Sharon Sutton

In 1984, she became the first African American woman to become a full professor in an accredited architectural degree program while teaching at the University of Michigan. She has also taught at Parsons School of Design, and Columbia University.

Sharon Sutton studied at Columbia University, Parsons School of Design and Manhattan School of Music. Rock, Mary Fialko and Christopher S. Kwong are recorded as having studied under Sharon Sutton. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with University of Washington, University of Michigan and Columbia University. Work by Sharon Sutton is recorded in the collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Vanderbilt Museum of Art and Michael C. Distinctions recorded are Michigan Women's Hall of Fame and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

• Name — Sharon Egretta Sutton • Alma Mater — Manhattan School of Music, University of Hartford Columbia University, City University of New York • Discipline — Architecture • Workplaces — Pratt Institute, Columbia University, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan, University of Washington • Illustration — Sharon Egretta Sutton in 2017 at the launch of her book, When Ivory Towers were Black at the book's launch at Columbia University

Sharon Egretta Sutton was born in 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sutton began taking piano lessons at age 5 from the organist at her mother's church at a time when colored people were barred from going to the swimming pool, skating rink, and movie theater in her segregated Cincinnati neighborhood. She was introduced to the French horn at her college prep high school where all students had to study one of the arts alongside their academic courses. Sutton was educated initially in music, studying French horn with Gunther Schuller first at the Manhattan School of Music in 1959; and latter at the Hartt College of Music at the University of Hartford, where she received a B.A. degree in 1963. After earning a degree in 1963, Sutton worked as a professional musician in New York City, most notably for Sol Hurok Attractions and in the original cast of Man of La Mancha. She also performed at symphony orchestras, in Radio City Music Hall, on Broadway, and had over a thousand performances in Man of La Mancha. In 1967, Sutton enrolled in Parsons School of Design. She later studied architecture at Columbia University, where she was mentored by J. Max Bond, Jr. and Romaldo Giurgola. She earned her M.Arch. in 1973 and opened a private practice in 1976. In 1982, she received her MPhil and Ph.D. in psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY).

A registered architect, Sutton was the twelfth African American woman to be licensed to practice architecture (1976), the first to be promoted to full professor of architecture (1994), and the second to be elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and honored as a Distinguished Professor by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in 1995-1996. Sutton received the "Life Recognition Award" from the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1997 and the national American Institute of Architects Whitney M. Young, Jr., Award in 2011. In 2014 and 2017 respectively, she received the AIA Seattle Chapter Medal of Honor and the AIA New York Medal of Honor, the highest awards chapters can confer. Sutton's career as an architect started after she was licensed by New York State as an architect. She started practicing architecture and fine art in a 5th Avenue loft and also started teaching at Pratt Institute and later at Columbia University. Sutton left Columbia University for the University of Cincinnati before she was recruited to the University of Michigan where she became the first African American woman to become a full professor of architecture, the 2nd to be elevated to fellowship in the AIA, and the 1st to serve as president of the National Architectural Accrediting Board, concluding by being inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. Sutton eventually accepted a professorship position at the University of Washington where she was a principal investigator of Ford Foundation study civic engagement by low – income youths, this work earned her an award as the second African American woman to receive the AIA Whitney M. Young, Jr. award. During this period, Sutton served on the Seattle Design Commission and chaired the Capitol Hill Design Review Board, public service that earned her the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle Chapter Community Service award and Medal of Honor award.

• Sharon E. Sutton (2015). Foreword; and Chapter eleven: reality-based learning in design studio education. In Carla Jackson Bell (Ed.), Space Unveiled (pp. xvi–xvii and pp,102–112). New York: Routledge Research in Architecture Series. • Sharon E. Sutton (2011). Struggling for the right to housing: a critical analysis of the evolution of West Seattle's High Point. In The Paradox of Urban Space (pp. 29–51). • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2011). Introduction: place as marginality and possibility. In The Paradox of Urban Space, pp. 1–9. • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2011). Place: a site of social and environmental inequity. In The Paradox of Urban Space (pp. 13–28). • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2011). Place: a site of individual and collective transformation. In The Paradox of Urban Space (pp. 113–134). • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2011). Conclusions: Standing shoulder-to- shoulder in a place-conscious society. In The Paradox of Urban Space (pp. 259–265). • Sharon E. Sutton (2008). Engaging the public, seeking common ground; and Discovering the power of youth. In Nancy B. Solomon (ed.), Architecture: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future (pp. 64–77;and pp. 84). New York: Visual Reference Inc.; Washington, DC: The American Institute of Architects. • Sharon E. Sutton (2007). A social justice perspective on youth and community development: theorizing the processes and outcomes of participation. Children, Youth, and Environments, 17 (2), 616–645. [Available online at: http: www.colorado. edu/journals/cye]. • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2006, September). Integrated social science and design inquiry through interdisciplinary design charrettes: an approach to participatory community problem-solving. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38 (1–2), 125–139. • Sharon E. Sutton and Susan P. Kemp (2005). Children's participation in constructing a social just public sphere. In Mark Blades and Christopher Spencer (eds.), Children and Their Environments: Learning, Using, and Designing Spaces (pp. 256–276). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.