We need your email address — see Page 7.

November 2003

Inside this issue: LAND Faculty 2

Program News 3

Donations 3

White, Rucker, Marshall, Heyn 4

Class News 5

Award Archive 5

Scholarships 6

Outstanding Former Students 6

Study Away 6

Department News: Interim Department Head Installed Dr. George Rogers stepped down as the Head of Landscape Architecture and Urban Plan-ning after four years of service, first as Interim Department Head and then as permanent Head. Over the years of his term, George provided guidance and aid to our LAND programs during times of financial cut backs, our successful BLA pro-gram reaccreditation, and sev-eral faculty searches. We all thank him for his efforts on be-half of the landscape architec-ture programs.

Dr. Walter Peacock will serve

as Interim Department Head for the 03-04 school year. Dr. Pea-cock has a Ph.D. from the Uni-versity of Georgia. Before com-ing to TAMU in 2002, he served on the faculty of Florida Interna-tional University in Miami. Dr. Peacock is interested in urban planning, sustainable commu-nity development, natural haz-ards, and hazard mitigation, areas in which he both teaches and conducts research.

Tom Reagan, Dean of the Col-lege, has authorized establish-ment of a Search Committee to identify candidates for the per-

manent Department Head posi-tion. We plan to have the posi-tion filled by September 2004. The Search Committee, which makes recommendations to the Dean for his final choice, will include former students, faculty members, and current stu-dents. The position announce-ment can be found at the Col-lege website at http://archweb.tamu.edu/college/index_ie.html. Qualified candidates whose major experience in practice are encouraged to ap-ply for this position.

We Remember: LAND Family Loses Four Members Make Plans:

• Workshop 04 February 19-21, 2004

• Job Fair March 5, 2004

(If your firm would like to inter-view during the Fair please send an email to Dr. Michael Murphy at mdmurphy@archone.tamu.edu.)

• Awards Banquet April 16, 2004

• MLA Final Reviews May 3-5, 2004

• MLA Accreditation Spring 2005

his home in Kansas. Dan H. Heyn, class of 1949, died in Richardson in September. Their life and career stories are found later in AggieLAND.

(Continued on page 4)

Since spring the Aggie/LAND family has lost four members. Robert F. White, the founding Department Head for Land-scape Architecture, passed away in May. Many former stu-dents attended his funeral in

Bryan. His wife, Florence, sur-vives him. In June, Robert Rucker, class of 1938, and a former Head of the TAMU Horti-culture Department, died. Also, in June, Lane Marshall, Depart-ment Head in the 1980s died at

LAND

Thanks to Our Donors endowed scholarship, as well as the Development Fund, and to Dennis Jerke, who designed and organized our current fund raising program. We wish to thank all of you for your gener-osity in continuing to support our development and scholar-ship funds.

As you may be aware from the news or from your own chil-dren's tuition and fees, state support for TAMU has been de-creasing. We work hard to com-pensate for these losses through research funding and grants. But we would not be able to accomplish our educa-

tion mission without the gener-ous support that former stu-dents and friends of the pro-grams have provided over the years. The names of those who have recently donated are found on page 3.

Special thanks to Gene Schrickel, who established an

Aggie Newsletter of Texas A&M University Landscape Architecture Programs INAUGURAL EDITION

Associate Professor Professor Tom Woodfin gradu-ated from Har-vard with an MLA

degree. Professor Woodfin's areas of interest in landscape architecture are geographical information systems (GIS), his-torical cartography, and indus-trial development sustainability.

Associate Professor Professor Nancy Volkman’s areas of interest in-clude landscape

history, cultural landscape pres-ervation, rural land planning, and spirituality in the land-scape. She is currently working on a new edition of Landscapes in History and a book on the Islamic garden in America.

Professor Dr. Walter Pea-cock is inter-ested in urban planning, sus-tainable commu-

nity development, natural haz-ard, hazard mitigation, and quantitative methods.

LAND Faculty

Familiar Faces

Young Bloods

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1 Professor Dr. Jon Rodiek has been a fac-ulty member at Texas A&M for 15 years. Dr.

