Cathy Ho Schar
Cathi Ho Schar is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture, and the inaugural director of the University of Hawaiʻi Community Design Center (UHCDC). She brings 18 years of professional practice experience in Hawai’i to her role at the university and center. Cathi applies the principles of public interest and public sector practice to all aspects of her teaching and pedagogy, focusing on the integrated design of systems, processes, and environments. Cathi’s work is fundamentally collaborative and inclusive, engaging university and professional colleagues, and government and community partners, in ways that promote student agency and system-wide benefits. Her work on multi-disciplinary teaching and research teams received the 2020 ACSA Collaborative Practice Award, 2021 ACSA Course Development Prize in Architecture Climate Change and Society, and 2021 ACSA Annual Meeting Best Project Award. In 2021, Cathi’s efforts were recognized with an ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award and elevation to the AIA College of Fellows. Cathi was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She earned her B.A. at Stanford University and M.Arch from the University of California at Berkeley.