: “the class you always wanted to take but wasn’t offered.” The series takes place in a virtual format, and includes students and faculty from across the EAEC. Each session features two guest speakers, who begin with a short presentation, and then share a longer conversation with a small-format audience.

Inspired By
Interview Series
(Leadership in Architecture)

The Inspired By interview series is born out of a funded research initiative on leadership in architecture, design, and the built environment. In the ongoing research, a central feature of the research is to conduct interviews with leaders who we find influential and inspiring in design and its related fields, especially in the shaping of the built world around us.

UM Public Design Corps
(Public Interest Design)

Public Design Corps is a Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning program. Offering University of Michigan students the opportunity to engage in socially-driven design, the initiative is conceived of through a series of five parallel and related aspirations. The PDC’s focus is to broaden design’s positive social impact through assisting UM-community partners in the work of spatializing and advancing their public missions.

Events and News

Current Events and News

Award Announcement

FAMU’s ADVANCE Program Recieves NSF Award

The ADVANCE program is designed to foster gender equity through a focus on the identification and elimination of organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions.

Click Here to read more.

Event

Under Consideration, Session IX: Imagining Futures
March 24, 2022 11:30am-1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Dr. Thandi Lowewenson and Ari Melenciano

Call for Workshops

Practice Session No. 10 will take place February 18th-22nd in Ann Arbor, MI at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Click Here for the information about Practice Sessions.

Announcement

The EAEC is proud to announce the establishment of the Consortium Excellence Award, for excellence as a role model and/or scholarship in architecture.

Job Posting

Assistant/Associate Professor in Architecture
Morgan State University

Morgan State University is seeking an Assistant/Associate Professor in Architecture with a commitment to advancing the mission of SA+P and Morgan State University and who demonstrates the strong potential for first-hand research.

Click Here for the full position description and to apply.

Job Posting

Sustainability Specialist
Gensler

Gensler New York is seeking a Sustainability Specialist.

Click Here for the full position description and to apply.

Award Announcement

Akima Brackeen has been named a Grace A. and James D. Bruce Fund Scholar.

Click Here to view announcement.

Initiative Announcement

Epidemic Urbanism Initiative:
An Interdisciplinary Collaborative

The EUI welcomes collaborations with colleagues across the globe in academic institutions, international practices, government agencies, NGOs, and other settings and is open to working on funded research projects that align with or extend our mission.

Click Here for information about the initiative.

Call for Papers

”Inclusive Design Pedagogies and Practices”
ENQ: The ARCC Journal

Design educators are invited to prepare submissions that draw on the latest research on adult teaching and learning, environmental and social justice approaches, community engagement practices, and more.

Click Here for information about the call for papers.

Appointment Announcement

David Rifkind will join the UF faculty starting July 1 as Director of the School of Architecture after 14 years at Florida International University.

Click Here to view announcement.

Appointment Announcement

Howard University Architecture Chair Hazel Ruth Edwards, Ph.D., FAICP, appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Click Here to view announcement.

Exhibition Announcement

WE The 7:
A Conversation with the African Diaspora

An exhibition curated by Morgan State University School of Architecture and Planning assistant professor Coleman A. Jordan, on display at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale’s ArchiAfrika Pavilion

Click Here for information about the exhibition.

Fellowship Opportunity

Forsyth Visiting Graduate Student Fellowship
Department of the History of Art at the University of Michigan

The Department of the History of Art invites graduate students specializing in all subfields and periods of art history enrolled in M.A./M.Phil./PhD programs in art history or closely related fields at U.S. or foreign universities to spend one full academic year at Michigan as visiting graduate students.

Click Here for full position description and to apply.

Job Posting

Non-Tenure Track Faculty
College of Art and Design
Rochester Institute of Technology

The School of Design in the College of Art and Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology invites innovative and experienced interior design educators to apply for a non-tenure track Lecturer position in the B.F.A. Interior Design program.

Click Here for full position description and to apply.