Rodiek is the coordinator of the MLA program and the editor-in-chief of Landscape and Urban Planning. Dr. Rodiek's areas of interest are in wildlife habitat planning, planting design, land-scape resource management and site planning.

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Associate Professor Dr. Michael Mur-phy holds a Ph.D. from the Univer-sity of Pretoria in

South Africa. His master’s de-gree is from the University of California at Berkeley. He holds two degrees from TAMU — a Range Science degree and a BLA which he received in 1966. Dr. Murphy’s interests include interdisciplinary design and pro-gramming, environmental plan-ning and design.

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9 Assistant Professor Dr. Christopher D. Ellis holds a BS in Environ-mental Design,

an MLA and a Ph.D. Dr. Ellis is the Region 3 representative for the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. Dr. Ellis’ Interests include land-scape architecture, landscape planning, landscape ecology, spatial modeling and analysis and applications of information technology to planning and de-sign.

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8 Associate Professor Dr. Chang-Shan Huang’s areas of interest lie in evidence-based

design methodology, healthy community design, sustainable urban design, therapeutic gar-den design, design communica-tion, and design pedagogy. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a registered Landscape Architect in the State of Texas.

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Professor Dr. Harlow Land-phair holds a Joint appoint-ment as a Re-search Scientist

with the Texas Transportation Institute, Environmental Man-agement Program. His re-search interest are in stormwa-ter quality, soil erosion control and landscape impacts on traf-fic and pedestrian safety. He is registered in Texas and Arizona and currently Chairs the Trans-portation Research Board Com-mittee on Landscape and Envi-ronmental Design.

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Assistant Professor Dr. Byoung-Suk Kweon has de-grees in Horticul-ture from Univer-

sity of Seoul (BS); in Landscape Architecture from The City Col-lege of New York (BSLA) and Cornell University (MLA); and in Natural Resources and Environ-mental Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Ph.D.). Her research interests include the psychological, so-cial, and health benefits of natural and built environments. She also focuses on creating healing and therapeutic envi-ronments for the elderly and hospital patients.

Assistant Professor Dr. Ming-Han Li holds a BS in agricultural engi-neering from

National Taiwan University, an MS in civil engineering from University of Texas at Austin, and an MLA and a Ph.D from TAMU. Dr. Li is also an Assis-tant Research Engineer at Texas Transportation Institute. His interests include biotechni-cal engineering, stormwater management, hydraulics, hy-drology and landscape con-struction. Dr. Li holds two pro-fessional licenses: one in land-scape architecture; the other in civil engineering.

Assistant Professor Professor Jody Rosenblatt Naderi gradu-ated from Har-

vard with an MLA degree. Her research and teaching interests focus on the creation of places of renewal in the landscape of the everyday. Her current re-search focuses on measuring pedestrian health and safety outcomes in simulated trans-portation corridors of urban communities in Texas. She is a registered landscape architect in Florida.

Assistant Lecturer Taner Ozdil is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University. Mr.

Ozdil holds a BLA from Univer-sity of Ankara in Turkey and an MLA from University of Colo-rado. His area of interest in-clude landscape architecture, urban design, environment and behavior, downtown pedesteri-anization, post-occupancy evaluation (POE), online design education, photography and Texas main street program.

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Dept. Head

Program News

Thanks to Our Recent Donors

BLA Program Reaccredited for Six Years

Page 3

Your Donations at Work portation of students to the ASLA Conference in New Or-leans. Eleven students, most of whom would not have been able to make the trip without this assistance, attended the conference thanks to the vans

we were able to rent. As the Development Fund grows we will be supporting other educa-tion-enhancing programs for our students.

The level of contributions has been so significant that our De-velopment Fund is now an En-dowed Fund, meaning that we can withdraw interest to sup-port program activities. Our first expenditure was for trans-

dents. We thank those who participated in this process by talking with the team. Their findings, first reported at the end of their visit, were summa-rized in a letter of reaccredita-

tion received in August. Al-though we have some work in following up on their sugges-tions for improvement, the BLA program was unanimously reac-credited for a six-year term, the

In March, the CLARB accredita-tion team spent 3 days in Col-lege Station reviewing the Bachelor's program. They inter-viewed administrators, faculty, students and many former stu-

new longer length between re-views. Thanks again to those of you who talked with the accredi-tation team.

