The following message from the SAH President was originally sent by the SAH Office as an email to its entire mailing list on September 11, 2025.
Dear SAH Members,
As we begin a new academic season, I am delighted to share some exciting initiatives that reflect our ongoing commitment to nurturing the future leaders of architectural history.
This fall we are launching the
SAH Mentorship Program, which pairs emerging scholars with experienced mentors across our diverse community—architects, preservationists, historians, and beyond. The response has already been remarkable: within just a few days of opening the program, we received nearly 50 nominations from mentees, a clear sign of the strong demand for mentorship within our Society. To meet this need, we especially encourage senior members to step forward as mentors. This program embodies SAH’s long-standing spirit of mutual support and collegiality, and its success will depend on the generosity and participation of our community.
I extend my sincere thanks to the Ad Hoc Mentorship Committee—Joseph Williams, Kathleen James Chakraborty, and Anatole Tchikine—for their thoughtful work in shaping this program and bringing it to life.
In addition, following the enthusiastic response to our career workshops at the Atlanta conference, we have launched a monthly series of
academic development workshops. These sessions cover essential skills such as grant writing, career navigation, publishing articles, and developing theses and dissertations. Led by distinguished scholars and practitioners, they are designed to strengthen professional growth, build scholarly confidence, and enhance career readiness for our future leaders. We encourage you to share these opportunities with colleagues and students who may benefit. We are committed to offering these workshops again in the future and expanding them as part of our programming.
Together, these initiatives reaffirm SAH’s dedication to empowerment and professional development. We want our rising colleagues to feel supported, guided, and inspired, and to be connected to a global network of scholars who share knowledge and values. We are cultivating a community that is inclusive, caring, creative, and ready to challenge disciplinary boundaries.
I am grateful to all who have contributed to these initiatives and to those of you who will volunteer as mentors or mentees. Thank you for investing in the future of our field and ensuring that these opportunities remain meaningful and impactful.
Best wishes,
Mohammad Gharipour, PhD
President, Society of Architectural Historians
Professor and Director of the Architecture Program at the University of Maryland
ACSA Distinguished Professor
