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
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 7, 2022
Visibility breeds traffic in healthcare design
Ryan Companies has completed several healthcare projects that gain exposure by being near retail stores or office buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 7, 2022
Ken Soble Tower becomes world’s largest residential Passive House retrofit
The project team for the 18-story high-rise for seniors slashed the building’s greenhouse gas emissions by 94 percent and its heating energy demand by 91 percent.
Architects | Apr 7, 2022
Perkins Eastman, Kliment Halsband Architects to merge
Perkins Eastman and Kliment Halsband Architects have announced their merger, which will combine the formidable talents, experience, and skills of both legacy firms. With Perkins Eastman celebrating its 40th anniversary and Kliment Halsband celebrating its 50th, this merger promises to create powerful synergies.
Urban Planning | Apr 5, 2022
The art of master planning, with Mike Aziz of Cooper Robertson
Mike Aziz, AIA, LEED AP, Partner and Director of Urban Design with Cooper Robertson, discusses his firm's design for the redevelopment of a Connecticut town's riverfront.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 5, 2022
New Covenant House New York contains multiple services for youth in crisis
The new Covenant House New York, a crisis shelter for homeless youth in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, provides a temporary home and multiple services for young people.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Apr 1, 2022
Video surveillance systems for multifamily housing projects
This introductory course provides detailed technical information and advice from security expert Michael Silva, CPP, on designing a video surveillance system for multifamily housing communities – apartments, condominiums, townhouses, or senior living communities. Technical advice on choosing the right type of cameras and optimizing the exterior lighting for their use is offered.
K-12 Schools | Apr 1, 2022
Charleston County’s award-winning career and technical education high school
BD+C Executive Editor Rob Cassidy talks with the team behind the award-winning Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies, a Career|Technical Education high school in Charleston County, S.C.
Modular Building | Mar 31, 2022
Rick Murdock’s dream multifamily housing factory
Modular housing leader Rick Murdock had a vision: Why not use robotic systems to automate the production of affordable modular housing? Now that vision is a reality.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 29, 2022
Here’s why the U.S. needs more ‘TOD’ housing
Transit-oriented developments help address the housing affordability issue that many cities and suburbs are facing.
Contractors | Mar 28, 2022
Amid supply chain woes, building teams employ extreme procurement measures
Project teams are looking to eliminate much of the guesswork around product availability and price inflation by employing early bulk-purchasing measures for entire building projects.