Back in 2013, the AIA earmarked $1M for Diversity Advancement Scholarships, aimed at “improving equity, diversity and inclusion among people entering the profession”. Now, the Board of Directors has announced another million dollar donation being set towards the fund. 

The profession of architecture in the United States is notoriously dominated by white men. The scholarships are aimed to ameliorate that, and are accompanied by a set of recommendations including:

• Expose children and families to architecture through K–12 Programs, with elements that help underrepresented groups to discover architecture.
• Develop self-assessment tools to collect data on diversity and inclusion issues in the biannual AIA Firm Survey, and use results to establish best practices.
• Create and publish best practice guidelines for architectural practices, covering such themes as career progression, work culture, pay equity, and talent recruitment.

“The AIA is continuing to make profound commitments to improving these vital aspects of our profession,” said 2017 AIA President Thomas Vonier, FAIA. “We are indebted to Equity in Architecture Commission for its work, and will implement their recommendations as rapidly and effectively as we can.”

More on the AIA:

• AIA honors I.M. Pei's Grand Louvre with 2017 Twenty-Five Year Award
• 2017 AIA Architecture Firm Award goes to SF-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects
• Robert A.M. Stern wins 2017 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion
• 2017 AIA Gold Medal posthumously awarded to Paul Revere Williams — the first African-American recipient