President's message: Back to school

As I write this column, August is passing by and September looms. We now start to focus on the upcoming season and the uptick of activity at the Center. This fall, the AIA and Center for Architecture will begin a conversation and investigation into Design Literacy, which has been the cornerstone of my presidency this year. The sessions will be held at Philip Johnson's Glass House in Connecticut and in Chicago with a larger national organization, A + DEN. The issues arise out of a lack of education and training for our general public regarding how we make decisions about our environments - whether it is our homes, our offices, or our public spaces. This gap in our education leaves most of us woefully without the tools to make the decisions that will require our greatest investments as adults. Buying a home, purchasing furniture, leasing workspaces - all of these activities cost a lot of money in an economy that has paralyzed many of us! In addition, our educational curricula have not addressed the rapidly changing modes of information-getting. How our children learn is an equally pressing question, and one that we should investigate. The Symposium in New York and Connecticut will shed light on these important issues by asking outsiders, educators and civic leaders how they enhance civic life and their public environments, and how they have educated their populace to ask for more from their architecture. We will report on the findings of these events at the end of the year, with an update on our next steps. To continue our focus on youth, we at the AIA are always looking for the future leaders of the profession. We have ENYA (Emerging New York Architects), a committee that does design competitions on a bi-annual basis. The next competition will look at the High Bridge area, an important link of Manhattan and the Bronx. These competitions allow young designers an opportunity to develop their voices as they are learning how to orchestrate the process that leads to a building's realization. A key representative of the committee has been VenesaAlicea, our Associate Director on the AIA Board. Venesa has been recognized this year by our national organization with the Associates Award, which is the highest award given to individual Associate AIA members who best exemplify the highest qualities of leadership and has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to their component or region's membership, in the community, in professional organizations, and/or in the designand construction industries. Our associates are the young designers, or "architects in training." Venesa has been key to adding programs with tremendous value to our interns, including training for the licensing examination, our threshold to practice and title as an architect. Venesa's profile accompanies this column. Lastly, the AIA New York State will gather in Rochester, New York this September to share "Main Street" stories. The importance of revitalization to our communities, whether here in New York City, or upstate in Rochester, is a significant book of stories that we will share. In these troubled financial times, we will be looking at what has worked to stimulate economic development, and what we as architects can do to further our state and communities' well-being. Sherida Paulsen, FAIA is the 2009 president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, New York, N.Y.