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About the HBCUs project

The Need

The high rate of disabilities in U.S. minority populations, particularly the disproportionate rate for African Americans, has a pronounced impact on independence and social participation in many communities.  The gap is likely to grow as aging, obesity and related medical conditions increase rates of disabilities. Universal design in architecture means designing all buildings to increase usability, safety and health to reflect the diversity of the human population. It goes beyond accessible design to support a higher level of independence and social participation as well as unmet needs of diverse groups, not just people with disabilities. Emphasizing universal design components in architectural curricula can help build healthy and supportive communities that reduce the constraints of disability.
Schools with large African American populations clearly have a greater stake in addressing this gap. But they also have much to contribute to the evolving knowledge base of universal design through their unique cultural perspective.  Although UD grew out of the American disability rights movement, its focus has been broadened to making the design of built environments, products, and communities more inclusive for populations of all ages, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.  It is here that HBCUs can bring a unique and important perspective to universal design that promises to enrich the body of knowledge in this field and in architecture in general.

The Benefits

The initiative will benefit participating schools in a number of ways:

  • With a minimal investment of time, a school’s achievements in universal design will be widely shared and appreciated by other schools of architecture;
  • The diversity of architecture school experiences will improve the body of UD knowledge so it better reflects the experiences of minority architects and communities;
  • The project will improve student training in accessibility, thereby benefiting minority communities across the country over the long term;
  • Participating departments will add to their  menu of course options and curricula approaches and innovations;
  • Project activities will increase students’ appreciation of the importance of UD to the practice of design.


The Importance

In her article,  “Addressing Design Disparities: The Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities”, the Dean of Morgan University’s School of Architecture, Mary Anne Alabanza-Akers, Ph.D., notes that while 12.1 percent of the U.S. population is African American, only 1.5% of licensed architects and 2 percent of interior designers are Black. 

Alabanza-Akers believes that “an often overlooked partner that can help to address this disparity in design education and practice are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Of the 117 HBCUs in the United States, seven have accredited architecture programs, three offer landscape architecture degrees, and two have urban planning programs.  Apart from this challenge of a few design programs, HBCUs continue to be the vehicle for successfully producing minority design graduates. For example, the seven HBCUs still graduate approximately 45% of all African American students with professional architecture degrees.” Akers continues:

“Established in the 1800’s, HBCUs have continued to be the primary vehicle for educating and training black and other minority students. For example, studies have shown that African Americans who attend HBCUs complete their undergraduate degrees with greater frequency than those at predominantly white institutions. They also demonstrate greater satisfaction with their college experiences and have higher self-esteem, increased academic self-efficacy, and stronger achievement orientation.

“The academic design culture at HBCUs encourages students to explore solutions outside of the mainstream Eurocentric framework. Students, who represent a wide range of the socio-economic spectrum, are as diverse as the faculty. Adding to the mix are international students who bring distinct experiences, traditions, and ideas to the classroom. These cross-cultural interactions and relationships foster an atmosphere of openness, awareness, and acceptance, which enhances students’ pluralistic ways of viewing the world.

“HBCUs have proven to be an invaluable resource for cultivating and developing future minority designers who will lead and make a difference in society. Unless leadership organizations and mainstream schools in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design and other design fields partner with HBCUs, their strategies to address diversity may continue to be an uphill battle.”