Editorial

EAEC Faculty, Mohammad Gharipour addresses DEI discourse in Higher Education in the Baltimore Sun.

Click Here to read.

Announcement

Consortium Mentor Walter Hunt Awarded Dow Sustainability Fellowship.

Click Here to view announcement.

Past Events and News

Under Consideration, Session VIII: Identity and the Built Environment
February 17, 2022 11:30am-1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Dr. Brandi Summers and Rajan Hoyle

BAC 2022 Spring Lecture Series: David Rifkind & Dawit Benti
January 18, 2022 12:00pm-1:00pm via. Zoom

A Conversation on Contemporary Ethiopian Architecture:
the political, economic, and social influences on the built environment of Addis Ababa

Under Consideration, Session VII : Recovery and Relief
November 18, 2021 11:30am-1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Delia Doung Ba Wendel and Hiba Bou Akar
Facilitator: Akima Brackeen

Inspired By: Thandi Loewenson
April 9, 2021
With: Torri Smith, Olivia Raisanen, Irene Hwang

Inspired By: Chris Cornelius
April 7, 2021
With: Olivia Raisanen, Nikota Litzen, Irene Hwang

Inspired By: Bryan C Lee
April 2, 2021
With: Torri Smith, Serena Brewer, Charlene Hobbs, Irene Hwang

Under Consideration, Session IV : How can environments be restorative?
March 24, 2021 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Dr. Rashad Shabazz and Ujijji Davis
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Inspired By: Kim Dokes
March 24, 2021
With: Torri Smith, Olivia Raisanen, Irene Hwang

Inspired By: Nico Wheadon
March 19, 2021
With: Torri Smith, Olivia Raisanen, Irene Hwang

Inspired By: Peggy Deamer
March 19, 2021
With: Torri Smith, Olivia Raisanen, Irene Hwang

Under Consideration, Session V : Why are BIPOC communities disproportionately exposed to environmental and health risks?
March 3, 2021 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Mallory Taub and Valerie Tran
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Under Consideration, Session IV : How can we combat unjust housing practices?
February 3, 2021 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Natasha Hicks and Bithia Ratnasamy
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Under Consideration, Session III: How can design thinkers cultivate sustainable communities?
November 12, 2020 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Theresa Hwang and Dr. Pierce Gordon
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Under Consideration, Session II: How is resilience manifested in communities?
October 21, 2020 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Damon Dickerson and Kristin Baja
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Under Consideration, Session I : How can the built environment impact the well-being of communities?
October 13, 2020 11:30am -1:00pm via. Zoom
Speakers: Katherine Darnstadt and Gabriel Jones
Facilitators: Akima Brackeen and Madison Rogers

Members

Andrew Chin
Dean and
Associate Professor

Elisa Silva
Associate Professor

Dr. Carmina Sánchez-del-Valle

Professor

Bradford Grant
Interim Chair and Professor

Coleman Jordan
Assistant Professor

Dr. Carla Jackson Bell
Dean

Irene Hwang
EAEC Director
Liaison for Equitable Teaching, Rackham Faculty Ally

Dr. Stephanie Pilat
Director and
Associate Professor

Participants

Cass Technical High School

Layla Al-Ahmar
Shahd Al-Gahim
Khamari Anderson
Jose Angeles-Gonzalez
Rasharde Banks-Dancy
Kamari Barber
Steven Barragan
Lauren Blackshear
John Bonner
Arielle Brown
Wendell Brown
Kiera Butler
Diego Camarena-Torres
Mrinmoy Chowdhury
Karnella Cleary
Michelle Diaz-Rodriguez
Justin Fuller
Anthony Grech
T'anna Halverson
Serenitee Hemphill
Foster Hooston
Nahian Hossain
Ashfakul Islam
Myahnah Isreal
Mariah James
Kamryon Johnson
Bethanye Jones
Elijah Jordan
Denaja King
Bryan Lezama-Martinez
Zamariah Maloy
Karol Manzanares-Garcia
Asia McClellan
Johan Medel
Kenidy Myles
Kasandra Negrete
Alfonso Pasaye
Carlos Pearson
Alexa Perez-Mejia
Catoria Plummer
Alicia Ridgell
Shedrick Robinson
Barbara Rodriguez
Levon Seltzer
Sarah Shaw-Nichols
Otis Sims III
Jalen Stanton
Jalen Thompson
Rion Tinsley
Derek Trotter
Skyler Wiley
Charisse Woods
Cesar Zamudio-Brant

