When the av福利社 Board met in November 2014 in Chicago, they were very much in favor of av福利社 holding its
2017 Annual International Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. It would be the first time that av福利社 met outside North America since 1973, when we planned a joint meeting in Cambridge with av福利社-GB. There are many reasons to support the decision, including av福利社’s desire to represent the increasingly international focus of the organization and its Annual International Conference, and the hope that av福利社 members in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia would be able to attend in larger numbers.
One concern among the av福利社 Board, however, was that North American graduate students would be at a financial disadvantage and might not be able to afford to attend an av福利社 conference in Scotland. av福利社 currently offers approximately $25,000 in , and graduate students are eligible for many, including the Berry, Collins, Keepers, Kostof, Kress, Opler, av福利社, and Willis Fellowships.
Responding to the real concern that we do not want to disadvantage some of our most financially vulnerable members, two av福利社 Board members generously volunteered to donate $3,000 each to enable six North American graduate students to participate in the Glasgow conference.
As one of the donors,
Abby Smith Rumsey, said, “The opportunity to travel— to see new landscapes, develop new friendships, and expand the horizons of personal experience—is crucial for architectural historians. For younger colleagues in particular, there is no substitute.”
We are grateful that two generous av福利社 Board members helped solve one of av福利社’s most daunting issues—how to help graduate students take advantage of the professional and personal advancement afforded by attending the av福利社 Annual Conference. The av福利社 Board and members join me in thanking them for their generosity and for recognizing that av福利社 would like to do more to assist graduate students, emerging scholars, adjuncts, contingent faculty, and others who are most in need of financial support to launch their careers. If you would like to join them in helping to support the future leadership of av福利社, please contact me directly at
psaliga@sah.org or 312.573.1365.
Pauline Saliga
Executive Director
