Public Architects Committee

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

We need to have a positive letter from the AIA on the impressive benefits Architects offer as thought leaders in the environment.  Why is not the Public Architects Committee proposing such a vision statement?  MANY architects within government may have their positions removed due to proposed administration cuts - -- we should be proactive NOW.

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

All,

I have read each of your responses and sympathize with the sentiments of all.  I would like to add the following for your consideration:

1.  AIA already has strong language regarding inclusiveness and diversity within the profession.  It would be good if A) National AIA re-iterates those tenets, and B) we practice them in our own spheres of influence.

2.  Asking for Robert Ivy's head on a stake does little good for AIA as an organization other than a short term feel-good measure.  Given its recent past history of very short-lived CEO/EVPs, keeping someone who has demonstrated both an understanding of practice along with strong leadership is paramount.  Bob has done so to date and should not be tarred and feathered because of one misstep.

3.  As the 2015 Chair of the Public Architects Knowledge Community (PAKC), I won't usurp either the current chair or incoming chair regarding a policy statement, nor do I believe we would provide such a statement.

4.  From my perspective, PAKC represents architects from all varieties of public agencies - federal, state, municipal, and other government entities.  The vast majority of us, especially on the federal level, are career employees vs. political appointees.  Even if the incoming Administration chose to eliminate a federal agency and its jobs, the process to do so takes time and has to run through its steps, including those officials who will disagree with such a decision. 

After 35 years of federal service, my experience is that the new Administration will need at least a year to fill all the appointed positions and agency heads (over 4000).  Most will have no experience running a federal agency, which means it will take another year to actually learn the ropes and figure out what can and cannot be done.  They will also learn that functions vilified on the campaign trail are indeed essential, and their elimination will cause second and third order effects that the new Administration may think twice about before implementing such changes. 

The incoming President cannot simply wipe away over 130 years of established laws, rules and regulations regarding the career federal workforce.  Also, the best laid plans of all Administrations start hitting roadblocks due to Congressional action or inaction, White House staff spats, and unforeseen events that can change the entire course of an Administration (e.g. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy).  As I have been telling people since the election, the President-elect is quickly discovering that this is no longer a reality show - it's reality.

Bottom line - take a deep breath, then continue standing up for higher standards of our profession.

All,

I have read each of your responses and sympathize with the sentiments of all.  I would like to add the following for your consideration:

1.  AIA already has strong language regarding inclusiveness and diversity within the profession.  It would be good if A) National AIA re-iterates those tenets, and B) we practice them in our own spheres of influence.

2.  Asking for Robert Ivy's head on a stake does little good for AIA as an organization other than a short term feel-good measure.  Given its recent past history of very short-lived CEO/EVPs, keeping someone who has demonstrated both an understanding of practice along with strong leadership is paramount.  Bob has done so to date and should not be tarred and feathered because of one misstep.

3.  As the 2015 Chair of the Public Architects Knowledge Community (PAKC), I won't usurp either the current chair or incoming chair regarding a policy statement, nor do I believe we would provide such a statement.

4.  From my perspective, PAKC represents architects from all varieties of public agencies - federal, state, municipal, and other government entities.  The vast majority of us, especially on the federal level, are career employees vs. political appointees.  Even if the incoming Administration chose to eliminate a federal agency and its jobs, the process to do so takes time and has to run through its steps, including those officials who will disagree with such a decision. 

After 35 years of federal service, my experience is that the new Administration will need at least a year to fill all the appointed positions and agency heads (over 4000).  Most will have no experience running a federal agency, which means it will take another year to actually learn the ropes and figure out what can and cannot be done.  They will also learn that functions vilified on the campaign trail are indeed essential, and their elimination will cause second and third order effects that the new Administration may think twice about before implementing such changes. 

