Tulane National Panhellenic Council Plots

For nearly a century, universities across the United States have provided outdoor spaces, referred to as “plots,” designed to represent National Panhellenic Council (NPHC) organizations, give current members and alumni an area for gathering, reflection, and celebration and teach others in the campus community about their rich history and traditions.The concept of creating plots is grounded in the nation’s painful history, reflective of the Reconstruction‐era promise by the federal government to give forty acres and a mule to freed slaves. At a predominantly white institutions (PWI) such as Tulane University, plots represent the idea of these organizations reclaiming land for Black students and finally living out that broken promise and demonstrate an institutional commitment to welcoming and celebrating underrepresented members of the campus community.

SMM was selected by Tulane to lead the planning, design and construction of the NPHC Plots on the university’s Uptown Campus in New Orleans. SMM facilitated the visioning process which included engagement with student and faculty representatives from the NPHC membership as well as site refinement and selection. The final design features the plots prominently on the campus’s Gibson Quad, creating an important space for generations of NPHC members that is memorable, impactful, and will be a monument to the vision of those who envisioned it far into the future.