Fellowships can help spark critical career-changing moves for designers and academics looking to establish their research and design perspectives through teaching. However, besides the teaching experience, research exploration, and funding, what else can an architecture fellowship provide young professionals? In Jennifer Meakins' case, she received much support as the 2020—2021 Schidlowski Emerging Faculty Fellow at Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
For this iteration of Archinect's Fellow Fellows series, we unpacked Meakins' research and studio she taught. While her research primarily focused on "architecture's role in upholding and furthering systems of inequity and injustice," we also dove into the current state of fellowships and how they impact the careers of design professionals. In addition, Meakins provided insight into why she pursued a fellowship versus a full-time position at a firm and her thoughts on fellowships as a vehicle or conceptual exploration.
Fellow Fellows is a series that focuses on the role fellowships play in architecture academia. These prestigious academic positions can bring forth a fantastic blend of practice, research, and pedagogical cross-pollination, often within a tight time frame. By definition, they also represent temporary, open-ended, and ultimately precarious employment for aspiring young designers and academics.
Fellow Fellows aims to understand what these positions offer for both the fellows themselves and the discipline at large by presenting their work and experiences through an in-depth interview. Fellow Fellows is about bringing attention and inquiry to academia's otherwise maddening pace while also offering a broad view of the exceptional and breakthrough work done by people navigating the early parts of their careers.
The focus of my research during the past year was on architecture’s role in upholding and furthering systems of inequity and injustice, with the specific focus on the elements of architecture.
What fellowship were you in and what brought you to that fellowship?
I was the Schidlowski Emerging Architecture Faculty Fellow at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University. The fellowship positions across the US obviously vary dramatically by institution and are largely influenced by the current objectives of the leadership and faculty. What brought me to Kent State was the explicit expectation of the word “emerging” in the title. From the very beginning of the process, it was made clear that I would be free to experiment and explore my research interests and pursue any outcome. At the same time, the faculty research and resources from Department to University were incredibly wide-ranging and invested in challenging traditional modes of design and practicing. Overall, Kent State is an exciting place to be right now, and I am looking forward to continuing my work here.
What was the focus of your research?
The focus of my research during the past year was on architecture’s role in upholding and furthering systems of inequity and injustice, with the specific focus on the elements of architecture. Additionally, through all the courses I taught, I was able to address the academic and pedagogical role in establishing and sustaining power imbalances in architecture practice.
...I was able to address the academic and pedagogical role in establishing and sustaining power imbalances in architecture practice.
What did you produce/teach and how has it reshaped your relationship to architecture and academia?
The fellowship provided me with the opportunity to develop and teach an undergraduate option studio in the Fall which allowed me to explore my research interests through the studio design process. The work in the studio led to a seminar for graduate and undergraduate students in the spring, in which we developed the framework for a collective final exhibition and lecture.
The freedom I had in exploring my research interests through design and pedagogy was invaluable in developing a clearer understanding of an academic pathway through the architectural discipline. The support from the College and Department at Kent State to use the fellowship as a platform to question, challenge, and advocate was invaluable, and something I likely wouldn’t have had outside of the Fellowship.
Congratulations on the exhibition: Not Neutral: Architectural Elements + Power. How was that experience and working around pandemic?
I have worked in exhibition design and development so I really enjoyed the process from that perspective. However, working on anything personal this past year was challenging, and the structure and content of the exhibition evolved to reflect more broadly on the work done with and by students over the course of the entire year. I can’t overstate the importance of the students during the past year. We were remote most of the time, isolated, and their enthusiasm and dedication to pushing outside their comfort zone became the backbone of the final exhibition.
One thing we all learned this past year was that expectations had to change, and I think that we were able to use the shifting conditions of the pandemic in the best way possible. Additionally, despite the pandemic and remote learning, the faculty were supportive and reached out for zoom happy hours, assistance, and feedback, and just overall kept me engaged with the College.
I didn’t see it as an alternative to applying for a full-time position, but rather a necessary stepping stone toward pursuing full-time and tenure-track positions.
What support or resources does a fellowship supply that would be hard to come by in another position? Why pursue a fellowship instead of a full-time position?
