Spitzer Stars

The architect M. Rosaria Piomelli was repeatedly told throughout her studies and career that architecture was “not a woman’s job,” a refrain that would later inspire the title of her autobiography. Despite this opposition, Piomelli attended the Art Institute of Naples and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She later worked for several architecture firms in the United States and Europe, including I. M. Pei & Partners, before opening her firm in 1974.

In 1980, Piomelli was appointed dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture, becoming the first woman to head an architecture school in the United States. Piomelli pushed the profession to change toward equality, acceptance, and recognition of women’s achievements, most notably as director of the American Institute of Architects Equal Opportunity Committee in the 1970s.