From the Deans
Building on our heritage of over 60 years and our unique relationship with Detroit, we have completed a major transition. We are now known as the: School of Architecture + Community Development (SACD). This was more than a name change. It marks years of work that center on amplifying our social, economic and environmental justice-driven and student-centered approach. It also highlights the 15+ years of our unique and accomplished community development department. The new name points us toward our future vision to be a community school because Detroit is our campus. It is not our laboratory or our classroom. It is our campus and our home.
At the Detroit Mercy School of Architecture + Community Development, we are an intentional community of approximately 225 students, served by 50 accomplished full-time and part-time faculty. Each of our students become an integral part of a diverse student body working alongside faculty, administrators and staff to imagine and create change. We are close-knit community. We cherish our relatively small size. One of our sources of pride is that our students are rarely lost in the back row of theater-style classes. They are far from being an anonymous student walking through crowded halls where no one will recognize them. Our classes are hardly ever more than 25-30 students. Many of our courses are intentionally even smaller; there really is no back row.
A few of our other points of pride are:
- First, the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) is a fully operational teaching office within SACD that focuses on architecture, urban design and landscape architecture. It is a place that intentionally puts into practice what each student has learned.
- Second, it is one thing to work for an architect while you are in school. It is quite another to be a part of the second oldest co-op program in the country. Other students who attend a school without the structured co-op program leave their experience up to chance. Detroit Mercy architecture students are confident that our co-op structure, which has evolved over the past 55+ years, will guide their employers to give them a well-rounded and productive experience.
- Third, we are nurturing engaged world citizens who can think globally and act locally. Imagine sketching the magnificent view from the top of the tallest tower in Siena, Italy. Picture yourself in Warsaw, Poland, studying architecture in English alongside students from all over the European Union and beyond. Envision learning about community development and architecture over spring break in Cuba. Studying abroad in unfamiliar locations is an important aspect of any educational college experience. We think strongly that it is even more important for students studying architecture or community development.
We provide an intentional educational process where students and faculty collaborate together through mutual trust and knowledge sharing. SACD faculty work with and alongside students. As Mariam Okunlola, Class of ’16, put it, “You collaborate with your faculty to get the best out of your project, and looking for the best in you is what is really good about the faculty at Detroit Mercy.” This more collaborative relationship provides a uniquely comprehensive learning environment, where both students influence professors and the professors influence students. We can and do learn from each other.
We have set this collaborative relationship because we are committed to educating students who will adapt to and lead in the changing disciplines of architecture, urban design and community development.
We look forward to shaping change together…
Dan Pitera, FAIA
Dean + Professor: Detroit Mercy School of Architecture & Community Development
2017 AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award for the Detroit Collaborative Design Center
2004-2005 Harvard University Loeb Fellow
Professor Noah Resnick, AIA
Associate Dean + Professor: Detroit Mercy School of Architecture & Community Development