The American Institute of Architects San Francisco chapter (AIASF) announced a new and expanded initiative related to equity in education, in keeping with the chapter's mission to reduce barriers to professional development for its members and to provide even more accessible paths to education for all architecture and design students.
 
AIASF is launching The Pflueger Architecture Scholarship—supported by a matching grant from AIA National—to benefit architecture students at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The scholarship is named after Timothy Ludwig Pflueger, a working-class draftsman who never attended college, but who went on to become a prominent architect in the San Francisco Bay Area during the first decades of the 20th century. He designed every major building at the Ocean campus of what became CCSF, where its architecture department is located.
 
More than 560 students a year are enrolled in the two-year program in either architecture, interior design, or construction management at CCSF—more than 70% are BIPOC, nearly 60% are below the age of 35, and most have either part-time or full-time jobs. Amily Huang, CCSF Architecture Department Chair, states, "Any help to students matters. Through the scholarship program, our students who strive for excellence —and help not only themselves, but also the department and the entire student body—can also be formally acknowledged and rewarded for inspiring others."
 
In addition to the scholarship program, AIASF is expanding its student memberships to those who are currently enrolled in over 12 units per semester in community college architecture programs at CCSF and at College of Marin. For George X. Lin, Architecture Program Coordinator and faculty at CCSF's Architecture Department, access to the AIA is one way to bridge the divide between community colleges and universities like UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Sci-Arc. He explains, "Education should be a right, not a privilege. For many students, CCSF is their only pathway to becoming an architect. Through the membership opportunity with AIASF, CCSF architecture, design, and construction students can be introduced to the AIA and its integral role in helping shape their career paths—through mentorship and internship programs, continuing education, and perhaps, crucially, professional development and networking opportunities."

The Pflueger Architecture Scholarship will build on the success of AIASF's existing initiatives—The Sandra I. Vivanco Community Alliance Education Award, which recognizes an organization or individual for excellence in the advancement of architectural education and the Equity by Design (EQxD) committee programming, which features ongoing professional events related to "minimizing barriers to maximize potential for success." In partnership with AIA National, AIASF also runs The AIA Emerging Leader Scholarship, to support the future of practice, and the annual Perspectivas exhibition at California College of the Arts (CCA), as well as The Howard Friedman Scholarship at the College of Environmental Design (CED) at UC Berkeley. AIASF has provided $30,000 since 2000 for both programs.
 
AIASF's Latinx in Architecture (LiA) committee, which produces the Perspectivas exhibition, has also granted nearly $53,000 over the last five years, through its partnership with alumni of the Chicano/a Architectural Student Association (CASA) at UC Berkeley's CED and ByDESIGN, who have been awarding scholarships to CASA for 10 years. Beneficiaries include students like Samantha Andalon, an honor student in the architecture undergraduate program, who plans to focus on low-income and BIPOC communities and Anthony Gonzales who was born in an agriculturally-based city in California, and raised by his immigrant, single mother. He says, "I was in the 8th grade when I decided to study architecture, and when I think of the future, I envision working hard, traveling, and moving to another place to explore opportunities. Thanks to CED and CASA, my dreams will become possible."
 
Among AIASF's early partners for its equity in education initiatives is California College of the Arts (CCA), which in 2012-2013 hosted AIASF's The Missing 32 Percent symposia on women in practice. CCA Dean of Architecture Keith Krumwiede notes, "Throughout our history, CCA has been a progressive institution with a strong impulse toward equity." He adds, "We're proud that our campus can provide a platform for our community partners and other like-minded organizations, like AIASF."