Unfortunately, academia (architecture and otherwise) is sustained on the exploitation of labor that continues to unequally promote and reward financial, gender, and racial privilege. Speaking from my own experiences in several institutions, a large percentage of faculty in architecture education are adjunct, typically without job security, liveable wages, healthcare, and institutional support to move up and into full-time and tenure track positions. However, the expectations of academic output, building, publishing, etc for these positions are based on work done outside paid time. This obviously sets up an imbalanced path toward full-time and tenure teaching positions.
The fellowship model allows for a very small group of educators (or potential educators), likely adjunct, to get closer to full-time status for a year, with institutional and financial support for curriculum development and project research. It also allows fellows to test out a program and community before potentially committing somewhere full-time, and helps to develop a better understanding of the expectations and unique characteristics of working in architecture academia. It is an incredible opportunity and privilege, and I didn’t see it as an alternative to applying for a full-time position, but rather a necessary stepping stone toward pursuing full-time and tenure-track positions.
What are your views of the current standing of fellowships as a vehicle or conceptual exploration? Are there facets that one should be wary of?
This is a tough question. As I mentioned earlier, the broader fellowship model can provide financial and institutional support for research and pedagogical exploration, and in the past, this resulted in more traditional ideas of conceptual design exploration, through form, technology, etc. The position of the fellow affords a unique privilege and responsibility to go beyond individualistic interests, typical modes, and design outcomes to engage and advocate. There are increasingly radical voices and proposals for change to architecture practice and academia, especially with the introduction of fellowships directed specifically toward race, gender, and social justice. I hope that even more diverse voices, projects, and perspectives are supported and promoted through architecture fellowships.
The success of any fellowship absolutely relies on the collegiality of fellow faculty, and fortunately, the support and encouragement from the faculty and leadership at Kent State, despite the remoteness and the pandemic was incredible.
How has the fellowship advanced or become a platform for your career?
It’s only been a few months since the official end of the fellowship, so it is hard to say. I had this grand idea that at some point my life-long research interests would appear as a neat wrapped package. Instead, the Fellowship at KSU afforded me the opportunity to continue multiple avenues of research, so as I move into this next year and beyond, I will have a better sense of my abilities and objectives while feeling more confident in continuing a search for answers.
The position of the fellow affords a unique privilege and responsibility to go beyond individualistic interests, typical modes, and design outcomes to engage and advocate. There are increasingly radical voices and proposals for change to architecture practice and academia, especially with the introduction of fellowships directed specifically toward race, gender, and social justice.
With the pandemic impacting architectural academia and exhibition, where do you see the future of academia headed? Where do you hope it goes?
In the summer of 2020, I really hoped that architectural academia would take a moment to reflect on the systemic injustices and inequity continuing to proliferate in our discipline and profession. Flexibility, empathy, alternative modes of representation, disruptions to outdated curriculum and expectations, all have provided an opportunity for radical change. New and existing student groups, collectives, and collaborations are doing so much work confronting and addressing inequity, settler, colonialism, racism, and social justice across architecture. I hope that this work is embraced and supported by our institutions so change can really happen.
*In closing, I want to acknowledge the work and intellectual contributions of the students listed below: With Riley Atkinson, Troy Baden, Tyler Baird, Cristina Bara, Ndeye Bassel, Nadim Boukhdhir, Carter Brown, Elle Campbell, Chandler Chase, Ryan Coberly, Timara Connor, Zook Crain, Alexander Denzak, Ina Drummond, Katelyn Eng, Elisa Ibsen, Devanshi Jariwala, Claire Keefer, Mary Kate McCafferty, Jyae McWilson, Braden Meyerl, Lydia Moran, Troy Oblack, Raquel Oliveira Toscano de Britto, Rebecca Romano, Grace Rosenbaum, Ty Juan Swanson-Sawyer, Mike Wakelin
Katherine is an LA-based writer and editor. She was Archinect's former Editorial Manager and Advertising Manager from 2018 – January 2024. During her time at Archinect, she's conducted and written 100+ interviews and specialty features with architects, designers, academics, and industry ...
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