The Merry Ovnick Fellowship is established by the Society of Architectural Historians/Southern
California Chapter (SAH/SCC) in honor of past-President and longtime board member Merry
Ovnick. It provides for $1,000 annually to support the travel of an advanced graduate student to
the SAH Annual International Conference. Any graduate student studying at a college or
University in Southern California is qualified to apply but must have research interests in
architectural and/or cultural history and be actively pursuing their Masters degree or PhD at an
accredited college or university. The Fellowship will be awarded annually, with its first recipient
in early 2025.
In celebration of the Fellowship, The Merry Ovnick Fellowship Fundraiser and Lecture will be
held on Saturday, January 25th, 2025 at the historic Neutra Office in Silver Lake and broadcast via
Zoom. Daniel Paul, architectural historian, will be the featured speaker. Paul, known for his
groundbreaking work on glass skinned office buildings, was mentored by Ovnick. One hundred
percent of the proceeds of the lecture will go to the support of the Fellowship.
As an author and educator, Merry wrote extensively on the Southern California built
environment and was the author of Los Angeles: The End of the Rainbow (Princeton
Architectural Press, 1999). For years, she also was the editor of the Southern California
Quarterly. As a teacher in the history department at California State University, Northridge,
she educated and mentored young historians for decades. She served as President of
SAH/SCC and was a long-time board member. Her final wishes were that those of us left
behind pay forward the passion and enjoyment of architecture and history that she had.
Individuals wishing to make a donation in support of the Fellowship can do so at
www.sahscc.org. Tickets for the lecture will be available January 1st, 2025.
Fellowship Timeline
Call for Applications: November 15th
Submissions Due to Selection Committee: January 15th
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser: January 25th
Selection/announcement of recipient: February 15th
