Kent State University seeks to bridge academia and practice by hiring a Director for Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion

Following last week’s look at an open opportunity for an Intermediate Designer for the National Medal of Honor Museum at Rafael Viñoly Architects, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore a role for a Director of Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion at Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC).

The role, situated in Cleveland, OH, asks for an individual with 6+ years of design experience to help conduct research, provide technical design assistance to communities, and support public education and design advocacy programs.

Why the role interests us

The role at the CUDC offers an insight into moves being made by academic institutions to extend their impact beyond campus design studios. Such efforts are often of benefit to students and the community alike, as we saw back in June when we reported on the University of Buffalo students who were constructing tiny homes to fight homelessness.

In Buffalo’s case, the vehicle for community impact was the university’s in-house design-build program called the Small Built Works Project, which for the past 21 years has seen dozens of projects undertaken to develop and install public benefit schemes across Buffalo. Similar community initiatives to tackle homelessness have also been undertaken this year by Drury University in Missouri and Rice University in Texas.

The CUDC’s Director of Design Entrepreneurship and Inclusion role is notable too for its emphasis on supporting diversity in the profession. According to the organization, the new role was created to “support the development of new design firms and expand the diversity of design practitioners in Northeast Ohio.”

Among the role’s responsibilities are to “strengthen pathways into the design professions for people of color; assist local government agencies, institutions, and design firms in identifying diverse designers for project teams; and offer entrepreneurship support for young designers establishing their own firms,” the job description says.

Over the past year, our editorial has seen several U.S. architecture schools launch similar initiatives, often involving the creation of new positions among faculty. These include the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture creating the position of Associate Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and Penn State Architecture creating the position of Associate Dean for Access and Equity.

2022 has also seen both the Pratt Institute and Clemson University launch fellowships within their design and architecture schools focused on students from underserved or underrepresented communities. Meanwhile, in February, the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Architecture received a $1 million donation honoring John S. Chase, the first Black graduate of the school and the first Black licensed architect in the state of Texas; funds that will be dedicated towards increasing diversity and representation among staff and students.

Such initiatives come at a time when successive NCARB and NOMA reports have highlighted the disproportionate struggle faced by women and people of color during their architectural training.

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