Auburn University’s Mackenzie Stagg has been selected to be part of the 12-person cohort of researchers for the 2025 Academy for the Public Scholarship on the Built Environment: HOUSING EQUITY. Mackenzie is a research faculty member in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, part of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction. She has been with Rural Studio’s Front Porch Initiative since its founding in 2018 and has been an integral part of this scale-up of Rural Studio research. This research digs into questions about housing that focus not just on the immediate affordability of homes but on the interconnected, long-term issues of getting people into—and keeping them in—homes that are not only beautiful and thoughtfully designed for a lifetime-plus of use but are also durable, resilient, low maintenance, and built with healthful materials. And the Front Porch team brings evolving solutions to partners in the field, offering not only prototype designs but also invaluable technical assistance.
In short, Mackenzie’s research is focused on housing affordability and access, exploring the products, policies, and partnerships that facilitate developing high-performance housing. Specifically, she studies how the creation of high-performance homes can reduce the total cost of homeownership while simultaneously reducing risk for the homeowner, lender, and insurer. Centered around the areas of efficiency, resilience, health, and community, this research touches the areas of building technology, housing policy, and finance. A Rural Studio alumnus, she brings to the table previous related experience: she worked with Community Housing Partners in Christiansburg, VA on affordable, multi-family housing, and with Waggonner & Ball in New Orleans, LA on urban design projects aimed at increasing resilience in coastal cities.
The Academy for which Mackenzie has been selected is a project of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the ACSA Research & Scholarship Committee, in partnership with The OpEd Project. This cohort brings together twelve architecture faculty whose scholarship addresses housing equity and seeks to influence the policies and narratives shaping the built environment. They will participate in The OpEd Project’s virtual “Write to Change the World” workshops, connecting participants with diverse identities, voices, and ideas. Cohort members will also join a series of training modules led by experts on issues of housing equity and public scholarship, including members of the AIA Housing & Community Development Knowledge Community and allied organizations working toward housing equity.
The Academy will present participating cohort faculty with an extended training opportunity to expand the impact of their research and scholarship beyond the academy. Mackenzie, whose work already reaches beyond the academy, will find even more avenues for extending her work’s reach. After the workshop, cohort members will have up to three months of access to The OpEd Project’s Mentor-Editor network to get individualized feedback on their op-ed drafts to double their chances of publishing success. By the end of the training, cohort members are expected to complete the workshops and submit an op-ed for publication in a local, regional, or national newspaper.
In case you missed the news, although Mackenzie currently holds the title Assistant Research Professor, that will soon change: she has been approved for promotion to Associate Research Professor, effective Fall 2025!
Here’s the full 2025 cohort for the Academy for the Public Scholarship on the Built Environment: HOUSING EQUITY:
Jeffrey Carney, University of Florida
Francesco Cianfarani, University of Oklahoma
Sascha Delz, University of Southern California
Wes Hiatt, Lehigh University
Jeffrey Kruth, Miami University
Karen Kubey, University of Toronto
Asma Mehan, Texas Tech University
Rashida Ng, University of Pennsylvania
Edward Palka, Columbia University
Mackenzie Stagg, Auburn University
Helen Stopps, Toronto Metropolitan University
Stathis Yeros, University of New Mexico
Learn more about the 2025 Cohort and the project from the ACSA.