News

Last year marked 50 years since the establishment of the School of Environmental Design, which became the College of Environment and Design in 2001. As part of the year-long celebration, CED faculty, staff, and alumni recognized the most amazing individuals and groups who have shaped the college throughout its history. The “Owens 50” are named after CED’s founding Dean, Hubert Owens, and honor 50 individuals who shaped our programs and enhanced the CED’s ability to serve students and enrich lives. We also honor six institutions that have had an indelible impact on the CED.

The College of Environment and Design 2020-2025 Strategic Plan was prepared by a committee of faculty, staff, students, and alumni after gathering ideas and input widely. As a professional school, we aim to strengthen instruction, research, and service through the integration of design with science- and evidence-based solutions, holistically addressing society’s most urgent problems – especially in Georgia’s most vulnerable communities. This is wholly represented in our Vision, Mission and Strategic Goals. We invite you to explore the details of our plan and see where it aligns with your relationship to the College.

Megan McPherson, a first-year Master of Historic Preservation (MHP) student, came to the program with some bona fide research under her belt with the Georgia Museum of Natural History (GMNH).

The Anthropology A.B./Historic Preservation M.H.P Double Dawg program prepares students to be leaders in the fields of historic preservation and cultural resource management, as well as providing a pathway into Ph.D. programs in the social sciences and humanities. The Master of Historic Preservation is the terminal degree in the field of historic preservation and would allow graduates access to employment options at local, state, and federal government levels, would prepare them to work in the non-profit cultural heritage sector, as well as to find employment in the construction, cultural heritage tourism, and design industries.

On October 7, CED students launched “Lettus Talk”, a podcast to address contemporary issues of urban planning, landscape architecture, and historic preservation. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple, and Google podcasts. “Lettus Talk” launches episodes on Wednesdays.

CED Professor James Reap and Associate Professor Eric MacDonald are among the co-authors of Chapter 15 “Feeding Futures Framed: Rediscovering Biocultural Diversity in Sustainable Foodscapes.”

If you like to think of environmental design as a marriage between science and art, then Barrett Kays is your man. Kays is a soil scientist and landscape architect at […]

Dean Sonia Hirt recently joined an Urban Design class at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to give a presentation on the 60th anniversary of Jane Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”–one of the most influential texts on urbanism written during the 20th century.

The College of Environment and Design’s Senior Project and Graduate Capstone summer studio was held fully online, but that did not stop the students from experiencing their project site from afar. Dr. Fernandez’s class used emerging technologies for site exploration and analysis of their Atlanta BeltLine urban plaza project located in Atlanta, Georgia. Aside from, but connected to the online summer, Epic Games has awarded the College of Environment and Design with a $25,000 Epic MegaGrant to integrate virtual reality and advanced visualization technologies into teaching and research efforts.

The Circle Gallery will remain open until November 25th, 2020 for visitors to come relax and enjoy the gallery space. Everyone welcome! Enjoy sitting in the gallery or just walking by, and let the colors, shapes, and lines take you on an indoor journey of design.

Jon Calabria, an associate professor in the College of Environment and Design, uses service-learning to benefit communities and prepare students for successful careers.

Dean Sonia Hirt’s 2015 book Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation (Cornell University Press) is included in the list of Top 10 Best Land […]

As one of the most highly respected scholars in geodesign, Orland brought incredible intellectual rigor and ambition to the CED. He successfully mentored many students and faculty, while continued his own very strong research trajectory.

In preparation for UGA’s return to campus this fall, UGA administration is holding an informational webinar to answer questions regarding UGA’s preparations to promote the health and safety of all on campus.

The CED is proud to announce that its first PhD candidate, Leslie Palacios, has graduated. Palacios’ work focuses on the history of studio-based curricula.

How do you lead a plant ID class online?

As UGA prepares to welcome students back this fall, the CED staff have been hard at work preparing our part of campus to create a healthy and safe instructional environment.

This fall semester, the College of Environment and Design will be experiencing a change of leadership. Ashley Steffens, longtime faculty and alumna of the CED, will take over the role of Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

On Wednesday December 2nd, Gareth Doherty, Harvard University Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, will speak on his latest book, Roberto Burle Marx Lectures: Landscape as Art and Urbanism. Roberto Burle Marx was a renowned Brazilian landscape architect who gained worldwide recognition for his park and garden designs.

Professor and former dean Jack Crowley will retire at the end of this semester after nearly three decades at the College of Environment and Design. He began as an assistant professor in 1974 and has since left his mark on thousands of landscape architects, planners and preservationists.

We are pleased to share with you some of our greatest recent accomplishments.