Florida Agricultural and
Mechanical University
(FAMU)

Corona Alvarez
Namrata Brahmbhatt
Stefan Bryan
Andrew D. Chin
Deziree Cubero
Rachel Drakeford
Zachary Faza
Joshua Francis
Barbara Hammond
Madisyn Hunter
Audley Lindo
Clervan Merilus
Sharrand Pinder
Larisa Sherbakova
Regine Lauryn Swanson
Shayla Thomas
Jalena Washington
Akil Webster
Whitley Williams
Reanna Wilson
Darius Woods

Florida International
University (FIU)

Karla Cabrera
Juan Pablo Calvache
Derek Casillas
David S. Diez
Vanessa Dini
Jennyfer Hernandez
Steffania Latorre
William Valle Pinto
David Rifkind
Steffania Rivera

Hampton University

Shahadah Allah
William Atkinson
Wesley Benford
Anna Bernas-Kelly
Jason Carter
Alexander Dillard
Courtney Dolloway
Tyler Douglass
Dalton Flory
Christain Galindo
Addison Georges
Gary Glinsey
Jalyn Grays
Laona Hall
Taylor Harris
Mykel Henry
Melanie Holguin
Kelsric Hurse
Abriana Jacobs
Terri Johnson
Tasheena Lawrence
Cedric Myles
Monica Ocampo
Corey Osman
Erin Paul
Rodneysha Ruffin
Carmina Sanchez
Alyssa Stephenson
Larry Stevens
Jarrett Thomas
Marci Turner
Moffat Wanjiru

Howard University

Curry Hackett
Dahlia Nduom

Morgan State University

Graclyn Anomnachi
Harold Antoine
Nikyah Barber
Kyle Bowie
Kamryn Brown
Andrew Bui
D’avon Byrd
Jasmyn Caffey
Pau Chin
Danyel Chisley
Dan Collins
John Collins
Aniya Darby
Gregory Dorsey
Jeremiah Ekoja
Max Fineblum
Amos Gambrah
Yewoinhareg Geberemariam
Jonathan Gerdes
Matthew Hawkins
Jordan Horne
Kyle Jackson
Eric Johnson
Durmon Jones
Ashleigh Jubinski
Rubaiya Kibria
Chris Klinefelter
Caroline Makary
Liam McGinn
Rosemary Mezu
Jason Moore
Cristina Murphy
Dulce Nettey
Mudiaga Odudu
Alvin Ossis
Oyedeji Oyebisi
Samuel Penn

Morgan State University (Continued)

Najuane Phillpotts
Claire Purvis
Khanal Roshna
Mary Selsor
Devin Simmons
Jamie Solomon
Courtney Souvenir Jr
Neda Talaii
Kevin Ufua
Jenny Umana
Stephanie Walker
Alex Whelchel
Victoria Williams
DaJanae Wright

Renaissance High School

Kiersten Ace
Alice Battles
Amarion Bean
Hannah Bell
Makiyah Biley-Hooker
Kiyla Brooks
Tamia Brooks
Edaijah Burroughs
Finlei Butler
Ramiya Ferrel
Mya Harris
McKenzie Hawkins
Bre'Yonna Hill
Jaylen Hodges
Makalyn Hodges
Azaria Huggins
Keyontae Hunter
William Johnson
Shawn Joshua
Jada Lee
Tatiare Long
Saige Martin
Baye Mbodj
Aja McAllum
Jason McCree
Daniel Morris
Anijah Myles
Honestee Myricks
Zion Noland
Gabriel Perez
Albert Ramsey
Marcus Roberts
Taylor Robinson
Chinae Rollins
Treasure Simmons
Dion Stinson
Iyana Stones
Amyah Tisdale
Tyler Ward
Aniya Watson
Brooke White

