New Partners, and an Update on “An Unfinished Atlas”

Places Editors

September 21, 2023

Logos of six schools that have joined the Places partner network.
Six schools have joined the Places academic partner network.

We’re pleased to announce that since receiving a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation this spring, we’ve made exciting progress on two interrelated, grant-supported projects: expansion of our global network of academic partners, and the development of “An Unfinished Atlas.”

To advance a longtime goal of making the Places network more inclusive, we’ve welcomed six new academic partners: the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona; the School of Arts and Humanities at Diné College; the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology at Florida A&M University; the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University; the School of Architecture at University of Puerto Rico; and the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science at Tuskegee University.

These schools include three Historically Black Colleges and Universities, two Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and one Tribal College; all share Places’ commitment to building a larger public readership for serious design writing. Their membership is being supported by the Mellon Foundation.

Representatives from these schools will join the journal’s board of directors, and in that capacity inform our mission of public scholarship on architecture, landscape, and urbanism. Our new board members include Mary Anne Alabanza Akers, at Cal Poly Pomona; Carla J. Bell, at Tuskegee; Karla Britton, at Diné College; Andrew Chin, at Florida A&M; Anna Georas Santos, at University of Puerto Rico; and Siddhartha Sen, at Morgan State.

Clockwise from top left: CL Bohannon, of University of Virginia [Tom Daly]; Irene Cheng, of California College of the Arts [Kai Snyder]; Beth Rose Middleton Manning, of UC Davis [H.J. Tsinhnahjinnie]; and Roberto Tejada, of University of Houston [Paola Valenzuela].
Clockwise from top left: CL Bohannon, of University of Virginia [Tom Daly]; Irene Cheng, of California College of the Arts [Kai Snyder]; Beth Rose Middleton Manning, of UC Davis [H.J. Tsinhnahjinnie]; and Roberto Tejada, of University of Houston [Paola Valenzuela].

Relatedly, we have assembled the Editorial Advisory Committee for “An Unfinished Atlas,” a forthcoming article series, also supported by the Mellon Foundation, that will enrich the cultural record of place-based narratives across what we now call North America. The quartet of scholars and writers who will help guide the direction of the project include CL Bohannon, associate professor of landscape architecture and associate dean of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at University of Virginia; Irene Cheng, associate professor of architecture at California College of the Arts; Beth Rose Middleton Manning, professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis; and Roberto Tejada, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor at University of Houston, where he teaches creative writing and art history.