Sixteen UGA researchers from 10 different colleges and departments will apply their expertise to N-EWN’s mission. The project leader for UGA is principal investigator Dr. Brian Bledsoe, a professor in the College of Engineering, who specializes in resilient infrastructure. Dr. Jon Calabria, a professor in the College of Environment and Design, will also be a partner in the project. The N-EWN partnership will also draw from the expertise of the UGA’s River Basin Center and Center for Integrative Conservation Research. In addition, an equal number of researchers from USACE will add their knowledge and skill to the network, led by Dr. Todd Bridges, the EWN National Lead and Dr. Jeffrey King, EWN Deputy National Lead. Dr. Calabria states, “We are just beginning to conceptualize ways to integrate nature-based infrastructure to achieve sustainability and resiliency goals. Students and I are in the process of creating graphics and plans to inform these goals at several scales.”

The Covid-19 Pandemic forced many institutions, organizations, and individuals to rethink “business as usual.” For the FindIt Program, the long-running historic resource survey program within the Center for Community Design & Preservation (CCDP), local shelter-in-place rules provided an opportunity for students to share the results of their architectural fieldwork more broadly.

Associate Professor Katherine Melcher was recently published in Town Planning Review for her article, “In praise of social distance in public spaces.”

Environment, Design, and Teaching in times of COVID-19: PhD student professional development at CED. Doctoral students at the College of Environment and Design can work on their teaching skills through their assistantships, working as teaching assistants or instructors of record. Such opportunities prepare them for a career in academia and invite them to innovate in the classroom.

Natural Engagement: Where Earth Meets Sky Paintings by Rachel Evans Grant The Circle Gallery at the UGA College of Environment and Design will host an exhibit of paintings by Atlanta artist Rachel Evans Grant titled, Natural Engagement: Where Earth Meets Sky. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will run from Jan. 19th through April 15th, 2021 in the Jackson Street Building. Visitors are asked to wear a mask and keep a six-foot distance. Circle Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

People’s Park, created in the 1970s, is now a “naturalized space” on campus which highlights the ever-changing relationship between the UGA community and the citizens of Athens, and the important role that urban open spaces play in both symbolizing and advancing social equity and justice.

In February 2020, Stephen Ramos was awarded the UGA Provost’s Office Study in a Second Discipline Fellowship for the Spring/Fall 2021 semesters for his research project, “Regional Praxis: Howard W. Odum, Planning, and the Southern Imaginary.” Ramos received generous support from the UGA Willson Center for Humanities & Arts as he developed the proposal.

An intimate gathering was held last night in Founders Memorial Garden to celebrate the retirements of several CED colleagues. With the early golden hour light of Fall as a backdrop and champagne in hand, we toasted Brian Orland, Brian LaHaie, and Paul MacGregor, who retired earlier this year, as well as Jack Crowley, Melissa Tufts and Donna Gabriel, who are retiring at the end of December.

Associate Professor Katherine Melcher has been asked to serve as Interim Editor of Landscape Journal, the official peer-reviewed publication of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).

Alexander Burke, a graduate student from Connecticut, plans to build a career somewhere between municipal city planning, land management and design. (Photo by Chad Osburn/UGA)

We are pleased to share with you some of our greatest recent accomplishments.

One of the best ways for students to learn about what their career will be like after college is to talk to professionals in the field. This semester the bachelor’s and master’s students in the Landscape Architecture program spoke via Zoom with CED alumni in landscape architecture and related careers across the country.

The Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT) Campus Development Project is an exciting partnership between Barrow Community Foundation, Barrow County schools, ArtsNow, and community leaders to create an innovative arts and science center that includes a playground and destination park in Winder, Georgia. This past summer, College of Environment and Design (CED) seniors in Professor Donnie Longenecker’s capstone undergraduate landscape architecture studio (LAND 4900) partnered with the CFIT to develop concepts for playground and park designs.

CCDP began a virtual design charrette this week to envision a brewpub and enhanced river walk for downtown Hawkinsville. Read more: instagram.com/p/CGBjY9WBqOY/

This event is POSTPONED in response to the Coronavirus (COVID‑19) threat. More information will be posted when available. The UGA College of Environment and Design prides itself on teaching at […]

Chris Sirmans, one of the first graduates of the Master of Environmental Planning and Design, was called to serve alongside the GA National Guard in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

CED librarian and director of the Owens Gallery Melissa Tufts shares her drive for increasing production of her organic farm in the face of the food-related issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

We shift attention to CED’s four honor graduates for the Class of 2020: Braden Meadows (BLA), Julia Alcorn (BLA and MEPD), Timothy Brown (MHP), and Hannah Rose Mayo (MHP).

