Washington State University’s School of Design and Construction and the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments are working together with Site Workshop, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN), and Berger Partnership to create an endowed scholarship in their respective landscape architecture programs to support students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
Site Workshop, a landscape architecture firm based in Seattle, began the process to establish the BIPOC LA Scholarship with WSU and UW in 2020.
“For years we have discussed the need for diversity in the landscape architecture industry—and especially in the Pacific Northwest—but 2020 brought into sharp focus just how urgently this needs to change, and the design community has the ability, even responsibility to make an immediate impact,” said Mark Brands, managing principal of Site Workshop.
The primary purpose for the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity in Landscape Architecture is to recruit and retain BIPOC students to the field of landscape architecture in the Pacific Northwest.
“We believe that through endowed scholarships funded by the local design community, deep connections will be made between students, designers and the communities we share across the state. Additionally, we are committed to broadening our role in developing new leaders in the field of landscape architecture,” said Clayton Beaudoin, principal of Site Workshop.
GGN and Berger Partnership have joined Site Workshop in furthering the financial investment of the scholarship.
Faculty and staff in WSU’s Landscape Architecture program and UW’s Landscape Architecture Department have been honored to be part of the creation of this important and impactful scholarship.
“Washington State University’s Landscape Architecture program is grateful for Site Workshop’s leadership and steadfast efforts to make the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity a reality for underrepresented students across Washington State,” said Jolie Kaytes, program head of landscape architecture and professor in the School of Design and Construction at Washington State University. “We are also abundantly thankful for the generous gifts of the Berger Partnership and GGN, whose contributions bolster the immediate and long term potency of this fund. In many ways, the scholarship reinforces the ideals of landscape architecture—to generate solutions to complicated issues in ways that are respectful, creative, beautiful, and that ultimately do good. Said another way, the scholarship is akin to planting a seedling in a devastated landscape; it acknowledges loss, expresses hope, and embodies a commitment to potential. The Endowed Scholarship for Diversity additionally complements WSU’s initiatives to address societal inequities and the School of Design and Construction’s faculty search for an assistant professor in Social Justice and the Built Environment.”
“We are immensely grateful for our strong partnership with Site Workshop and our professional community in advancing our shared goals for creating an educational environment that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive,” said University of Washington Landscape Architecture Chair and Associate Professor Ken Yocom. “Ultimately, the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity in Landscape Architecture will not only support and empower our students but better the practice of landscape architecture.”
The goal of Site Workshop, GGN, and Berger Partnership is to fully endow both scholarships by the end of the 2020–2021 school year, with scholarship distributions beginning in the 2021–2022 school year. They invite their fellow landscape architects in Washington to join in contributing to a meaningful step towards increasing diversity within the profession.
For more information, or to make a contribution to this important fund, please contact Dana Sprouse, Director of Development, Washington State University at Dana.Colwell@wsu.edu or 253‑987‑5052 and Alexandra Haslam, Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Relations, University of Washington at Alexeck3@uw.edu or 206‑685‑0175 and Clayton Beaudoin, Principal, Site Workshop at claytonb@siteworkshop.net.
