Architectural Historian
Jennifer Minasian Trotoux graduated from Scripps with a self-designed major in architectural studies, which included coursework in architecture, architectural history, art history, and urban history and theory. After Scripps she studied art history with an emphasis in architectural history at the University of Chicago. She taught an architectural history survey course at Woodbury University and has worked for a private historic preservation consulting firm for seven years. She has also applied her skills to volunteer work for the Los Angeles Conservancy, Society of Architectural Historians Southern California Chapter, and American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter. Living and studying on the Scripps campus, which is a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, provided an opportunity to study and enjoy a rich cultural and architectural historic resource. 20th century architectural resources in the Los Angeles area are her professional focus. Her work includes the evaluation and interpretation of historic buildings and places in southern California through National Register listings, environmental review, design review, historic surveys, and participation in workshops, lectures, and a city historic preservation commission.
“The training I had at Scripps in critical thinking and writing have been invaluable to me in graduate school and in my career, and I value my continued relations with the college very highly. The supportive atmosphere of Scripps certainly made me a better teacher. In graduate school I had a friend who’d spent her undergraduate years in an Ivy League school; when we compared our experiences she said she wished that in her education she’d had that kind of institutional focus on undergraduate education and one-on-one mentoring from talented professors. Scripps is small enough that everyone has an opportunity to pursue their interests from a front-row seat.”