The UW System Board of Regents has named Arijit Sen, associate professor of Architecture and Urban Studies in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UWM, a recipient of the Regents Diversity Award.
The award recognizes individuals and programs that create opportunities for students who are members of historically underrepresented populations to succeed. Recipients are awarded $7,500 to support the work of the program or the professional development of the individual.
Sen is one of three recipients of the award. His work unites UWM with surrounding Milwaukee neighborhoods and other schools in the UW System. His teaching introduces students to diverse racial, ethnic, economic and cultural experiences. In his courses, students work with neighborhoods to transform community spaces, such as public seating areas, gardens and farmers market stands.
Sen’s work extends outside of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods to Madison. He co-founded Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures, a collaborative area of research between UWM and the UW-Madison. He also directs the Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School. The Field School has won several local and national awards for its curriculum that engages students to create a positive impact in diversity and equity within their communities.
“I focus on place-based stories and accounts of everyday practices that may be familiar to ordinary people but are often missed by historians and experts. My commitment to diversity emerges from a realization that the built environment is a stage where human difference is enacted,” Sen said.
Sen and his fellow honorees will be recognized in Madison on Feb. 7.
