flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

SmithGroup enters partnership to support architecture programs at three Historically Black universities

Architects

SmithGroup enters partnership to support architecture programs at three Historically Black universities

The firm is providing instructors and mentors as part of a broader effort to expand the industry’s diversity.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | April 22, 2021
The building housing Howard University's College of Engineering and Architecture

Howard University is one of three Historically Black Universities that joined forces with SmithGroup to support their respective architectural students and programming. Image: Howard University

At the start of the current semester, SmithGroup entered into a five-year partnership with three Historically Black Universities—Florida A&M University, Hampton University, and Howard University—through which the design firm is providing financial support for programming needs, an internship program, and academic mentorship.

African-American students currently account for a minuscule number of architectural degrees awarded each year. The seven Black colleges and universities that offer National Architectural Accrediting Board-approved programs award nearly one-third of the architecture degrees earned by Black students in the United States, according to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. The intent of SmithGroup’s partnership program is to increase these numbers and, in turn, further diversify the industry’s talent pipeline.

Initiating this partnership program was Taft Cleveland, Assoc. AIA, Assoc. APA, LEED GA, NOMA, an alumnus of Florida A&M’s School of Architecture and Engineering Technology, who works as a design architect for SmithGroup’s healthcare practice in Chicago.  Cleveland also earned an M.Arch degree from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Through this partnership, select SmithGroup architectural and engineering staff are lecturing at each university, giving students an understanding of how architects collaborate with other design disciplines, how successful businesses operate, and what collaboration skills are needed to be successful.

SmithGroup employees also participate in biweekly virtual desk crits providing feedback and mentorship as students advance through their coursework. Staff will serve as jurors for the program’s midterm and/or final projects.

FUND RAISING AND TUITION ASSISTANCE

The firm will select students from each university for paid summer internships with its Chicago, Detroit or Washington, D.C. offices to provide practical learning opportunities in a real-world setting.

Dr. Hazel Edwards, Professor and Chair in the Department of Architecture at Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture, says the partnership with SmithGroup is supporting the department’s third-year studio, which focused on housing. Some of SmithGroup’s instructors, who include some Howard graduates, complement the school’s studio instructors.

Smith Group also raised $12,000 in personal donations to provide Howard architecture students with personal laptops.

Since 2018, SmithGroup has conducted an annual Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion scholarship program that supports and mentors students from historically underrepresented demographics in architecture, interior design, planning, landscape architecture, and engineering. The firm has awarded $90,000 in tuition aid to 15 recipients across the country.

Related Stories

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 10 Telecommunications Building Architecture Firms for 2023

Arcadis North America, CSArch, Interior Architects, and TETER top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest telecommunications building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 50 Public Library Architecture Firms for 2023

Quinn Evans, McMillan Pazdan Smith, PGAL, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Gensler top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 60 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Architecture Firms for 2023

Populous, DLR Group, Gensler, HGA, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.  

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for 2023

SmithGroup, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Quinn Evans, HGA, and Cooper Robertson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.  

Architects | Feb 8, 2024

LPA President Dan Heinfeld announced retirement

LPA Design Studios announced the upcoming retirement of longtime president Dan Heinfeld, who led the firm’s growth from a small, commercial development-focused architecture studio into a nation-leading integrated design practice setting new standards for performance and design excellence.

Market Data | Feb 7, 2024

New download: BD+C's February 2024 Market Intelligence Report

Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.

Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024

Top 80 Religious Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

Parkhill, FGM Architects, GFF, Gensler, and HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Modular Building | Feb 6, 2024

Modular fire station allows for possible future reconfigurations

A fire station in Southern California leveraged prefab, modular construction for faster completion and future reconfiguration.

Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024

Top 30 Entertainment Center, Cineplex, and Theme Park Architecture Firms for 2023

Gensler, JLL, Nelson Worldwide, AO, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest entertainment center, cineplex, and theme park architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Urban Planning | Feb 5, 2024

Lessons learned from 70 years of building cities

As Sasaki looks back on 70 years of practice, we’re also looking to the future of cities. While we can’t predict what will be, we do know the needs of cities are as diverse as their scale, climate, economy, governance, and culture.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category




halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021