Melody Gray, fifth year BLA, and Natalie Lamb, BLA '02, placed highest among landscape archi-tecture students participating in an annual design competition held by four architecture and design schools in the metro Washington, D.C. area. Judging by six architects and two land-

scape architects took place at the imposing National Buildings Museum in Washington. Their design for a U.S.D.A. Farmer's Market was sited near the Mall and used materials related to the nearby Smithsonian "Castle."

“Y'all should be proud because

we couldn't have whipped it all out in four days without excel-lent training and support from you in the past. Thanks for all of your encouragement and insights…” said Gray in her email to the LAND faculty.

Congratulations to both Melody and Natalie! Natalie Lamb (left) and Melody Gray in

front of their winning design poster.

BLA Students Win Design Competition

Cogburn, Barrie D. Colyer, Alan B. Compton, Sean C. Cunningham, Michael R. Cutler, John E. D.E. Ramert Associates Dawson, David Q. Dawson, Harry Dennis W. Arp & Associate, Inc. Dunkin, Sefko & Associates Freeman, Brent L. Fyffe, Susanne Parsons Garza, Edward D. Gray, James W., Jr. Gripton, Lynn R. Hal E. Stringer & Associates Hawes, Velpeau E., Jr. Henry, Don Jr. Hill, Alan M. Hough, Jeffery A. Jeff Potter Architects Jerke, Dennis W. Kutilek, Gary P.

A.J.'s Landscaping & Design Adcock, Ballow Adcock, Timothy L. Anonymous ASLA Student Chapter TAMU Beavers, Rhett D. Ben Lednicky & Associates Benkendorfer, Darly D. Bennett, Harry Benys, Adolph J. , Jr. Bieberstein, Karl Von Bird, William R. Bosse, Robert L. Bosse & Compton Associates Branson, Todd A. Build, Inc. Carer, James L. Carnes, Karen Hescock Carter, James L., Jr. Charbeneau, Nancy J. City of Dallas-Parks & Rec Dept. City of Waxahachie Clyde L. Hargrove Investments

Landscape Architecture: An-chorage, AK Landscape Architect, Inc. Landscape Consultants Lednicky, Benjamin J., Jr. Li, Ming-Han Lothrop's Landscape, Inc. Louis, James E., Jr. Marshall, Lane L. McArdle, Thomas M. Miller, Samuel E. Moye, Benjamin J. Office of Gregory Schadt Pope, Dan M. Prestige-One Pullam, Noel D. Ramert, David E. Reinhard, Michael Rialto Studio, Inc. Ridley, Hal R. Romeaux Landscape Company Romo, Peter R. RPM Architects, Inc.

Rucker, Robert H. Schrickel, Gene, Jr. Schrickel, Rollins & Associates Seagraves, George W., II Simons, Jodi L. Siqueiros, Robert M. Siteco, Inc. Sonnenberg, Daniel J. Sweitzer & Associates Land-scape Architecture, Inc. The Landscape Group The Toro Company Thompson, Richard S. Thornhill, Roy T., Jr. Thornton, Julian R., Jr. Volkman, Nancy J. Vrooman, Richard E. Note: this list was supplied by the busi-ness office of the College. Please con-tact us if you note a mistake. We will correct it in a future AggieLAND.

Just a few of the Aggies who went to New Orleans for ASLA annual meeting.

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(Continued from page 1)

