Architecture dean leaves legacy of social change

Photo: Sally Asher.

By: Faith Dawson.

When Kenneth Schwartz arrived at Tulane University in 2008, the School of Architecture was re-energizing after Hurricane Katrina and showing “a lot of momentum, and a lot of positive energy and goodwill in the community.”

The time was right for the new dean and professor of architecture to keep the school on the upswing. Over the next 10 years, the school achieved its highest ranking, improved alumni engagement and saw record fundraising. Its affiliate, Tulane City Center, grew into the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design, and another universitywide affiliate, the Phyllis Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, launched in 2014.

“We’re involved with building community, and toward that end, architecture is more than just physical design,” said Schwartz, who also holds the Michael Sacks Chair in Civic Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship and is the founding director of the Taylor Center. “Those are among the many things we focused on for my first five or six years as dean and to this day as well.”

Read the full article here, courtesy of NewWave.