Hazel Edwards MAUD ’89 was recognized as Educator of the Year at the ninth annual Women in Architecture Design Leadership Awards in New York City. As the first woman to serve as chair of Howard University’s Department of Architecture since the program was established in 1911, Edwards has worked to increase diverse voices in the profession throughout her career. Her educational and mentoring techniques have nurtured a new generation of planning and design professionals to approach the built environment with a broad spectrum of cultural values.

“We are training people for a field that impacts so much of our lived experience, yet this is often done through limited perspectives. Architectural pedagogy has to better represent the diverse voices of those who have impacted our communities, as well as those who are affected by those places,” says Edwards. “It also has to train students to understand the history of places and the sequence of events leading to present conditions—this includes social, cultural, legal, economic, environmental issues. We should prepare our students to listen to and acknowledge the viewpoints of varied voices.” – Hazel Edwards