The University of Washington’s College of Built Environments and Washington State University’s School of Design and Construction partnered with the local firms Site Workshop, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN), and Berger Partnership to create an endowed scholarship in their respective landscape architecture programs to support underrepresented students, including those from diverse experiential backgrounds and students with a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Site Workshop, a landscape architecture firm based in Seattle, began the process of establishing endowed scholarships with WSU and UW in 2020 to help diversify the built environments workforce.
“For years we have discussed the need for diversity in the landscape architecture industry—and especially in the Pacific Northwest—but 2020 brought into sharp focus just how urgently this needs to change, and the design community has the ability, even responsibility to make an immediate impact,” said Mark Brands, managing principal of Site Workshop.
The primary purpose of the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Landscape Architecture is to recruit and retain students who have a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“We believe that through endowed scholarships funded by the local design community, deep connections will be made between students, designers and the communities we share across the state. Additionally, we are committed to broadening our role in developing new leaders in the field of landscape architecture,” said Clayton Beaudoin, principal of Site Workshop.
GGN and Berger Partnership have joined Site Workshop in furthering the financial investment of the scholarship.
Faculty and staff in WSU’s Landscape Architecture program and UW’s Landscape Architecture Department have been honored to be part of the creation of this important and impactful scholarship.
“Washington State University’s Landscape Architecture program is grateful for Site Workshop’s leadership and steadfast efforts to make the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity a reality for underrepresented students across Washington State,” said Jolie Kaytes, Program Head of Landscape Architecture and professor in the School of Design and Construction at Washington State University. “We are also abundantly thankful for the generous gifts of the Berger Partnership and GGN, whose contributions bolster the immediate and long term potency of this fund. In many ways, the scholarship reinforces the ideals of landscape architecture — to generate solutions to complicated issues in ways that are respectful, creative, beautiful, and that ultimately do good. Said another way, the scholarship is akin to planting a seedling in a devastated landscape; it acknowledges loss, expresses hope, and embodies a commitment to potential.”
“We are immensely grateful for our strong partnership with Site Workshop and our professional community in advancing our shared goals for creating an educational environment that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive,” said University of Washington Landscape Architecture Chair and Associate Professor Ken Yocom. “Ultimately, the Endowed Scholarship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Landscape Architecture will not only support and empower our students but better the practice of landscape architecture.”
For more information, or to make a contribution to this important fund, please contact Dana Sprouse, Director of Development, Washington State University at dana.sprouse@wsu.edu and Bernadette Bascom, Assistant Director of Advancement, University of Washington at bcbascom@uw.edu and Clayton Beaudoin, Principal, Site Workshop at claytonb@siteworkshop.net.