Sadly we are only learning about Norma Merrick Sklarek (BC ’50) upon her passing yesterday, but as the first female black architect, she is certainly deserving of a few words on this most illustrious of publications, the Barnard Class of 2005 blog.
Like many Barnard women before and after her, Sklarek was a pioneer, boldly breaking the barriers of yet another industry overwhelmingly made up of white men. Sklarek was the first African American woman to pass the New York state architecture exam in 1954, the first to get licensed in California in 1962, and the first to receive the highest honor bestowed to architects, an elected fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She helped design the Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 1, the American Embassy in Tokyo, and one of LA’s most important buildings, the Fox Hills Mall.
Barnard Class of 2005 Blog 