Summary: The AIA convened the 2008 Diversity Plenary, multiFORMity ’08 [architects.embracing. diversity] in St. Louis, April 14–16, where 63 attendees representing all facets of AIA leadership and members, students, collateral organizations, large and small firms, professional affinity groups, and others from outside the profession gathered to renew a conversation about diversity and inclusiveness within the AIA and the profession. The goal was to engage organizations with the ability to impact the recruitment, matriculation, retention, and promotion of talented, diverse individuals in the field of architecture. The outcome of the plenary, a document called the Gateway Commitment, will lead to the development of a multi-year action plan that will address these issues.

The backdrop for the meeting was a directive from the 2008 AIA Strategic Plan: “Expand the diversity of the design professions to mirror the society we serve.” Notes Karen Davis, senior director, AIA Strategic Planning: “Things aren’t homogenous anymore. The demographics of the population are changing so rapidly that we can no longer deny that the clients and users that the profession serves are not going to look the way they look now in 20 years,” Davis notes. “We have to embrace the fact that things are changing now. Not when we’re ready for them to change, but now.”

Reaching out to the AIA community and the profession
In his opening remarks, AIA president, Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA, reviewed efforts since the call to action civil rights activist and then head of the Urban League Whitney M. Young Jr. made at the 1968 AIA convention in Chicago. Purnell noted: “In the 40 years since Whitney Young issued his challenge, we have had forums, summits, conferences, and retreats. We have talked about and analyzed the problem of diversity within the AIA and the profession pretty near to death. In the process, we have conclusively, irrevocably, and without a doubt proved we aren’t as diverse as we should be, especially given the increasing diversity of the society that we serve.”

Purnell charged the group with laying the groundwork for development of a multi-year action plan to achieve the goal of expanded diversity as stated in the AIA strategic plan. He emphasized that the effort would take a commitment to pulling underrepresented groups all the way through the pipeline, from K-12 programs, through their architecture education, across the IDP and ARE threshold, and into licensure. The mentoring should not stop there, he said, but must continue throughout the architect’s career.

The group’s discussion touched on a wide range of issues, organizers say, from the business case for diversity, to diversity in architecture education programs and outreach to students who are from underrepresented groups, to the linkages between accredited majority academic institutions and community colleges, to the reasons why the profession loses women and minority designers between university and licensure, to practice issues dealing with diverse clients, to making AIA membership more inclusive..

Wide range of issues
The group heard best practices from representatives of the legal profession, corporate America, academia, and professional architectural practice. “If Shepley Bullfinch can be diverse, any firm can do it,” said Carole C. Wedge, FAIA, of her old-school Boston-rooted firm. View her presentation and others made at the event are available here.

One particular presentation that made an impression on the attendees was that of Dr. Charles H. Thornton, Hon. AIA, founder/chairman the ACE Mentor Program, which is a partnership among industry professionals—architects, interior designers, engineers, construction managers, college and university representatives, and other professionals from related corporations and professional organizations—who work together to attract young people to their professions. Industry professionals volunteer to become mentors to high school students to introduce them to the professions and encourage them to pursue studies and careers in these fields. In return, the pipeline of talent is further bolstered and industry gets a much-needed boost of new talent.

Purnell was realistic about the current status of diversity of the profession, but optimistic about the future, asking: “We talk about exposing K–12 students to architecture, but how effective is exposing our children to a profession that requires calculus when they are barely being taught to count?” Still, he said the Institute needs to push forward. “We need to recruit talent that comes from those very communities that historically have been underserved and are most in need of architectural services. Recruiting from these untapped talent pools will yield men and women who would enrich our profession. Doors previously closed or perhaps not even known to us will open, and we as a profession would begin to have a far greater impact on society than we have today, and I dare say a far greater relevance than we have today.”

Through a series of small breakout groups and large group discussion, the attendants outlined specific issues and possible responses that will drive the action plan. Based on the discussion, the participants crafted and signed the “Gateway Commitment,” in which they noted that any successful effort would require a “cultural shift in the Institute, in our workplaces, and in ourselves.” Specifically, they committed themselves “to significantly improving the representation and management of diversity in architecture education and practice” with a “specific action agenda” concerning:

• Using our members’ expertise to expand our diversity with creative career mentoring opportunities from kindergarten to retirement
• Learning from other colleagues and related organizations that have successfully addressed diversity issues
• Focusing on a series of coordinated action items and ideas to promote diversity, with comprehensive oversight
• Asking our membership to initiate conversations and actions on the local level
• Sharing and celebrating best practices in promoting diversity
• Recruiting and retaining the best and brightest in our profession
• Employing the appropriate resources to implement these initiatives.

After review and refinement of a draft plan by plenary participants and the national leadership team, CACE and component leadership will be asked for their input before the plan is finalized for the Board in September. By the end of the year, the plan will be integrated with the strategic plan, operating plan, and budget for 2009. An additional deliverable of this effort will be a toolkit for components that will include best practices, references and other resources that can be deployed at the local level.

Moving forward
The key difference that sets these and other past efforts apart, President Purnell and organizers say, is that this is the first time metrics, time frames, and accountability are tied into the action plan. It is also the first time programs will be incorporated into the Institute’s overall strategy. The undertaking also has the backing of “very committed leadership making sure the plan moves forward,” Davis says, along with continuity of leadership of the next two presidents, Marvin Malecha, FAIA, in 2009, and the 2010 President-elect George Miller, FAIA.

The other difference is a commitment on the part of organizers and participants to make sure the ideas are communicated and to “charge everybody for making change happen,” says Heather Vance, AIA North Carolina communications director and a member of the AIA Diversity and Inclusiveness Discussion Group. In addition to linking it to the larger goals and Institute strategy, it’s about “small ideas that can get us a lot further ahead.”

Results
At the conclusion of the event, each participant stated one thing they would commit to do back home. Here are some examples:

• Mentor someone who doesn’t look like me
• Collaborate with or create an ACE Mentoring Program at the local level
• Engage staff in the conversation; carry the message and the conversation to the chapter and to the state
• Work with HR firms to be more inclusive of minority colleges and universities.
• Go back to the AIA committees to create a more open and welcoming environment
• Develop a broader definition of diversity
• Be bold and brave in addressing individuals when they are not being inclusive.

What will you do?