ACSA Report Post New Orleans

We want to thank everyone who supported and came to the 113th Annual Meeting in New Orleans. This year was no mere academic conference, because of the political pressures facing higher education, particularly in the United States, and because of the divisions within our community over the ACSA’s decision about JAE 79.2.

ACSA created multiple spaces during ACSA113 to discuss the complex and serious issues facing colleges, universities, and our organization. In addition to offering daily Office Hours with the ACSA Board of Directors, we hosted a facilitated 2-hour session titled Toward Repair: Bringing Our Community Together to examine ways that ACSA and member schools can work together and independently to address the broad political threats challenging our shared values and goals. Nearly 100 people participated in a series of exercises that started with establishing points of consensus on ways to create a stable, strong, resilient professional community, even as we reckon with divisive issues. We intend to continue these discussions in a virtual member caucus in April; more information is to come.

Facilitated Session Outcomes

Navigating what ACSA can and should do to support our schools will require continued listening and dialogue. So far, the things we heard at our various meetings in New Orleans include the following:

• ACSA should actively seek divergent viewpoints, and bring them together using tools and structures to facilitate open and civil discourse.
• ACSA must continue to support scholarship, especially when it is under threat. This will require that we clarify our role as a membership association. Members will also need partnerships, resources, and tools to navigate legal and political challenges in their local contexts.
• ACSA should strive to be an enriching professional home for architectural educators by continuing to convene our members and provide forums that advance pedagogy, research, and innovation in our field.

ACSA Board Meeting Outcomes

This guidance informed the board’s approval of a number of actions and initiatives that were introduced in prior communications.

• Hold a facilitated member caucus to provide opportunity for more dialogue and consensus building across the membership who did not travel to New Orleans.
• Initiate a Special Committee to assess the legal and political threats, needs, and opportunities at ACSA member schools with the purpose of creating strategies and policies to guide ACSA journals, conferences, publications, competitions, prizes, fellowships, and awards.
• Charge an independent consultant or task force to review processes related to JAE 79.2 Palestine. The consultant or group will review the ACSA board’s and JAE editorial board’s decisions, processes, and structures that led to the call for papers and subsequent halt of the issue. The external assessment will compare ACSA’s policies and practices with other peer association publishers and editorial boards.

ACSA113 was a key touch point as we work to repair relationships in the organization. We will continue to update members about future forums for discussion.