About this event

The Druker Award is presented annually to a speaker or speakers who has or have made outstanding and important contributions to the world of design.

This year’s awardee, Theodore (Ted) C. Landsmark, a civic planner, educator, and civil rights advocate, will reflect in conversation with BPL President David Leonard on reimagining the urban public library, transformative civic spaces, and building an equitable city. Following the discussion there will be an audience Q&A. Druker Company President Ronald M. Druker will give welcoming remarks.

Ted Landsmark has been a civic planner, civil rights and equity advocate, higher education administrator, arts and culture researcher, and community-engaged social activist in Boston and nationally. He serves on the leadership committee of the Northeastern University Faculty Senate and on the board of the Leventhal Map and Education Center.

As Director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, Professor Landsmark oversees inter-disciplinary research on urban policy matters, including housing, gentrification, economic development, civic engagement, school design, comprehensive services, transportation, resilience, and public service. Dr. Landsmark teaches the Open Classroom on community engagement in policy planning and design, racial equity and civic justice, and Capstone courses. He has convened an annual conference on equitable policy engagement. His research and practice interests include diversity in environmental design and education, higher education administration, community-based economic development, historic preservation, resilience and sustainability, and African American artisanry.

As Mayor Walsh’s first appointment to the Boston Planning and Development Agency’s Board of Directors, Landsmark has brought to the board a wealth of expertise in architecture, urban design, civic leadership, architectural and construction law, and community advocacy. Since joining the board, the agency has rebranded, held hundreds of community meetings annually, planned and facilitated the development of over $50 billion in real estate including 35,000 housing units, ~30% of which have been income-restricted, and generated over $15 million in jobs training and affordable housing funds. During his seventeen-year tenure as president and CEO of the Boston Architectural College, Dr. Landsmark led the growth of the school from a design center into an internationally recognized, multi-disciplinary higher education institution.

Ted Landsmark has served as academic vice president of the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, and as a faculty member and administrator at the Massachusetts College of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and UMass Boston. He served as President of the National Architectural Accrediting Board and of the Association of the Collegiate School of Architects. He has also served as a trustee or board member for many non-profit organizations, including the Leventhal Map and Education Center, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the American Architectural Foundation, the Design Futures Council, the Boston Society of Architects, the Trustees of Reservations, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Historic New England, Historic Boston, and the Laguna College of Art and Design.