Messages from the Dean concerning the CED and UGA’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

UGA has set a date for its spring commencement, which was delayed significantly due to complications arising from the coronavirus.

A summary of UGA’s press release detailing an emergency fund for students impacted by the coronavirus.

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Scott Nesbit and Associate Professor Cari Goetcheus who both learned via letters from UGA President Jere Morehead on February 7, 2020 that they had successfully navigated […]

MESSAGE FROM DEAN SONIA HIRT Dear alumni/alumnae and friends, We are all monitoring the current situation regarding COVID-19, and the health and safety of our college community is our number […]

James Reap, coordinator of the Master of Historic Preservation program, talked sharing and the coronavirus during a conference among land arts experts hosted by longtime colleagues in China.

Georgia DOT, CED and The Ray Test Alternatives to Traditional Land Management Strategies on I-85

Professor Alfie Vick was featured in the March 2 edition of the Serenbe Stories podcast. In the interview, Professor Vick talked “about eating plants, taking biophilic principals to all communities, […]

Senior Lecturer Donnie Lecturer has been selected as an Innovation Fellow for the Spring Semester. Launched last fall as part of UGA’s Innovation District initiative, the Innovations Fellows program aims […]

Design Camp has moved to an online format for Summer 2020. For more information click here.

Dr. Wayde Brown, Associate Professor in the Historic Preservation program, recently presented a paper at the Ruhr University, in Bochum, Germany. The conference theme was Metropolitan Masculinities: Narratives of Gender […]

The UGA College of Environment and Design (CED) will welcome Timothy Beatley for a public lecture titled Biophilic Cities: Design for Planetary Health and Human Flourishing on February 26, 2020 […]

The UGA College of Environment and Design (CED) is pleased to announce a lecture and Circle Gallery exhibit by one of its graduates, Athens artist Philip Juras, as part of […]

MLA student Jacqueline Menke has won Athens’ first “Kinda Tiny” housing competition! Menke entered the competition as a part of Professor Alfie Vick’s green building class. From the article below: […]

Brian LaHaie, 18-year faculty member of the CED, is retiring after a long and impactful career teaching, leading, and contributing a powerful voice to the environment and design field.

A recap of Design Camp, CED’s summer event for rising high school seniors interested in landscape architecture.

The new Classics AB/Historic Preservation MHP Double Dawgs program is an excellent pathway for students interested in the architecture of the built environment, history, and preservation and opens the gateway to various PhD programs in the humanities.

Associate Professor Katherine Melcher is developing a new course focused on bringing to light the forces that shape much of our world… and how designing with those in mind promotes inclusive spaces.

Starting immediately, students may add an HP minor, allowing them to pair an education in Historic Preservation with any number of major studies. Photo credit James Shulte.

Associate professor Amitabh Verma has released a series of posters promoting healthy habits during the pandemic… each with a unique twist.

Five BLA students received design awards from the American Society of Architectural Illustrators in a multinational competition among other design students.

In light of the pandemic, Professor Stephen Ramos shares thoughts on how the design of our cities can mitigate or magnify public health concerns.

Emily Rogers, 3rd-year BLA student, is taking point on key design work in the restoration of Crayfish Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River and eventual site for a proposed Greenway.

Dean Sonia Hirt, Hughes Professor in Landscape Architecture and Planning at the College of Environment and Design, recently traveled to China. On her trip, she visited Nanjing Forestry University and […]

While students, faculty and staff are no longer meeting on campus due to UGA’s online instruction and shelter in place guidelines, Dr. Jessica Fernandez and her students have found a […]

Daniel Sizemore, CED alumnus, created a hub to track the spread of the coronavirus in Athens, GA, the open/closed status of various public areas, and demographic and socioeconomic information.

Lawrie Jordan, CED alumnus and executive at ESRI, a GIS company, is building an online tool to track the global spread and response to the coronavirus.

Amitabh Verma has been using art to lessen stress and anxiety. Now, he turns his artistic skills to show us a new perspective on our fight against the coronavirus.

Students from the CED student group LETTUS created an online space to share ideas, provide feedback, and connect during this time of online instruction.

Scott Nesbit and his students are preserving our current cultural moment… all without the benefit of in-person interviews, site visits, or travel. What happens when historic preservation goes virtual?

Dean Hirt, guest speaker Chris Hite, and our program coordinators bid farewell to our Class of 2020 in a special video message.

MHP students hold innovative virtual interviews with members of a Georgia community in order to preserve their historic community despite shelter-in-place and physical distancing guidelines.