The incoming President cannot simply wipe away over 130 years of established laws, rules and regulations regarding the career federal workforce.  Also, the best laid plans of all Administrations start hitting roadblocks due to Congressional action or inaction, White House staff spats, and unforeseen events that can change the entire course of an Administration (e.g. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy).  As I have been telling people since the election, the President-elect is quickly discovering that this is no longer a reality show - it's reality.

Bottom line - take a deep breath, then continue standing up for higher standards of our profession.

We need to have a positive letter from the AIA on the impressive benefits Architects offer as thought leaders in the environment.  Why is not the Public Architects Committee proposing such a vision statement?  MANY architects within government may have their positions removed due to proposed administration cuts - -- we should be proactive NOW.

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

We need to have a positive letter from the AIA on the impressive benefits Architects offer as thought leaders in the environment.  Why is not the Public Architects Committee proposing such a vision statement?  MANY architects within government may have their positions removed due to proposed administration cuts - -- we should be proactive NOW.

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

December 1, 2016

Now that I have read with great incredulity AIA CEO Robert Ivy's letter offering to cooperate with President Elect Donald Trump, I can register my vehement opposition to what he wrote. Robert Ivy spoke for 89,000 minus 1 of the membership as far as I am concerned. Robert Ivy clearly shows that he is not in very close touch with our membership and how we might respond to this matter. Even though some small minority of the AIA membership just might agree with Robert Ivy’s message.

The President Elect has made it very clear that he wants to build a wall along our borders [presumably our southern boarders] as if such a structure would prevent refugees, guest workers, asylum seekers, or anybody else from entering the United States against our will. That leaves our western, northern, and eastern borders exposed. Must walls be built along those borders, too? Or, must we use that infrastructure money talked about to design and build a glass dome over the United States to keep out every conceivable undesirable? You get the point?

A small but extremely vocal contingent of Trump supporters have shown up on national television news and radio clearly articulating their desire to “restore” a white nationalist, Euro-centric United States. The President Elect has yet to speak out in any meaningful way about their ascendancy onto the public stage. The President Elects’ selection to his cabinet of Jeff Sessions, General Michael Flynn and Stephen Bannon demonstrate even more vividly his willingness to embrace bigots and misogynists in his administration.

"What have you got to lose?"

AIA has been a white male dominated profession for decades. In its hay-day class and social status mattered and still does today even if some of our number are reluctant to admit it. My uncle, who was a life-long construction worker, told me that I should choose a profession other than architecture, because I was black and white people [sic], who have and control all of the money would never hire me to do anything except sweep their floors. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to witness my graduation from a prominent university with my degrees in architecture and architectural engineering; the passing of my licensing examination and my career as a practicing architect. My accomplishments, however, have been and still are beset by subtle hurdles that many of my white colleagues don’t have to face. Victoria Kaplan cites some of those challenges in her book, “Structural Inequality: Black Architects in the United States.” She writes about the many structural inequalities that black architects face every day in their practices and lives.

So here we are in the twenty first century. Technology is shrinking the Earth and globalization is forcing the United States to look beyond its borders to compete for business. Climate change is forcing everyone on Earth to cooperate and collaborate with each other. We are even working on a project to land humans on Mars. Old paradigms that segregated people by race, class, sex, religion and social status are irrational, immoral, and, quite frankly, obsolete now. They need to pitched into the trash can of bad history.

Unfortunately, Robert Ivy’s message to the president elect was his natural impulse to pay homage to power: the most prominent symbol of a [perceived] dominate, moneyed-class figure (the next president of the United States). It is not always [but should be] so evident that we need not and should not ever bow down to nor be servants to any egomaniacal, bigoted, misogynistic symbols of power; not even those of President Elect Donald Trump.

The recent flap over our CEO Robert Ivy's letter to President Elect Trump shows a lack of understanding regarding our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. The Board has been a strong advocate of this issue and the incoming administration needs to be reminded of the AIA's commitment regarding the inclusion of Women and Minorities in EVERY aspect of our society. Either Ivy needs to resign or write another letter to the President Elect reminding him of our Institute's commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.