One more of the great figures of twentieth century landscape architecture has passed from this earth. It is our sad duty to report the death of Robert F. White on April the 18th, 2003. He was ninety. Robert White was the inspiration behind the Department of Landscape Ar-chitecture at Texas A&M, ap-pointed as its first Head of De-partment when the program was relocated from Horticulture to the School of Architecture in 1962. He served in that capac-ity until his retirement in 1975 when Don Austin assumed the post. Robert White, known as Bob to his many friends, came from Pittsburgh to work with Ruth London, a Houston landscape architect, following World War II. He moved to College Station to accept a position as Assistant Professor of Landscape Archi-tecture in 1947. He and his wife Florence made Texas their home for over fifty years. Bob left the faculty briefly in 1958 when he returned to Houston to open his design practice with Fred Klatt, and later George Porcher, but returned to Texas A&M when he was appointed Department Head in 1962. He continued with his practice for several more years, traveling between College Station and Houston by train to work over

long weekends until regular rail service was suspended. Bob White had a profound influ-ence on Landscape Architecture in Texas. His significant profes-sional projects included the design of the Clear Lake cam-pus of NASA and serving for many years as Landscape Archi-tect for Rice University. His in-fluence as a teacher was equally important. To many generations of students, Mr. White represented the very best of the profession, establishing the bar to which they aspired. During his time as Department Head, Bob established a strong working relationship with Lady Bird Johnson in her efforts to beautify the Texas landscape. He served as design consultant on the Lyndon Baines Johnson Home Site restoration in Stone Wall in 1965, as Judge for the Texas Highway Department Roadside Beautification Awards program and consultant for the Lyndon Baines Johnson Ranch in 1970. Bob served tirelessly as a mem-ber and officer of the American Society of Landscape Architects in the Southwest Chapter that included Texas, Oklahoma, Ar-kansas and Louisiana, and later after it was organized, in the Texas Chapter. He also served on the adjudication panel for the ASLA National Awards pro-gram in 1978. But, his most lasting influence on the profes-sional organization probably resulted from his long time sup-port of the Texas A&M Student Chapter of ASLA, which served as a conduit for a continuing source of renewed leadership for the State organization. In 1975 Bob was named a Fellow of the ASLA, adding to his many professional and civic recogni-tions. To his students Mr. White was most known for his impeccable, and always formal, manners and dress; his love of teaching, and in particular, the students; and his rather intimidating re-

serve. He established and maintained the very highest standards of design excellence, that was always evident in his own work and which he de-manded of his students as well. It has been many years since Robert White was in a class-room, but his influence may still be felt in the dedication to ex-cellence he established among several generations of Texas landscape architects who are still active. Few have been able to meet his standard, but many still pursue it as the only worth-while goal for the profession. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have been one of his students will long remember his dedication to the formation and advancement of our careers as practitioners and as carriers of the flame of the profession in which he was one of the most notable of its Texas pioneers. As the guiding lights of the Twentieth Century now pass from the scene it is clear that we are now fully established in the Twenty First. Notice of Bob’s passing may serve as an inspiration to those who must follow and provide the leader-ship to make our way in the future, but for many of us it will be a more lonely way without him.

Robert Rucker was born and raised in Franklin, Texas. At A&M Bob was in A Company of the Corps of Cadets. After graduation, his first position was as a high school instructor teaching landscape design and maintenance in a San Antonio vocational training program, thus beginning his lifelong com-mitment to education. He was called up for military service in 1942, serving in the 60th Infan-try Regiment of the 9th Infantry as Commander of K Company. While in action in North Africa he lost a leg and nearly lost his life after stepping on a land mine. After a yearlong recovery

period Bob accepted a position as campus landscape architect at Baylor University. A year later he moved on to the University of Oklahoma. While there his professional practice included campus plans for a number of Baptist-sponsored colleges, including Campbell College and Howard Paine College. In 1968 Bob returned to TAMU to be-come Head of the Department of Horticulture, the position from which he retired in 1977. Since 1992 he had been living in the Woodlands, remaining active until the last few months before his death. His daughter Virginia, reported that to the last he was a loyal Aggie—on his last day his two concerns were his grandchildren and his sea-son tickets to Kyle Field.

Lane Marshall, Department Head from 1981 to 1988, died in June. Lane came to TAMU after receiving a Masters de-gree from the University of Illi-nois, where he had also taught. Prior to entering academia Lane managed his own successful practice in Florida. There he had won over 30 awards from the Florida chapter of ASLA. After leaving TAMU Lane served as Dean in the College of Archi-tecture and Design at Kansas State University. Lane's many contributions to TAMU and the profession included develop-ment of the innovative Atelier summer program, which brought nationally known pro-fessionals to TAMU for intensive summer studios, and his leader-ship as national president of ASLA from 1979 to 1980, a period of great growth and change within the organization.

