Sarah M. Whiting, dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture, is the 2021 recipient of the Bevy Leadership Award for Academic Excellence from the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. The awards program started in 2014 to highlight the work of contemporary women in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, development, and construction. A leadership celebration will take place in New York City on October 6, 2021.
Whiting joined the Graduate School of Design as dean in 2019, having previously served as dean of Rice University’s School of Architecture. A graduate of Yale, Princeton, and MIT, Whiting is an expert in architectural theory and urbanism. Her research interests include architecture’s relationship with politics, economics, and society and how the built environment shapes the nature of public life.
In addition to her roles at the GSD, Whiting is a design principal and cofounder of WW Architecture. Her writing has been published broadly and she is the founding editor of the book series Point.
BWAF honorees are selected for the annual awards from names put forth by the foundation’s constituency. “We are interested in scholarship, professional distinction, journalism, corporate achievement, and impact in the advancement of women in the building industry,” according to the BWAF website. Among the other 2021 recipients is Miriam Harris (MUP ’98), executive vice president at Trinity Place Holdings, who will receive the Innovative Executive award.