For over 25-years the Institute of Architecture & Planning (IAP) has provided students the opportunity to preview and experience the makings of the built and natural environment in the broader perspective of interdisciplinary learning headed toward responsible leadership. Graduates have joined local firms in various modes of professional practice, while others have accepted positions in state and local government, community groups and organizations, or teaching.
The intention of the Institute is to be a professionally based academic unit that has a clear commitment to the fundamental qualities that bring together a balanced educational program in the exploration of human and natural environments. The Institute’s graduate and undergraduate degree programs introduce and promote the sense of interconnectedness between a built form, human behavior, forces of nature, political and economic dynamics characteristic of an urban context.
The Institute’s three graduate programs (Architecture, Landscape Architecture, City & Regional Planning) prepare students to address the challenges associated with systems of the built environment and their integration with systems in the natural environment. The objective is to link domains of environmental (natural patterns and flows), economic (financial patterns and equity), and social (human, cultural, and spiritual) as related to the professional practices of planning, design and management. This leads to the realization of a sustainable urban environment that is beautiful, humane, socially appropriate, and restorative.
The Bachelor of Science in Architecture & Environmental Design (BSAED) is also an important component of the IAP family. BSAED is a four-year para-professional program structured to integrate elements of the built and natural environment with the professional ability to produce a meaningful response to the changing needs of urban society patterned by a wide cultural backdrop. The program advances the concept of critical thinking by which each student can visualize, discuss and represent a detailed conceptualization, application, investigation, syntheses, and an evaluation of the connections between them. Students are taught to accept responsibility for their role in creating environments as well as how to communicate ethical practices that lead to informed decision making.
As such, IAP students become knowledgeable of planning, design and management as a predictive decision-making process with the examination of human factors involved in the necessarily collaborative activity of environmental intervention and preservation. The aim is to graduate competent and dedicated professionals.
The overall mission of the Institute of Architecture and Planning (IAP) is to address the social, environmental, physical, economic, and political issues that shape and revitalize urban communities and urban form from an interdisciplinary perspective. Topical explorations are meant to bring IAP students into direct contact with the diversity of people, cultures, lifestyles, socio-economic issues, and opinions of those who live or work in urban areas. The IAP constantly reaches for relevance as defined by the urban environment (natural and built) that surrounds and influences it, the diverse student community it educates, and the meaningful predilections of the design and planning related professions it incorporates. The IAP seeks to find the opportunities and possibilities of its own resourcefulness within the demands of the University and the communities in which it is a part of.
These early activities heralded education and service focused toward the built environment at Morgan. The Master of Arts in Urban Planning and Policy Analysis degree program was initiated in 1970, with the establishment of an undergraduate program in Urban Studies and Community Service following the next year. The graduate program’s reputation spread rapidly. Subsequently, it became the first planning program at an Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to receive degree recognition—the forerunner of the accreditation process—from the American Institute of Planners in 1974.
Significant institutional changes occurred in 1975. First, the Center for Urban Affairs became the School of Urban Affairs and Human Development, adding several other degree programs to the university’s offerings. Second, Morgan was granted university status along with a new mandate: the responsibility for addressing and resolving urban problems. One interpretation of the mandate resulted in the creation of five new urban oriented programs including the Department of Built Environment Studies (BES). The principal mission of BES was to assist MSU in meeting its mandate by offering graduate level, first professional degrees, and advanced study opportunities. The specific goals of the department were to:
The creation of BES led to two developments: (1) the change from the Master of Arts in Urban Planning and Policy Analysis degree to the Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) and (2) the addition of advanced and first professional graduate degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and an interdisciplinary degree in Urban Design. This effort was led by Harry G. Robinson III, FAIA, who was instrumental in establishing these graduate programs. The unit became operational in 1979.
The graduate programs continued to evolve, building in reputation and size. In 1986, the planning program was the first of the BES unit to receive accreditation. This recognition by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) was also the first time a planning program at an HBCU was accredited. The administrative home of the planning program changed in 1981 when the School of Urban Studies (formerly the School of Urban Affairs and Human Development) was merged with the School of Education to form the School of Education and Urban Studies. Another key event during this era was the elimination of the urban studies program and the designation of Morgan as Maryland’s public urban university. The latter came with a new mission and focus toward serving challenged urban areas in Baltimore.
The redesignation of the BES as the Institute of Architecture and Planning (IAP) in 1991 marked a significant milestone. IAP was then a separate administrative unit that housed the architecture, planning, and landscape architecture programs. Anthony N. Johns, Jr., FAIA, was its first director. He worked hard to obtain accreditations for the graduate programs, a distinction which continues today. When Professor Johns retired in 1997, he had secured the unique position for Morgan: being the only HBCU in the nation to have accredited programs in architecture, city and regional planning, and landscape architecture.
The foundation for design and planning education at Morgan was firmly in place when Melvin L. Mitchell, FAIA, became the IAP Director in 1997. He orchestrated the relocation of the IAP from the Jenkins Building to its present location within the Montebello Complex. Most significant during his tenure was the reaccreditation of the three graduate programs and the establishment of an undergraduate program—Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design.
The undergraduate program experienced phenomenal growth from its inception in 2000. When Richard E. Lloyd, Ph.D. assumed the leadership of the Institute in 2002, IAP had approximately 150 students with 14 faculty members. He has played a significant role in promoting interdisciplinary teaching and has been instrumental in giving the undergraduate program a concrete shape with four distinct tracts in architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, and construction management.