(For Dan Heyn See page 7)

We Remember

Robert F. White

Robert Rucker

Lane Marshall

Detail from 1976 Portrait of Robert F. White (oil painting by Ali Chowdhury, DED ‘77)

present 194 of these projects, including 1680 images and hundreds of pages of descrip-tions and documents, are view-able via the website http://aslatx.tamu.edu. The archive database may be searched by project type, project location, award year and firm name. For more information regarding the archive please contact: Tom Woodfin (woodfin@tamu.edu) or Taner R. Ozdil (tozdil@archone.tamu.edu).

The Landscape Architecture Award Winners Archive began as a dream of making the best of Texas landscape architec-tural design and planning avail-able to students, professionals, and the public via the World Wide Web. The archive is now a reality, containing 314 Texas Chapter ASLA award-winning projects dating from 1986, stored in archival format in the Technical Resource Center of the College of Architecture. At

Faculty Create ASLA Award Archive

The fifth year senior design stu-dio, held each spring, marks a significant point in all BLA Seniors’ academic careers. It is the last design studio they will have at the undergraduate level. For most, it is the last time they will have any formal design studio of any kind. This year the seniors agreed to take on a full semester project on an individual basis. Each senior was essentially a one-person team for the entire spring se-mester. The project involved the selection of a one square mile piece of rural property somewhere in the state of Texas. Each student (27 total) was to find one site in a county

in Texas where they would lo-cate their dream home site. They were to master plan the land uses for the property and locate their residence on it. The semester was divided into research/inventory phase (February), an analysis phase (March) and a synthesis phase (April). In January each student spent every class period in the computer lab learning the tech-niques of Photoshop. The re-sults were impressive. The end product was an eighteen-page, 11x17 full color report of their planning and design work. In addition students had to pro-duce a CD of their work. The

goal was to get the student to begin the process of performing like a real landscape architect while in college. The experi-ment worked well. Each stu-dent became very familiar with web sites and computer pro-gram applications that would be used daily in a real professional

Class News

Students Learn by Doing in Service Projects

Fifth Year Students Design Their Dream Homestead

and finally presented their alter-native design concepts at a meeting of the West University Place Parks Board. Resident response proved so enthusias-tic that the Friends of the Park and the Board are now working to employ a local landscape architect to finalize design and construction plans.

as a community "family room" for those using the adjoining library and community center, or nearby City Hall. Landscape Design IV was asked to provide design ideas for Friends of West University Place Parks Fund, Inc. and City of West University Place. The twenty-four students in the class first met with a group of interested local resi-dents, queried them about their intentions for the new park, worked to resolve the many different desires of the commu-nity for this very small space,

The old axiom that the best gifts come in small packages proved true for both the town of West University Place and the Fourth Year students in Landscape Design IV. The park system of this community on the west side of Houston recently ac-quired a small, but centrally located house lot that they wanted to transform into the centerpiece of their small town center. Located at the intersec-tion of Rice and Auden streets in West University Place the pocket park is intended to serve

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office. Judging from the attitudes and performance levels of all stu-dents it was determined that the experiment was a signifi-cant success. We hope to use this approach again next year with a different design project.

Master Plan by Micah McMeans in LAND 421

Final project by Megan Holder in LAND 321

ASLA award archive home page

More than $11,000 Awarded in Scholarships At our annual Awards Banquet held last April, scholarships of sev-eral types were given to current students. We thank the donors who have made these awards possible. We would like to recognize the following winners and congratulate them on both their aca-demic success and their scholarship award. Gene Schrickel Jr. '50 Endowed Scholarship in Landscape Archi-tecture received by Ben Brown - $1,000 and Dipti Trivedi - $1,000

Gene and Helen Schrickel endowed this scholarship in memory of Gene's parents, Ollie and Blache Schrickel. It is awarded to a full-time student for excellence in academics and design.

Samuel E. Garrett Jr. Endowed Memorial Scholarship received by Robert Deegan - $1,000.

