i. institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement

I. Institutional Support and Commitment to Continuous Improvement
This commitment to the idea of students creating the future of the profession means that empathetic
relationships between students, faculty and staff are at the core of the program. Students
facing difficulty—academic, social or personal—can expect quick responses by the entire school
administration to their requests for help, extensive and appropriate counseling at the first indication of
a problem, and a flexible, fair approach to scheduling reviews and completing required work. As a new
program, however, there is always much to be learned, and the faculty organize a number of events
on Fridays to make informal communication a matter of routine. In 2007–08 a group of students
and faculty met on five Friday evenings off-campus to talk about life at the school. About half of
the architecture graduate students participated along with a significant number of designed objects
graduate students. A number of initiatives arose as a result of the conversations, and include:
o Support for job search and internship opportunities via seminars in interviewing and resume
preparation offered Cindy Coleman and Neil Frankel.
o Development of an international internship program; Thomas Kong, as part of a summer course
on design in Japan, arranged two internships with Japanese architectural firms.
o Work/networking opportunities offered through conference organization and operation volun-
teer roles for ACADIA 09 reForm() a conference hosted by SAIC/AIADO in October 2009
that explored how architects, engineers, artists and designers are using new hardware,
software and middleware technologies to transform the ways in which buildings and
spaces perform, act and operate.
These initiatives will continue in 2010-11, expanding to include:
o Additional job search and internship support efforts
o A portfolio event with local architecture and design firms
o Informal lunches and dinners with faculty.
Though much of the above information is available in SAIC Student and Faculty Handbooks—whose
relevant content is summarized below and in section I.2.1 Human Resources and Human Resource
Development—it is also summarized and made available to faculty and students as an AIADO
departmental manual, which is updated annually to address students’ periodic assessment. The most
recent AIADO departmental manual was issued in Fall 2010.
B) Social equity
SAIC is home to an incredibly diverse community of faculty, staff, and students from all 50 states
and over 40 countries, and is committed to fostering a pluralistic community of artists, students,
faculty, staff, and alumni. In October 2001, SAIC embarked upon an institution-wide diversity initiative,
designed to strengthen SAIC’s commitment to a pluralistic community and incorporate diversity as a
core value of SAIC through its programs, policies, practices, and pedagogy. The initiative was the result
of years of effort by students, faculty, and staff, and gained momentum with the completion of SAIC’s
first-ever self-study report on diversity.
Since August 2002, various committees have been formed to address a number of priorities related
to multiculturalism including improving the student experience; increasing retention; diversifying
the student, faculty, and staff population; restructuring the First Year Program (now know as
Contemporary Practices); and developing the global comparative curriculum. In particular, the Office
of Multicultural Affairs (OMA); the Diversity Committee which includes faculty and staff; the Office
of Student Affairs, and AIC’s Human Resources play an integral role in carrying out this mission. A
further discussion of OMA and employee-related policies and procedures administered through Human
Resources are included in section I.2.1 Human Resources and Human Resource Development. The
13 | Spring 2011
SECTION I Institutional Support and Commitment to Continuous Improvement