IAP programs provide high-quality, profession-oriented educational preparation in design and planning to undergraduate non-design and design-related degree holders who prefer to work in the profession during the day while pursuing their academic studies on an afternoon, evening, and weekend basis. It was designed to prepare students for professional careers in planning, design, or management of the built environment. The undergraduate program is primarily a day program and is intended as a feeder into the three graduate programs. The Institute provides an administrative umbrella for academic programs that share several common objectives and methods. Its faculty and students collaborate in many ways. Such collaborations include joint field projects, class assignments, and research interests. There is a wide range of diversity in the expertise and interests of the institute’s faculty; students can explore that diversity.
milestones:
1963 The Urban Studies Institute was established following the work of Homer E. Favor, Ph.D.
1970 The Center for Urban Affairs is funded by the Ford Foundation
The Master of Arts in Urban Planning and Policy degree program is initiated
1974 Planning program is first in Maryland and first at an HBCU to receive degree recognition—the forerunner of the accreditation process
1975 The Center for Urban Affairs becomes the School of Urban Affairs and Human Development
1975 Morgan State College is granted University status
The Built Environment Studies Program (BES) is established within the School of Urban Affairs and Human Development
1979 The Department of Built Environment Studies begins following approval of the proposal submitted by a team led by Harry G. Robinson III, FAIA
Graduate degrees are established in Architecture, City and Regional Planning (formerly MA Urban Planning and Policy Analysis), and Landscape Architecture as well as in Urban Design
1981 The School of Urban Studies (formerly School of Urban Affairs and Human Development) merges with the School of Education to become the School of Education and Urban Studies
1986 The Master of City and Regional Planning program receives accreditation by the Planning Accreditation Board, the first such program at an HBCU to receive this recognition
1988 Morgan State College is designated as Maryland's Urban Public University
1991 BES becomes a separate administrative entity known as the Institute of Architecture and Planning (IAP)
1991 Anthony N. Johns, Jr., FAIA becomes the first IAP Director
1997 IAP is the only HBCU in the nation to have accredited programs in Architecture, City and Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture
1997 Melvin L. Mitchell, FAIA becomes the second IAP Director
1999 IAP moves from the Jenkins Building to its new space in the Montebello Complex
2000 The Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design degree program is established
2001 The three graduate program continue to be fully accredited
2002 Richard E. Lloyd, Ph.D. becomes the IAP’s third Director
2003 The IAP student population exceeds 200 persons
2005 President Earl Richardson announces the University’s plans to grant School status to the Institute of Architecture and Planning
2008 Mary Anne Akers, Ph.D. becomes the School of Architecture and Planning’s New Dean
2008 The Institute of Architecture and Planning becomes the School of Architecture and Planning
Morgan State University (MSU), a coeducational institution, is located in a residential section of Baltimore, Maryland. The campus covers an area of more than 143 acres. The University offers a comprehensive range of academic programs, from the baccalaureate through the doctorate degree. MSU is also a founding member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). For more information about MSU, go to www.morgan.edu
Baltimore has many wonderful points of interest: world-class museums, the Baltimore Symphony, critically acclaimed jazz clubs, ethnic festivals, award winning restaurants, major league sports venues, and shopping and sightseeing at the Inner Harbor, to name just a few. You will also find great opportunities for internships, community projects and other off-campus experiences. For more information about the city, go to www.baltimore.org or www.livebaltimore.com
From any direction via the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) Get on I-695 and head toward the northeastern portion of the beltway. Go south at exit 30, Perring Parkway. The Perring Parkway exit is east of the exits for Towson and west of the I-95/I-695 interchange. Go south a few miles south on Perring Parkway. It will change to Hillen Road at the intersection with Cold Spring Lane. At the next light, turn left onto Argonne Drive. Drive past the Murphy Fine Arts Building on your right and turn right on to McCallum Street.
From south of Baltimore via I-95 Take I-95 north through the Ft. McHenry Tunnel. Exit I-95 at Moravia Road (the distance to campus is about 3.5 miles). Proceed through several major intersections. After passing the large cemetery on the left, the next traffic light will be Walther Avenue. Turn left onto Walther Avenue. Take Walther Avenue to Argonne Drive, turn right at the light. Cross Harford Road. Proceed to McCallum Street, turn left.
From North of Baltimore via I-95 Continue on I-95 south past the interchange for the beltway, I-695. Shortly thereafter, I-95 will split into I-895 (left two lanes) and I-95 (right two lanes). Go to the left onto I-895. Get off at the Moravia Road Exit. Bear to the right off the exit ramp onto Moravia Road (the distance to campus is about 3.5 miles). Proceed through several major intersections. After passing the large cemetery on the left, the next traffic light will be Walther Avenue. Turn left onto Walther Avenue. Take Walther Avenue to Argonne Drive, turn right at the light. Cross Harford Road. Go to McCallum Street, turn left.
From the South via I-97 from Annapolis Area and Eastern Shore When approaching the beltway (I-695) take exit for the Harbor Tunnel. After the tunnel, get off at Pulaski Hwy. (Rt. 40 East)/Erdman Avenue Exit. At end of exit ramp, go straight onto Pulaski Highway, Rt. 40 East. Drive up an incline with a Merit gas station on the right. Immediately beyond the Merit station, exit right onto Moravia Road. Continue straight on Moravia. Do not take any of exits immediately after getting onto Moravia Road. (The distance to campus is about 3.5 miles.) Proceed through several major intersections. After passing the large cemetery on the left, the next traffic light will be Walther Avenue. Turn left onto Walther Avenue. Take Walther Avenue to Argonne Drive, turn right at the light. Cross Harford Road. Go to McCallum Street, turn left.
From Downtown Baltimore Go north on Charles Street. Pass Johns Hopkins on the left. At 39th Street make a right. It will become Argonne Drive after Greenmont Avenue. Proceed through several major intersections. Cross Hillen Road. Proceed to McCallum Street, turn right.
Please note that the Montebello complex is located south of the main campus, near the Maryland Rehabilitation Center.