HEAD OF
CLASS Traditionally, September is the time of year when students are beginning a new school year and we’re all starting to think about the end of the year. Back in March, the country was forced to shelter in place, which meant we had to quickly adjust to a completely different paradigm for everyday life. Students had to switch to remote learning and with this new kind of classroom came a new way of teaching. Thereafter, the murder of George Floyd and the successive murders and brutalization of several Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement forced our nation into difficult but necessary discussions about the centuries-old racial inequality and injustice embedded within our systems.
ARTICLE BY MICHELLE DUNCAN AND TALISHA SAINVIL, AIA INTERVIEW WITH DEAN HARRIS AND CHAIRMAN VAIDYA
Within numerous panel discussions held by virtually every organizational body across the profession, Architecture has been reexamining itself, scrambling to figure out its complicity in the perpetuation of its reputation as a domain that is unwelcoming to minorities. With all the talk going on, there are many who have committed not just to discussions about the topic, but to creating the necessary changes needed. This month our spotlight shines on two of Brooklyn’s passionate Architecture educators: Dr. Harriet Harriss, Dean of Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture and Sanjive Vaidya, who are already using their professional positions to bring about the kinds of changes they believe are necessary to ensure that the industry is cultivating and harnessing the power of all its talent. 101
