News

The School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is now accepting applications for the 2026–27 Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship. Named for the architect and educator Doug Garofalo (1958–2011), the nine-month visiting faculty teaching-and-research fellowship provides emerging designers the opportunity to teach design studio and seminar courses and conduct independent research, culminating in a public lecture at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and an exhibition or public conversation at the school.

Now in its thirteenth year, the Garofalo Fellowship has made an essential contribution to the school’s culture through the fellows’ design and pedagogical agendas. Past fellows include Molly Hunker (SPORTS), Pier Paolo Tamburelli (baukuh, San Rocco), Sarah Blankenbaker, Francesco Marullo, Fosco Lucarelli (Microcities, SOCKS), Anne Dessing (Studio Anne Dessing), Johannes Berry (SUGIBERRY), Cédric Van Parys, and Zehra Ahmed. The current fellow is Nile Greenberg (Abel Nile New York, LLC).

Operating from within Chicago’s only public research university, the UIC School of Architecture promotes architecture as a cultural practice of organizing information, of intelligently identifying and deploying patterns—conceptual, visual, structural, behavioral, and material—in the world. The school derives much of its energy and unique perspective from its award-winning, international faculty, forty percent of whom were born or educated abroad. The Garofalo Fellowship aims to allow an emerging architect to benefit, as Doug did, from the opportunity to teach and conduct research within this generative environment at an early stage of practice.

Applicants should prepare the following materials for submission through the online application:

—Curriculum vitae
—Proposal describing the research to be conducted as a Garofalo Fellow (500–750 words)
—Teaching statement (500–750 words)
—Portfolio of selected work (no more than ten pages)
—Names and contact information of three references

Applicants must apply as individuals; no group applications will be accepted. The selected fellow will be expected to be in primary residence in Chicago from mid-August 2026 through mid-May 2027. The fellowship is the equivalent of a full-time faculty position.

The application deadline is February 21, 2026, 5:00 pm CST.

Finalists will be asked to visit Chicago for an interview and public presentation in April 2026. All applicants will be notified of their status by the end of April 2026.

More information here.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

The university provides accommodations to applicants and employees. Request an Accommodation.

Image credit: Installation view of Arabia Interrotta at the UIC School of Architecture, April 10–May 9, 2025. Photograph: Nicholas James Photography. Courtesy Zehra Ahmed.