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Dr. Kwesi Daniels is the Department Head of the Architecture Department at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. He is currently a tenured associate professor at Tuskegee University and an adjunct professor at New York University. His professional experience ranges across various disciplines, including historic preservation, architecture, sustainability, and urban geography. His doctoral research focused on the positive and negative social impact universities can have on communities around their campuses, particularly communities of color. He also earned a Bachelor and Master of Architecture, and a Master of Sustainability Management.
Dr. Daniels is a community development thought leader who has given lectures at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Pennsylvania (UPENN), Boston Architectural College, Columbia University, and Pratt Institute, to name a few. His work has also been published in Architect Magazine, NOMA Magazine, and Veranda, in addition to being incorporated into multiple book chapters and documentaries. In 2022, Dr. Daniels was recognized as a “Game Changer” for his ground-breaking work around preservation education at Tuskegee University.
Dr. Daniels began developing a historic preservation program at Tuskegee University, within the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science in 2018. The program trains architecture and construction science management students to handle the nuances of historic properties, using technology like laser scanning, photogrammetry, 3D printing, drones, virtual reality and augmented reality. This preservation work has expanded the resources of Tuskegee University to support African American communities in Selma, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Tuskegee, Alabama. Through these efforts, he successfully secured over $1 million in grant funding for Tuskegee University and other community organizations. He and his students are currently working to preserve the Armstrong School in Macon County, Alabama, a Tuskegee rural school model building and precursor to the Rosenwald School program.
Some of Dr. Daniels’ civic work includes serving as an advisory board member for the UPenn Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Heritage Sites, board member of the Rosenwald Park Campaign Advisory Council, and the third Congressional District Representative of the Alabama Black Heritage Council. He previously served as the Green Homes Coordinator for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Within this capacity, Dr. Daniels was responsible for “greening” over 4,000 units of affordable housing throughout the state by implementing renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green financing products, which developers could use to improve the sustainable performance of the properties within their portfolio. He has also worked with Ian Smith Design Group (IS-DG) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his tenure with IS-DG, he worked on residential and commercial buildings throughout the city, conducted site and building surveys, and economic development research. Dr. Daniels also serves as an Assistant Boy Scout Scoutmaster with Troop 224, co-chair of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Educate Committee, and is a past board member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
Dr. Daniels is married to his college sweetheart, Aaliyah Daniels, and through their union, they have five beautiful children, Adia, Indigo, Harmony, Serenity, and Ajna.. When he is not focused on changing the world, he enjoys taking walks in the park with his sweetheart, wrestling around with his son, riding bikes with his children, shooting pool, and kane twirling.