To address the history of racism and discrimination in planning and design practices of the past, the profession of landscape architecture must broaden career opportunities and amplify voices, experiences, and perspectives beyond what is found in the current discourse of environmental design.
In recognition of this need, students, faculty and alumni of the Department of Landscape Architecture proposed establishing a new endowed scholarship: BRAVELY LEADING ADVANCEMENT, CURIOSITY, AND KNOWLEDGE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE (B.L.A.C.K. in L.A.) to prioritize a future that is community-focused, equitable, relevant, and sustainable.
The proposed endowed scholarship fund is to support the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to make higher education more accessible. Initially, one $3,000 annual award will encourage students from diverse and/or socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in Landscape Architecture. Beyond $50,000, the fund will sustain a larger annual award, or multiple awards. Long term, our vision is for the department to have its first full ride scholarship.
Looking towards this desired future, the $3,000 scholarship will be awarded annually to a new student in the Landscape Architecture major (undergraduate, graduate, or transfer) who has an interest in supporting, or involvement with, equity and inclusion efforts that benefit the long-term diversification of the discipline. The Department of Landscape Architecture Scholarship Committee will be responsible for administering and selecting the scholarship winner. Its inaugural award will be in spring 2021 while we continue to raise funding for the endowment.
In the event the amount raised is less than $50,000 by January 2024, the fund will not be endowed and instead will be kept in a spendable account for supporting an annual scholarship until funding is exhausted.