Tuskeegee University

Swarnali Ghosh Dastider

University of Detroit Mercy

Ferdinem Bartolon
Shajnin Dristy
Nyvey Perryman

University of Michigan

Bader AlBader
Alaa Algargoosh
Nana-Yaw Andoh
María Arquero de Alarcón
Deepthi Bathala
Tim Berke
Secil Binboga
Eda Bozkurt
Akima Brackeen
Irene Brisson
Chandler Caserta
Jacob Comerci
Max Coolidge
Ryan Craney
Kimia Erfani
Begum Gokdag Ersozoglu
Tilahun Fikadu
Dr. Robert Fishman
Demetrius Ford
Maya Fraser
Cal Graziano
William Luke Hamel
Rachael Henry
Charlene Hobbs
Leigh House
Ellianne Huizinga
Walter Hunt
Christine Hwang
Amit Ittyerah
Dr. Joy Knoblauch
Sben Korsh
Brianna Kucharski
Yi-Chin Lee
Iman Messado
Cathlyn Newell
Tszyan Ng
Young-Tack Oh
Celia Olsen
Ishan Pal Singh
Misri Patel
Alexandra Perez-Bermudez
Anmol Poptani
Joshua Powell
Jessica Puff
Olivia Raisanen
Madison Rogers
Prakriti Shukla
Anya Sirota
Rachel Skof
Brian Smith
Rebecca Smith
Torri Smith
Kendra Soler
Benjamin Sonowo
Taru Taru
Dicle Taskin
Eduardo Villamor
Ayesha Wahid
Jieqiong Wang
Aniya Watson
Garret Wood-Sternburgh
Myles Zhang
Weican Zuo
Claire Zimmerman

University of Oklahoma

Abhay Chavan
Ashley Darden
Sara Fast
Luis Flores
Chelsea Holcomb
Angela Person
Zhina Rashidzadeh
Deborah Richards
Ramtin Mirmohammad Sadeghi
Ricardo Silva

Western International
High School

Luis Bustamente Alarcon
Isabelle Argo
Andrea Arreguin
Nadia Guerreo
Mercedes Jimenez
Mamadou Lamin Sow
Kevin Villafan
Wendy Vasquez

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Alonzo Colon
Nylah Desnoyer
Danielle Dottin
Aria Hill
Ananth Jayaraj
Isaac Mangual
Diale Takona

The University of New Mexico

Estevan Atencio
Damian Garduno
Elena Hamburg
Matthew Saavedra
Kristina Yu

Woodbury University

Kayla Castro
Ashley Gómez
Brandon Huang
Saad Ladhani
Eric Olsen
Ruby Pedrazzetti
Eloy Sanchez
Brenda Vasquez-Meza

University of Miami

Germane Barnes
Mahlia Jenkins
Mariel Lindsey

University of Viriginia

James Barnes
Cheng Chen
Luke Hamel
Sasson Rafailov Tithi Sanyal

Other Affiliations

Nicole Appleberry
Kristin Baja
Wayne Baker
Chris Cornelius
Katherine Darnstadt
Ujijji Davis
Peggy Deamer
Kim Dokes
Damon Dickerson
Dr. Pierce Gordon
Naomi Harrison
Natasha Hicks
Rajan Hoyle
Theresa Hwang
Olalekan Jeyifous
Gabriel Jones
Bryan C. Lee
Thandi Loewenson
Ari Melenciano
Marisa Novara
Bithia Ratnasamy
Rashad Shabazz
Nadine Saint-Louis
Vanessa Smith-Torres
Mallory Taub
Valerie Tran
Nico Wheadon

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