This scholarship was endowed by Sam and Alice Garrett in mem-ory of their son Sam. It is given to a third year undergraduate student for outstanding academic achievement, as well as per-sonal and professional growth.

Robert F. & Florence H. White Endowed Scholarship in Land-scape Architecture received by Amber Paeth - $500.

Given by Robert and Florence White, this endowed scholarship recognizes a fourth year student whose performance in depart-mental courses has been outstanding.

ASLA Texas Chapter Maurice Philips Scholarship received by Serena Gibson – $750.

This award, given by the Texas Chapter, recognizes scholarship, financial need and moral character. It is given to a student who has contributed significantly to the profession through activities in the Student Chapter of ASLA.

Antonio F. Sarabando Jr. "Spirit of Place Award" received by Haley Heard - $200.

Antonio Sarabando Jr., Class of '85, endowed this scholarship in dedication to his parents Antonio and Maria Sarabando. It is given to a student who has demonstrated a spirited commitment to TAMU and the department.

Colonel James E. Ray '63 Endowed Scholarship received by Travis Taylor – $1,000.

This award was established to recognize the contribution of Col James Ray, former Development Officer, to the College. It is of-fered on a rotating basis to a student in one of the three depart-ments. The award winner is determined based upon academic achievement, extracurricular activities and financial need.

Master of Landscape Architecture Scholarship 2002-2003 ($1000 each) received by Chui-Ya Wang, Ying Dong, Sweta Gupta, Dipti Trivedi and Erin Bouck.

Established by Dr. Jon Rodiek for MLA students, these scholar-ships are funded through class project and service activities. Awards are made on the basis of academic accomplishment.

Robert Castro Scholarship not awarded due to insufficient funds.

Established to honor undergraduate student Robert Castro who died in 2001 just months after graduating. This scholarship needs additional support.

Should you wish to make a donation to increase the value of these scholarships please make your check in the name of the fund to which it should go and send it to Dr. Chang-Shan Huang, Associate Department Head, LAUP, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845-3137. A special thanks to the sponsors of the 2003 Landscape Archi-tecture and Urban Planning Awards Banquet. Your generosity helped make this event a huge success. We continue to need sponsors for our upcoming banquet which will be on April 16th. If you would like to help us in this matter, please contact Dr. Wal-ter Peacock, Interim Department Head, LAUP, Texas A&M Uni-versity, College Station,TX 77845-3137. Listed below are the sponsors of the 2003 Awards Banquet:

Jim Gray Wayne Kittelson Martin Sanchez George Seagraves Dan Sefko

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• Gene Schrickel Jr. '50 If you would like to nominate a TAMU graduate for this award please send their name and contact information with a brief explanation of why you consider them an outstanding former student to Nancy Volkman at nvolkman@archone.tamu.edu.

fessions. To date seven gradu-ates of the LAND programs have received this award. Those previously recognized are: • Morris 'Buddy' Benz '32

• Naud Burnett '47

• James Gray '76

• F. W. Hensel '07

• Mary Margaret Jones '79

• Christiaan E. Mulder '80

have invited him to give guest lectures. Most recently he spoke at the 2003 Workshop. Alan is currently a Vice Presi-dent and Business Develop-ment Manager at HOKs Hous-ton office. Every year the College of Archi-tecture recognizes distin-guished former students for their contributions to the Col-lege and to their respective pro-

Alan B. Colyer, class of 1981 and a former Workshop Chair, was recognized this fall as an Outstanding Alumni of the Col-lege. Alan has been very active in supporting our programs over the years. He has served on the departmental Advisory Board since 1993. He has also represented former students on several accreditation visits. Both the Landscape Architec-ture and Architecture programs

BLA Grad Named Outstanding Former Student of College

We need your email address… Future editions of AggieLAND will be distributed via the Internet.

So, we need an address to which to send it.

To receive future AggieLANDs, please send your email address to LAUPSTUD@archone.tamu.edu, use “AggieLAND” as the subject line.

