March 23, 2026

IN HER STEPS | Celebrating Women’s Leadership through the Bethune Lectures

Exhibition Opening and Panel:
Monday, March 23 from 5–7 p.m. • Moderated panel begins at 5:30 p.m.
Light reception with food and drinks will follow from 7–8 p.m.
Hayes Hall Atrium, UB South Campus | Sponsored by Ashley McGraw Architects 

Exhibition on Display:
March 23–April 12, 2026 • Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Hayes Hall Atrium, UB South Campus

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Headshots of the 18 women being featured in the Bethune Exhibition.

IN HER STEPS | Celebrating Women’s Leadership through the Bethune Lectures

This exhibition is a retrospective of all the Bethune Lecturers to date, featuring some select images of their work and description of their accomplishments.

Curatorial Statement

In 2007, the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning partnered with the American Institute of Architects Buffalo/Western New York Chapter to establish an annual lecture honoring contemporary women architects whose work has significantly shaped the profession and the built environment. The series was named after Buffalo-based Louise Blanchard Bethune, FAIA (1856–1913), the first professional woman architect in the United States and the first woman admitted to the American Institute of Architects. Today, the Bethune Lecture is the longest-running academic lecture series in the nation dedicated to women in architecture.

The lecture was founded at a pivotal cultural moment. As the Third Wave of Feminism receded and before the language of Fourth Wave empowerment took hold, architecture operated under the assumption that gender equity had largely been achieved. Yet structural inequities persisted, in architectural education, firm leadership, compensation, and systems of recognition. Many women entering the field encountered barriers to advancement and visibility that contradicted the profession’s narrative of equality.

The Bethune Lecture emerged as both recognition and response. By foregrounding women who challenged entrenched norms and reshaped practice, it reframed leadership in architecture and expanded the canon of contemporary excellence. The series honors architects whose work, advocacy, and resilience have transformed institutions, influenced public life, and redefined what authority and authorship look like in the built environment.

This exhibition reflects on almost two decades of the Bethune Lecture, situating it within broader cultural shifts while celebrating the individuals whose careers continue to reshape the profession.

Acknowledgments

Curators
 Kelly Hayes McAlonie, FAIA, AUA, LEED AP
UB Director of Campus Planning, University Facilities

Maia Peck, NOMA
Director of Exhibitions
Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture

Exhibition Assistant
 Edwin Sanchez Rodriguez

Exhibition and Reception Sponsor
Ashley McGraw Architects

Ashley McGraw Architects Primary Logo.

Panel Discussion

Panelists

  • Roxanne Button, AIA, CDT/CCS, LEED/WELL/LFA
    Associate Principal, Ashley McGraw Architects, D.P.C.
  • Brian Carter
    Professor, Department of Architecture
  • Joyce Hwang, FAIA, NOMA, NCARB
    Professor, Department of Architecture
  • Olga Kislyuk, AIA, NCARB, LEED BD+C
    Architect, POPLI Design Group (PDG)
  • Despina Stratigakos, PHD
    SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Architecture

Moderator

  • Kelly Hayes McAlonie, FAIA, AUA, LEED AP
    UB Director of Campus Planning, University Facilities