Milton S. F. Curry

Milton S. F. Curry is a Professor of Architecture and Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP); founding editor of CriticalProductive (a peer-reviewed academic journal focused on culture, arts, and spatial practice) distributed by MIT Press; and principal of Milton Curry ProjectStudio design consultancy.

Curry produces creative work and scholarship on the role of architecture in shaping social consciousness and the intersectional role of race, class, and urban geography embedded in modern and contemporary aesthetic practices in the Americas. At Cornell, he will launch and direct the Black Cities Americas Lab, which will examine the possibilities of environmental justice and reparations movements on the urban design and redevelopment of America’s inner cities. Current work also includes three book manuscripts on architecture race theory, diversity in the practice and profession of architecture, and the cultural significance and critical histories of the boutique hotel. In addition, Curry leads the curatorial team at work on three exhibitions (USC Architecture, Getty, LACMA) on the life and work of Paul R. Williams, slated to open in late 2026.

Curry was Dean at the University of Southern California School of Architecture from 2017–22 and Associate Dean / Associate Professor at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning from 2010–17. He was a professor at Cornell Architecture from 1995–2010 and Director of the Cornell University Council for the Arts from 2002–08. Curry serves on the Museum of Modern Art Board of Trustees Architecture and Design Acquisitions Committee and the Abode Communities Board of Directors and Finance Committee.

Curry received a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 1988 and a Master of Architecture II post-professional degree with distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1992.