Inaugural E. Harvey Myers Scholarship is Awarded to ACE Mentor Program New Jersey Student from Hightstown High School

DIGroup Architecture Co-founder, Principal and President Vincent Myers (right) recently presented the inaugural E. Harvey Myers ACE Mentor Program New Jersey $5,000 scholarship in memory of his late father to Allison Herrera (center) of ACE Hightstown. Pictured with Myers and Herrera is Dexter Hendricks (left), vice president of Turner Construction, who is a board member and chairperson of the ACE Mentor Program New Jersey Scholarship Committee. Photo Courtesy: ACE Mentor Program New Jersey

Scholarship Honors the Legacy of one of NJ’s First African-American Architects

New Brunswick, N.J., August 24, 2023 – As he did in life, E. Harvey Myers’ memory continues to motivate and inspire young professionals within the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) fields through a newly created ACE Mentor Program New Jersey scholarship. The inaugural $5,000 award was recently presented to Allison Herrera of ACE Hightstown by Myers’ son, Vincent Myers, co-founder, principal and president of DIGroup Architecture (DIG) in New Brunswick, NJ.       

“My father instilled in me, our colleagues at DIG and friends at ACE a strongly held belief that the more times young people experience visibility, leadership and representation, the greater the likelihood they will consider a career in an ACE and/or STEM field,” said Myers. “Not only do we have the power to change the trajectory of underrepresentation in each of these respective fields, we also have the ability to shape the next generation of untapped creativity among promising and talented young people like Allison.” 

Established to honor the elder Myers’ legacy as a scholar, entrepreneur and one of the first African-American licensed architects in the State of New Jersey, the E. Harvey Myers Scholarship encourages diversity within the ACE professions. It also is backed by the support network of ACE Mentor Program New Jersey and the talented professionals at DIG, an award-winning architectural, interiors and environmental graphic-design firm certified as a Minority-Owned, Disadvantaged and Small Business Enterprise (MBE, DBE, SBE) firm.     

Lifelong Ties to Mentorship & ACE Program

A self-taught architect, Harvey Myers went on to establish his own practice in 1969 in Princeton, NJ, a hub widely known for its proliferation of notable architects. Over the course of his storied 55-year career, he sought to continually inspire young professionals entering the ACE industry, served as a former ACE mentor and remained a lifelong supporter of the ACE Mentor Program at a local, statewide and national level.

At the same time, his son was developing his own fascination for the architecture profession. Sparked at a young age when he would observe his father sketching at his drafting table, Vince soaked in this passion and earned an architecture degree from Syracuse University. Thereafter, the younger Myers would join his father’s firm as a young professional and go on to achieve AIA licensure and LEED AP certification. The two worked side-by-side for two decades.

“Together with five small-yet-reputable firms, E. Harvey Myers Architects joined NJ K-12 Architects, a bold and unprecedented collaboration – and ultimate merger – of four firms focused on supporting New Jersey’s goal to transform urban schools and their surrounding neighborhoods into communities of hope and opportunity,” he said, noting DIGroup Architecture was formed in 2006 thanks to this collaboration.

Tremendous pride in continuing his family legacy fed Myers’ own mission to serve others. It also fuels DIG’s expansion and a commitment to make life better for entire communities through the power of architecture, design and space.

“Just as my father had been, all of us at DIG are committed to creating opportunities and lifting up underserved neighborhoods in the spirit of our axiom of ‘Architecture for Change’ – through the use of our own talents and those of DIG’s multidisciplinary architecture, interior and graphic design teams,” said Myers. “We are not only connected to our assignments; we are tied to the world at large and committed to supporting and advancing the next generation.”