Abimbola Asojo

Dr. Abimbola Asojo serves as Dean and Professor at Morgan State University's School of Architecture & Planning since August 2023, following her role as Associate Dean for Faculty and Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota's College of Design. With 26+ years of global leadership, she has directed over forty community-based service-learning projects addressing societal challenges through design.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD, University of Oklahoma
• MS, University of East London, UK
• MS, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
• BS, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Dr. Asojo's research pioneers intersections of cross-cultural design, architectural lighting, African architecture, and K-12 educational spaces. Her work demonstrates how design solutions advance social equity, health outcomes, and educational access—particularly through sustainable interventions in healthcare, workplace, and learning environments. She co-edited the seminal text African Humanity Creativity, Identity and Personhood (2021), establishing frameworks for decolonizing design education.

Recent publications reveal three critical trajectories: 1) Health-focused design for pandemic resilience and elderly care, 2) STEAM education initiatives bridging digital divides for underrepresented youth, and 3) Evidence-based workplace evaluations validating sustainable design impacts. These threads converge in her commitment to community-centered, culturally responsive design practices.

Her accolades include:

• 2023 FAIA (American Institute of Architects College of Fellows)
• Multiple Nuckolls Fund Lighting Education Awards (2021, 2018, 2013)
• 2018 Obafemi Awolowo University Distinguished Alumni Award
• 2017 IIDA Diversity Award and Design Intelligence Most Admired Educator
• 2002 Nuckolls Edison Price Fellowship

As principal investigator, she secured $1.2M+ in grants from NEA, Best Buy Foundation, and EPA for projects like 'Bridging the Digital Divide in STEAM' and 'Community-Based Participatory Research for BIPOC Sanctuaries.' Her mentorship framework engages students in real-world problem-solving, notably through the Diversity and Design program that has exposed 500+ K-12 students to architecture careers since 2013.

Dr. Asojo co-founded the University of Minnesota's lighting design minor (2019) and developed West Africa's first Master of Interior Design program (inaugural class 2021). She currently leads Morgan State's Built Environment Career Fair and Home U initiative, expanding pathways for HBCU students in design professions while advising the Journal of Interior Design and IESNA BIM committee.