The University of Illinois’ School of Architecture is hosting a Women’s Reunion and Symposium September 26th through 28th. Did you know that in 1878 the U of I was the first institution in the U.S. to award a woman a degree in architecture?
And yet, surprising to no one, “women currently compris[e] over 40% of architecture graduates,” but still “have fewer career opportunities, hold fewer leadership positions, and earn less recognition for their work.”
This two day event “brings together women who are shaping our skylines and making an impact inside architecture and out in order to share stories, journeys, and work.”
Don’t forget to stop by Krannert Art Musuem, which will open Revealing Presence: Women in Architecture at the University of Illinois, 1874 – 2019, an exhibition featuring the work of Illinois alumnae.
The full press release is below, and you can learn more about the symposium, event schedule, and amazing list of speakers here.
Celebration of Women in Architecture
Champaign, IL—The School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is hosting a Women’s Reunion and Symposium on September 26-28, 2019. The two‐day event will include a symposium with keynote speakers, discussion panels, and networking opportunities designed to examine, celebrate, and recognize our alumnae.
This event is a rare opportunity for women in the field of architecture to celebrate accomplishments, share stories and experiences, and connect with a community of over 2,400 women graduates around the world. While no one institution can tell the whole story of women in the profession, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides a valuable and representative case study of the history of architectural education at a public, land-grant institution.
Even after presenting the first architecture degree to a woman in the country in 1878, the number of students and faculty in architecture were few, and women were rarely represented. Over the course of the next century, women in architectural education – and thus in the profession – remained scarce, only 12% of architectural students as late as the 1970s. Progress towards gender equity in architectural education is being made, with women currently comprising over 40% of architecture graduates. Despite these improvements, women have fewer career opportunities, hold fewer leadership positions, and earn less recognition for their work. The symposium and reunion brings together women who are shaping our skylines and making an impact inside architecture and out in order to share stories, journeys, and work.
The slate of panelists and speakers include Dina A. Griffin, FAIA, NOMA, IIDA, Interactive Design Architects, Chicago, IL; Ruth Baleiko, FAIA, The Miller Hull Partnership, Seattle, WA; Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Ross Barney Architects, Chicago, IL; Molly Murphy, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Gensler, New York, NY; Patricia Saldana Natke, FAIA, UrbanWorks Ltd, Chicago, IL; Michelle LaFoe, AIA, OFFICE 52 Architecture, Portland, OR; and Jenna M. Goebig, AIA, NCARB, Facebook, Chicago, IL. A full list of speakers and the event schedule are available at https://arch.illinois.edu/arch-womens-symposium.
In conjunction with the Women’s Reunion and Symposium, Revealing Presence: Women in Architecture at the University of Illinois, 1874 – 2019, an exhibit featuring the work and stories of Illinois alumnae, will open at the Krannert Art Museum. The exhibition, intentionally inclusive and declarative of the breadth and depth of the alumnae work, shows the diversity of their architecture in a collective display. A collage of images illuminates the scales of the work and its imprint and impact on the built environment. Historical data and architectural images displayed along a timeline present Illinois as a pioneer and also as a mirror of the imbalanced growth between women and men in education and practice. Women’s work often does not find itself in main publications and exhibitions, remaining somehow hidden, with its authorship unknown, unrevealed. Revealing Presence: Women in Architecture at the University of Illinois, 1874 – 2019 will remain on view in the museum’s East Gallery through October 12, 2019.
The reunion and symposium were organized by Sara Bartumeus and Marci Uihlein, Associate Professors in the School of Architecture. Bartumeus and Uihlein are also the curators of the exhibit, with design assistance led by Andrea Melgarejo de Berry with David Emmons and Claire Gaspin and research assistance by Hannah Brostoff, Zebao Chen, Lauren Garriott, and Anthony LoCasio.
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The School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the oldest Architecture programs in the country dating back to 1867. Illinois has a long history of innovation in architectural teaching and training. Nathan Ricker became the first graduate of an architecture program in the United States in March of 1873. After being appointed head of the department and campus architect, Ricker oversaw the architectural education of many students including Mary Louisa Page, the first woman to graduate with a degree in architecture in North America. Page completed her Bachelor of Arts Certificate in Architecture in June 1878 and her Bachelor of Science in Architecture at Illinois in 1879. The more than 14,000 alumni of Illinois’ School of Architecture have shaped the built environment around the world over for more than 140 years.
Top photo from School of Architecture Women’s Reunion and Symposium website
