Reflecting on a year unlike any other, we are proud that MAF has been able to continue our programs and our mission, despite the difficulties of the pandemic. Our MAF Board has continued to meet, albeit via video conference, and work toward our goal of advancing public awareness of architecture in Michigan and how it improves life.
The programs that MAF has developed over several years continue to help us reach out to citizens of Michigan, to those who embrace architecture as improving the quality of life in our state, and to those students who will be the architects of the future. A successful scholarship season has allowed MAF to award eleven scholarships to students of architecture at Michigan’s colleges and universities, to help them with the cost of their architecture degrees this fall. Winners of these awards are being featured in our monthly newsletter, so that you can understand how accomplished these students are as they work towards graduation.
In addition, and in conjunction with AIA Michigan, MAF has helped develop and support “Intern Scholarships” this summer, for architecture students who lost their traditional internships due to the pandemic. These paid awards are new for this unusual year; look for an article on the program in this newsletter, and for profiles on internship participants in future issues.
These are but two of the initiatives that MAF is continuing to pursue in 2020, and as I noted above, it has been a challenging and digital year. ZOOM conferences have become a standard feature in our lives, as we work to maintain momentum and continued programmatic success. As always, please visit our website for more information about MAF, and look for our newsletters as well as our social media posts to find out how MAF is connecting the people of Michigan with architecture in creative ways.
Looking forward to the rest of the 2020, we welcome your input as to how we can be better at serving Michigan as the foundation for architecture.
Tim
Tim Casai, FAIA 2020 Michigan Architectural Foundation President