The LA Times reports the passing of Norma Merrick Sklarek 01(B.Arch '50), one of two female graduates of that class, the first African American woman in the country to become a licensed architect, the first black female licensed architect in New York and California, and the first to be elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture (FAIA). Sklarek, pictured in the center, was the co-founder of one of the largest all-women architectural firms in the country in 1985, and she also ran several large-scale projects during her time at SOM and Gruen. Her notable projects include the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center and Terminal 1 at LAX, San Francisco’s Fox Plaza, and San Bernadino, California’s City Hall.
Norma’s family will be celebrating her memory on March 4th at her home in Pacific Palisades, California. Please contact Norma’s nephew George Snead02 (M.Arch ’73) for more information.