This study intended to assess design thinking as a variable regarding its utilization as a tool to increase the number of African American architects in the United States. The research was grounded in the speech given by Whitney Young to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1968, and the initial partnership between the AIA and the National Organization of Minority of Architects (NOMA) in 2001 to increase the number of African American architects to 15,000 by 2030. Through the qualitative methodology, via descriptive phenomenological analysis (DPA), fourteen participants, all of whom were African American licensed architects, were interviewed to gather insights regarding design thinking and four areas of focus, which were outreach, education, licensure, and entrepreneurship. The analysis revealed that design thinking can be a catalyst in the areas of outreach and education for developing solutions intended to increase the number of African American architects in the United States, a goal the professional associations committed to achieving.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study intended to assess design thinking as a variable regarding its utilization as a tool to increase the number of African American architects in the United States. The research was grounded in the speech given by Whitney Young to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1968, and the initial partnership between the AIA and the National Organization of Minority of Architects (NOMA) in 2001 to increase the number of African American architects to 15,000 by 2030. Through the qualitative methodology, via descriptive phenomenological analysis (DPA), fourteen participants, all of whom were African American licensed architects, were interviewed to gather insights regarding design thinking and four areas of focus, which were outreach, education, licensure, and entrepreneurship. The analysis revealed that design thinking can be a catalyst in the areas of outreach and education for developing solutions intended to increase the number of African American architects in the United States, a goal the professional associations committed to achieving.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stewart, Leroy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Adult and Continuing Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Marguerite Chabau","Dr. Kathleen Cornett"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:12Z","subjects":["Black architects","design thinking","management","NOMA","AIA","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis","Nonprofit Administration and Management","Organizational Behavior and Theory","Other Architecture"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/737","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Marguerite Chabau","Dr. Kathleen Cornett"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stewart, Leroy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-02-26T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Adult and Continuing Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Black architects","design thinking","management","NOMA","AIA","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis","Nonprofit Administration and Management","Organizational Behavior and Theory","Other Architecture"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/737"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study intended to assess design thinking as a variable regarding its utilization as a tool to increase the number of African American architects in the United States. The research was grounded in the speech given by Whitney Young to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1968, and the initial partnership between the AIA and the National Organization of Minority of Architects (NOMA) in 2001 to increase the number of African American architects to 15,000 by 2030. Through the qualitative methodology, via descriptive phenomenological analysis (DPA), fourteen participants, all of whom were African American licensed architects, were interviewed to gather insights regarding design thinking and four areas of focus, which were outreach, education, licensure, and entrepreneurship. The analysis revealed that design thinking can be a catalyst in the areas of outreach and education for developing solutions intended to increase the number of African American architects in the United States, a goal the professional associations committed to achieving.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["How Can Design Thinking Transform Diversity Initiatives For Architectural Trade Organizations In The United States?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Marguerite Chabau","Dr. Kathleen Cornett"],"dc:creator":["Stewart, Leroy"],"dc:date.available":["2022-02-26T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study intended to assess design thinking as a variable regarding its utilization as a tool to increase the number of African American architects in the United States. The research was grounded in the speech given by Whitney Young to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1968, and the initial partnership between the AIA and the National Organization of Minority of Architects (NOMA) in 2001 to increase the number of African American architects to 15,000 by 2030. Through the qualitative methodology, via descriptive phenomenological analysis (DPA), fourteen participants, all of whom were African American licensed architects, were interviewed to gather insights regarding design thinking and four areas of focus, which were outreach, education, licensure, and entrepreneurship. The analysis revealed that design thinking can be a catalyst in the areas of outreach and education for developing solutions intended to increase the number of African American architects in the United States, a goal the professional associations committed to achieving.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/737"],"dc:subject":["Black architects","design thinking","management","NOMA","AIA","Business Administration, Management, and Operations","Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis","Nonprofit Administration and Management","Organizational Behavior and Theory","Other Architecture"],"dc:title":["How Can Design Thinking Transform Diversity Initiatives For Architectural Trade Organizations In The United States?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Adult and Continuing Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:12Z"}