Or if you preferred, fill out this form, cut it out and send it to us at:

AggieLAND Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137 Name: Email address: If your address has recently changed, please update your information below. Mailing address: Telephone (day): (evening):

Page 7

BLA Students Study Away from Campus introduce students to the his-tory of European cities, urban design and challenge them to design contemporary solutions within an historic context. Fa-mous for its urbanity and public street life, Barcelona offers stu-dents an unforgettable learning experience in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. VIRGINIA – working in the heart of historic Alexandria, VA, half an hour from the U.S. Capitol, students are part of an eight-school consortium led by Vir-ginia Tech. Studios are chosen by the student based on project interest and students from Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. work side-by-side. Professional curriculum offer-ings allow a student to take courses at the Alexandria Cen-ter as well as art courses through the local artists’ con-sortium.

of the priceless artworks of me-dieval and Renaissance Italy. The students experience first-hand the extraordinary architec-ture, villas and gardens of this country. Classes in sculpture, drawing, stone carving and other hands-on ways of making art are available. SPAIN – centered in Barcelona, this program is led by Spanish architects and designers who

Three venues await the BLA students who choose to study away from campus, each offers a different and rewarding ex-perience. ITALY – situated in the Tuscan hilltown of Castiglione Fioren-tino, our Italy program has been welcoming Aggies for twenty years. Texas A&M and Italian faculty introduce students to Italian culture, including many

(Continued from page 4)

Dan Heyn attended Texas A&M University after serving in the navy during World War II. He considered himself a disciple of Bob White, with whom he had close rapport while in school. After graduation Dan practiced first in Houston, and later in Dallas. Among his many pro-jects were Austin College in Sherman, Northlake College, and the main campus at Texas Instruments. He also designed the grounds of many private homes in Dallas and Midland. Colleagues recall the beauty of his drawing, as well as the de-signs they depict having been works of art. He was also an early advocate of the use of Texas native plants. His wife Dottie and their family have requested that memorials be made in his memory to the Dal-las Arboretum or Children's Medical Center of Dallas. The college is currently working with his family and long-time friends to acquire his drawings for an archive. Santa Chiara Study Center

Cut Here

Dan Heyn

Dean: Thomas Regan 979-845-1222 reganjt@archone.tamu.edu Department Head: Walter Peacock 979-845-1019 peacock@archone.tamu.edu Assoc. Dept. Head: Chang-Shan Huang 979-845-7873

cshuang@archone.tamu.edu AggieLAND Editor: Nancy Volkman 979-845-5041 nvolkman@archone.tamu.edu AggieLAND Designer: Ming-Han Li 979-845-7571 minghan@tamu.edu

Letter from the Interim Department Head

H TTP:// ARCHWEB.TAMU. EDU/LAUP

Newsletter of Texas A&M University Landscape Architecture Programs INAUGURAL EDITION

Gig’em Aggies!!!

LAND Having "volunteered" to take on the job of serving as the Interim Department Head, I would like to explain the major duties for which I believe a Head, whether temporary or permanent, is responsible. We have three principle roles: facilitator, coordinator, and advocate. While these roles are interdependent, I will talk about each separately, to better explain how these activities are carried out in an academic program.

Head as Facilitator: As facilitator, a Head must seek to ensure that faculty members are able to pursue teaching activities and research agendas. If the faculty does not grow intellectually through their individual pursuits of teaching and research, they will stagnate and have less to offer the students and the professions that the department serves.

Head as Coordinator: Probably the most difficult role is that of coordinator. A Head must work to ensure that decisions and policies of the Department and the College are carried out in concert with individual goals, while minimizing potential conflicts. Also, the Head needs to work with and integrate the various constituencies served by our programs—firms, governmental agencies, former students, and current students, among others.

Head as Advocate: The Head is a key representative for the Department and its mem-bers, putting forth their best image and strongest case. As a result, there must be good communication within the Department, and with those interested in the success and growth of our professional programs.

It is with this last responsibility in mind, that I am particularly glad that the landscape architecture faculty has initiated AggieLAND to keep you informed of what we are doing in College Station.

Sincerely,

Aggie

Walt Peacock

LAND Texas A&M University, College of Architecture Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning TAMUS 3137 College Station, TX 77843-3137

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid College Station,

Texas 77843 Permit No. 215

Aggie

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