Summary: The AIA is pleased to announce the second request for proposals for the Practice Academy Initiative to prepare students for architecture practice and professional advancement through partnerships between the academy and firms. Goals of the Practice Academy are to develop mutually beneficial programs for students, interns, faculty, and practitioners and challenge or transform preconceptions about the boundaries between academia and practice.

Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded for a one-year period to support new initiatives and/or for special initiatives that are part of an existing program. Programs may begin in fall 2009 or spring 2010, with planning undertaken in the preceding semester. Either an architecture firm or school may submit a proposal for the Practice Academy Initiative. Proposals are due April 20. Visit the AIA Web page for complete submission requirements.

About the Practice Academy Advisory Committee
The Practice Academy Advisory Committee comprises representatives from the AIA, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA; Barbara Laurie, AIA; Thomas Mathison, FAIA; and Casey Nixon, Assoc. AIA, represent the AIA. Marjorie Callahan, AIA, and Andrew Pressman, FAIA, represent ACSA. And H. Carleton Godsey, FAIA, and Gordon Mills, FAIA, represent NCARB. The committee receives staff support from Catherine Roussel, AIA, director of education at the AIA.