The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has announced architect and academic Robert Alexander González as its 2021-2022 President. Not a stranger to the ACSA, González has been involved in the organization's leadership since 2019, serving as the second vice president and vice president in 2020. Now in this new role, he shares, "It's an exciting time to step into the presidency, with access to such a large membership that is continually growing." 

Currently serving as the Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, González's leadership experience within architectural academia is expansive. Prior to his leadership at the University of New Mexico, he's served as the Director of the Architecture Program at Texas Tech University and the TTU El Paso Regional Site. Beyond his experience in academic program management, recruitment, strategic planning, and admissions González has put much emphasis on the importance of expanding avenues within higher education, particularly in community colleges.

For González, community colleges offer strong opportunities for students looking to enter higher education, especially architecture. Creating these avenues for all socioeconomic groups has been a longstanding focus for González. He has helped launch several high school and continuing education programs that build a robust pipeline for students and relationships between community colleges and four-year institutions. 

Creating and strengthening partnerships can help get rid of the stigma and grow confidence that community colleges are really viable and are jewels in the rough" - Robert Alexander González

During his tenure as the ACSA's president, he wants to provide greater access to educational opportunities and strengthen the diversity within faculties. According to González "having a faculty – especially deans, associate deans, and chairs – who mirror the cultural diversity of their students is essential to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education."

González adds, "creating and strengthening partnerships can help get rid of the stigma and grow confidence that community colleges are really viable and are jewels in the rough" González shared in a statement. "I'm strategizing how association memberships can be better connected to community colleges and how the ACSA can facilitate and encourage those connections." 

...having a faculty – especially deans, associate deans, and chairs – who mirror the cultural diversity of their students is essential to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education." -Robert Alexander González

This summer, the Deans' Equity and Inclusion Initiative was launched to help create a national partnership where architecture schools can "work together to nurture a diverse population of emerging scholars focused on teaching and researching the built environment to advance socioecological and spatial justice, equity and inclusion." González is one of nine participating deans who have helped launch the initiative.