John Ploss, distinguished CCNY alumnus of the Class of 1977.
John Ploss, a distinguished alumnus of The City College of New York’s Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, is giving back to his alma mater after a successful career as an architect. He’s funding a $5,000 annual travel scholarship for Spitzer architecture students nearly 50 years after graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the School.
John spent 44 years as an architect in San Francisco. He was self-employed for 33 years and retired at age 70.
“I’m thrilled that John is supporting this travel fellowship for an architecture student at Spitzer. Travel abroad is life changing; it is one of the most important opportunities we can offer to our students,” said Marta Gutman, Dean of the Spitzer School.
Advanced students in the undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture are eligible to apply for the John Ploss Travel Fellowship. The winner will be selected by a selection committee based on a research proposal with a concise description of the topic, a bibliography, itinerary with a budget, and a transcript.
About the Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
Now more than 50 years old, the Spitzer School is the flagship public school of architecture in New York City. Its emphasis on the urban environment as the most important generator of ideas about the appropriateness of programs and forms makes it unique among the constellation of architecture schools in New York and the surrounding region.
Nearly 500 students from the city, the country, and around the world pursue professional undergraduate degrees in architecture and graduate degrees in architecture, urban landscape architecture, urban design, and sustainability in the urban environment. They are taught by faculty who are also deeply engaged in New York City as licensed architects and landscape architects, critics, and scholars. Read more.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
917.892.0374
jmwamba@ccny.cuny