Representation is not justice. But there is no justice without representation.

As architects, we know it’s important to assess existing conditions before an intervention, as a basis for understanding where our efforts are necessary, and where the site of our intervention fits in the broader context. This is a only the first step. Justice requires telling the truth, reconciling with people who have been harmed in the past, and taking corrective action in the present. Click the button below to see our resource guide for intervention into architectural education.

The green charts below consider the demographics of the Tulane School of Architecture’s student body as a means of assessing who the institution of architectural education is designed to serve. From 2000-2017, the Tulane School of Architecture’s total student population by race/ethnicity was on average 3.2% Black, 72.9% White, 6.3% Hispanic, 3.9% Asian, 0.8% Native and 6.0% Other/Multiracial.

The city of New Orleans in 2017 was 60% Black, 34% White, 3% Asian, 4% Other/Multi- and 0.15% Native. The United States of America is 60% White, 13% Black, 18% Hispanic, 3% Other/Multi-, 6% Asian and 1% Native.

The profession of architecture, at the level of NCARB certificate holders, is approximately 91% White, 2% Black, 5% Asian and 2% Other and 82% male. As of May 2020, the self-reported Directory of African-American Architects lists 478 living Black women architects out of 107,000 practicing American architects.

Faculty and staff of the Tulane School of Architecture are 75% male and 25% female, according to the author’s 2019 analysis. Self-reported data on faculty and staff race and ethnicity at Tulane is not accessible, but data from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture affirms perception that White men are vastly overrepresented, and Hispanic and Black women vastly underrepresented, among architecture faculty.

Notes

*Hurricane Katrina; Tulane was closed in the fall, and students attended classes at other university campuses in some cases through the remainder of their academic career. Race and ethnicity were not measured on the Enrollment Profiles in 2005.

- The survey calculates ethnicity data from 'valid responses'; not all students responded, leading to totals less than the number of total students 

- In the survey, the category is 'ethnicity' with 'African American' and 'Caucasian' as choices offered. These have been replaced here with 'Black' and 'White'. 'American Indian' or 'Native American' has been replaced with 'Native'. For reasoning behind these decisions, see here and here.

- 'Multi' was added as a category in 2010. For statistical consistency, it is combined with the 'Other' category.

- 'Hawaiian/Pacific Islander' was added as a category in 2010; however, no students responded as such until 2016. For statistical consistency, it is combined with the 'Other/Multi-' category.

Tulane student data was compiled from self-reported data in the Enrollment Profiles available on the website of Tulane's Office of the University Registrar, https://registrar.tulane.edu/enrollment-profiles. Tulane faculty and staff data was assessed from http://architecture.tulane.edu/people. New Orleans and United States figures are from the US Census Bureau; architecture figures are from the 2016 ‘NCARB By the Numbers’ and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.