UVA Arts, University of Virginia

Vol 04 Spring 16 Library
 SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

Jen Masengarb Named 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

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Jen Masengarb’s (MARH ‘00), work as a pioneering force in the education world through her work with the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has earned her the 2015 Architecture School’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition to authoring award-winning publications Schoolyards to Skylines: Teaching with Chicago’s Amazing Architecture(K-8) andThe Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings(9-12) (the first high school architecture textbook in the nation), Masengarb is currently working as the host of 91.5 WBEZ’s Curious City radio program to make complex ideas about the built environment accessible to listeners in Chicago and around the nation. It is precisely this wide reach and dedication to demystifying her profession for young people that attracted judges to her work. “Jen Masengarb was an obvious choice as the 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award,” said Paul King, Vice Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board, which serves as the selection committee for the award. “Her work with the CAF has allowed Jen to operate on a very broad stage. She has dedicated her career to education and has turned her fascination with all four A-School disciplines into a unique resource available to all ages, but especially to young people. Jen has made the intersection of architecture and cultural history truly public and highly accessible.”

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