Linda Jewell, M.L.A., F.A.S.L.A.
Professor and Chair

Spring 2008

The Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning has a rich heritage of providing educational experiences and cutting-edge research that integrates the art of landscape design with a concern for an ecologically healthy planet and social equity. Aided by a multidisciplinary faculty with backgrounds in design, science, and planning, the department offers degree programs for undergraduates, Master's, and Ph.D. students who pursue leadership positions in private design firms, public agencies, and non-profit organizations. Numerous graduates are also teaching in design and planning departments around the world. In the words of the outside evaluators of the 2006 review of the three-year Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) degree, "The program is highly regarded and its strong reputation is well deserved given the academic strengths present."

This academic year, field study is again an important supplement to the classroom in courses that require students to attend community meetings, stomp through streams collecting hydrologic data, assess urban vegetation, observe construction sites and sketch the Bay Area's many notable landscapes. With the aid of research and endowment funds, our field studies have included overseas travel, with recent visits to China, Mexico, France, Germany, and the Netherlands to analyze open space and through studio projects in Moorea, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Thailand. Over the recent 2007/08 winter break, Professors Peter Bosselmann and Matt Kondolf led a group of 10 students to Guangzhou, a city in the Pearl River Delta of China, where the students worked with 20 Chinese students from the South China University of Technology on the incorporation of the rural village Dosun into the rapid expanding business district of Foshan, a city of 5 million.

Last fall, the department hosted two exhibitions at Wurster Hall: "Watercolors of California," consisting of the stunning drawings from the sketchbooks of Professor Burt Litton, who passed away in April 2007, and “The Work of Kongjian Yu,” China's award-winning landscape architect. In the fall, two 2007 graduates were recognized at the national American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) meeting in San Francisco, with student honor awards in the Planning and Analysis Category for their theses. Representing two of the 25 awards selected from 272 entries, Alethea Harper's thesis, “Repairing the Local Food System: Long Range Planning for People's Grocery,” and Leslie Webster's “Remodeling Renewal,” a proposal for the redesign of an existing public housing project, received the awards.  Faculty were also well represented, with Walter Hood speaking in one of the keynote sessions and Emerita Professor Clare Cooper-Marcus and Professors Matt Kondolf and Linda Jewell speaking in Educational Sessions and Tours. Professor Linda Jewell also received the Bradford Williams Medal for her article, "The Spirit of Stone," in Landscape Architecture magazine. More recently, Randy Hester’s new book, Design for Ecological Democracy, received the prestigious Paul Davidoff Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.

This spring, with Professors Mozingo, Duane and Stilgenbauer on sabbatical, we have an unusually large number of visiting faculty. We are fortunate to again have Kim Stryker teaching LD ARCH 130 – Introduction to Landscape Architecture, Aditya Advani teaching the Professional Practice Seminar, Sofia Zander teaching LD ARCH 121 – Design in Detail and Derek Schubert teaching LD ARCH 120 – Topographic Form and Design. Our first-time Visiting Lecturers include John Dennis and Andreas Stavropoulos teaching LD ARCH 112 – Landscape Plants, Bruce Jett joining Sofia Zander in LD ARCH 121, and Marcel Williams teaching a module of LD ARCH 102. We are also happy to have former Assistant Professor Jennifer Brooke returning to teach a 7-week module of the LD ARCH 202 studio. For our final graduate design studio (LD ARCH 204), we will have three five-week modules – the first module will be taught by Professor Joe Ragsdale from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the second will be taught by a team from San Francisco’s EDAW office (Alma DuSolier, Steve Hanson, and Aki Omi), and the final module will be taught by Professor Walter Hood. During February and March, the department will be interviewing candidates for a new assistant professor to teach studios beginning in Fall 2008.

This spring's evening lecture series will begin on February 4 with a lecture by University of Oregon Professor Kenneth Helphand, followed on February 25 with a lecture by Diane Harris, one by Ethan Carr on March 3, Nancy Leszczynski on April 7, and Ken Smith on April 28. Our colloquium lectures from 1-2 p.m. on Wednesdays again promise a rich selection of knowledgeable local practitioners and experts on topics pertinent to landscape architecture and environmental planning.

More details on these lecturers as well as information on our faculty, courses, and special events can be found on our website. Please take a look, and if you have questions use the listed e-mail addresses to contact our student affairs officer, Yong No, our undergraduate advisor Mary Anne Clark, and/or individual faculty. We look forward to hearing from you.