By Helen Lyons
@thedbk
For The Diamondback
Sonia A. Hirt, who was named the new architecture school dean at the University of Maryland on June 2, is the first woman to be appointed to the role since the school was founded in 1967, according to the school’s website.
“It adds for me an extra layer of honor and excitement,” Hirt said. “The last couple years have been very good for female deans in architecture around the country. We’ve made a difference. There is a tide, and I am very proud to be part of that wave.”
Hirt, who will officially assume her role on Oct. 1, joins this university from Virginia Tech, where she was the College of Architecture and Urban Studies professor and associate dean for academic affairs. She replaces current dean David Cronrath.
“We certainly will miss [Cronrath],” said Ruth Davis-Rogers, Urban Studies and Planning administrative assistant. “But change is always good because different people will bring a different energy and different focus to the school.”
Fewer than one in five deans at U.S. architecture schools are women, according to a 2013 survey by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, despite the fact that male and female architecture students graduate at equal rates.
“It’s a very standard story,” Hirt said. “But I think there is a cause for optimism. With everything in life, you have to establish a point of reference. If you look at it what it was 50 years ago, we’ve definitely made a lot of progress.”
Though Hirt has plans to increase both the quantity and quality of students at the school through fundraising efforts that would increase recruiting resources, she said she will have to familiarize herself with the school’s landscape before setting any specific, long-term goals.
This university is very fortunate to have Hirt, said Anne Khademian, director of Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.
“It’s a great milestone,” Khademian said. “She’s a very creative scholar, a fabulous teacher and a great leader. She has a real vision for what’s possible in architecture and design, and she’s going to do an outstanding job.”
Hirt also previously served as a visiting associate professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, an assistant professor at the University of Toledo and an instructor at the University of Michigan, where she earned her master’s and doctorate degrees. She joins the architecture school just a year ahead of its 50th anniversary.
Hirt is intent on doing all she can to make the architecture school the best school it can be, said Jim Cohen, Urban Studies and Planning program director.
“She had a really thorough understanding of the school and the programs,” he said. “And that was very impressive.”
Born in Bulgaria, where she received her bachelor’s in architecture, Hirt’s research focuses on three main themes: Central and Eastern European urbanism, contrasting American and European approaches to land-use planning and regulation and urban planning theory and history, according to Virginia Tech’s website. The American Association of University Women, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies have helped to fund past research.
