EDI Committee

The Faculty of Architecture and Planning is committed to recognizing and addressing racism, sexism, xenophobia and other forms of oppression within academia and the professions of architecture and planning. The Committee is working with the Faculty of both schools to shift. rectify and rebuild the historic normalization of oppressive politics within our professions and the ways that the built environment often reinforces segregation, and community disempowerment. By acknowledging these biases, we hope to inform new, inclusive academic and professional practices in the fields of architecture and planning The EDI Committee serves as an advisory body to support the Faculty in enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion in curriculum, research, recruitment, and administrative duties. It serves students, faculty and staff of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning by promoting a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at ediap@dal.ca

Our main goals are to: 

  1. Advocate for EDI in administrative practices by supporting diversity in recruitment, collecting data on recruitment and admissions, and providing opportunities for faculty and staff to learn more about how to advance EDI in the Faculty.  
  2. Promote EDI in curriculum by collecting information about EDI topics in current courses, supporting faculty with curriculum resources, and coordinating educational events on campus to promote EDI. 
  3. Promote EDI processes and resources for students, faculty and staff by identifying gaps and improving access to resources. 
  4. Strengthen relationships with local communities by co-hosting events and learning opportunities, seeking input and collaboration with equity seeking groups and their advocates, and encouraging the creation of equity focused student groups.  

Please see the Committee’s terms of reference for more information.

Members:

  • Lisa Berglund (Faculty representative)
  • James Barrett (Student representative)
  • Austin Haw (Student representative)
  • Devin Husk (Student representative)
  • Emanuel Jannasch (Faculty representative)
  • Christina MacNeil (Secretary and staff representative)
  • Eric Rapaport (Faculty representative)
  • Samuel Smedley (Student representative)
  • Melisa Tang Choy (Student assistant)
  • Catherine Venart (Faculty representative)

Links:

EDI Committee ToR document

Events:

 

Resistance as Practice: Acts of Anti-Racism through Architecture and Planning (Robert H. Winters Lecture Series)

Link to youtube recordings


We are happy to invite you to the inaugural Robert H. Winters lecture series Resistance as Practice: Acts of Anti-Racism through Architecture and Planning! The event is hosted by the Dalhousie University Faculty of Architecture and Planning’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, in partnership with the SHIFT: Connect conference. We are organizing this event at a critical moment for architects, planners and other disciplines grappling with difficult histories and professional cultures. This means questioning how designed spaces are embedded with power structures that stratify our society, and how practitioners are implicated in this. Just as importantly, we must acknowledge that this is not a new conversation or area of analysis: racialized communities have developed their own planning and design practices in cities when they have not been heard by the faces of power. This lecture series builds on the ongoing powerful response to racialized violence by presenting the work of practitioners, academics and activists who have pursued these acts of anti-racism as a central focus of their work. Our guests include DeRico Symonds (NSCAD), Juanita Peters (Africville Museum), Richard Kroeker (Dalhousie University School of Architecture), Craig Wilkins (University of Michigan), Mindy Fullilove (The New School), Frank Palermo (Dalhousie University School of Planning), Jennifer Llewelyn (Dalhousie University School of Law) and Ingrid Waldron (Dalhousie University School of Nursing). We hope that you’ll join us, and stay tuned for information on events in the rest of the series!