Hoffmann Architects + Engineers Establishes Diversity Advancement Scholarship Fund
Hoffmann Scholarship offered in partnership with Connecticut Architecture Foundation
New Haven CT— 9 February 2023 — Hoffmann Architects + Engineers, a design firm specializing in the rehabilitation of building exteriors, contributed $25,000 to fund the Hoffmann Diversity Advancement Scholarship, administered through the Connecticut Architecture Foundation. The fund provides scholarships for students from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups who are seeking degrees in architecture or engineering.
The Hoffmann Diversity Advancement Scholarship is open to applicants who are students entering or enrolled full-time in an NAAB-accredited architecture program or ABET-accredited civil or structural engineering program, and residents / full-time college or university students located in southern New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island) or the eastern Mid-Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland), regions that form the core of Hoffmann’s practice. Eligible applicants represent a minority racial or ethnic group, as defined by the State of New York.
Unique among Connecticut Architecture Foundation awards, the Hoffmann Diversity Advancement Scholarship offers recipients the opportunity for a paid internship in one of the firm’s offices. As a practice specializing in a niche field of the architecture and engineering profession, the design and rehabilitation of the building enclosure, Hoffmann can provide students with practical experience in diagnosis and detailing of exterior envelope systems that they likely would not be exposed to in their architecture or engineering studies.
“I am excited about the opportunities this scholarship will offer, not only to promising students, but also to the design professions,” said Alison Hoffmann, Chair of the Hoffmann Diversity and Inclusion Committee. “With architecture and engineering programs still enrolling a predominantly white student body, there is little room for the kind of innovations that come from bringing together diverse perspectives. This scholarship aims to take steps toward addressing that imbalance.”
The Hard Facts
According to a report by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and the National Organization of Minority Architects, most people completing the Architectural Experience Program, a key step to earning an architecture license, were white: 63%. Just 3.4% were Black, 12.5% were Hispanic/Latinx, and 16.6% were Asian/Pacific Islander.
Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce released similar data for engineers, reporting that 5% are Black, 9% are Hispanic/Latinx, and 15% are Asian/Pacific Islander. Two-thirds of engineering jobs are held by white people.
