THE STUCKEMAN ANNUAL - Stuckeman School

STUCKEMAN
ADVISORY
ADVANCES SCHOOL MISSION
HAMER CENTER CELEBRATES TEN
YEARS OF “BUILDING COMMUNITY
THROUGH BUILDING KNOWLEDGE”
Stuckeman School
Develops New
Geodesign Graduate
Programs
In 2011, we launched the Stuckeman Advisory, an enlightened group of professional advisers who visit the Stuckeman School, and
engage with faculty and University leaders to provide important and valued external assessment.
The Advisory’s inaugural year has been productive. We have met several times, focusing on listening and learning about the
school. We have achieved several milestones including recruitment of an experienced professional membership, establishment
of the various administrative and management systems necessary to function as a high-performing team, and the formation of
three tactical work groups. And we have begun to socialize and communicate our role and involvement to a number of groups
within the University community.
Supporting us is the Stuckeman family and its sincere interest in “putting the program on the map,” as Cal Stuckeman noted recently.
His combination of foresight and generosity is a powerful catalyst for success.
Leading the effort to harness this energy is College of Arts and Architecture Dean Barbara Korner and Stuckeman School Director
Nathaniel Belcher. Their steady support and guidance will prove invaluable as they execute the Advisory’s vision and guide it from
implementation to reality. No easy task.
Then there is the Advisory’s membership itself. This body is comprised of a dedicated and knowledgeable group of professionals. This
sage group is absolute in promoting the highest values and aspirations of the Stuckeman School, the College of Arts and Architecture,
and the University. Members like Kelleann Foster, Scott Wing, Patricia Kucker, and Tim Simpson, all of whom represent academia, offer
pragmatic and focused advice. And Jeff Morgan, George Miller, Darwina Neal, Christine Astorino, Bill Stinger, and Michael Pinto bring
practitioner expertise to the table.
There is another important segment: students, faculty and alumni. This triad is pivotal to the School and its advancement. The
Advisory keeps this triad in focus no matter what is discussed, decided, or eventually determined to be a course of action. What we do
affects them most. They will always be at the forefront of our efforts.
Yes, the Advisory has made great progress over the last year. Yet there is more to learn, more to do. We exhibit a passion for
advancing the Stuckeman School and are confident that we will aid it in its success. — Dr. Carlo Ninassi (’78), inaugural chair of the
Stuckeman Advisory
In November 2011, the Hamer Center for Community Design showcased more than ten years of
work focusing on community engagement and improving community quality of life. Students
Andrew McHenry (’12 B.L.A.) and Noah Goldman (’12 B.Arch.) organized the Rouse Gallery
exhibition with help from faculty members Peter Aeschbacher and Mallika Bose. The kickoff,
attended by Don Hamer, featured a public lecture by Associate Professor of Landscape
Architecture Larry Gorenflo, who presented work completed as a 2011 Hamer Center Fellow.
As the Hamer Center celebrated its past, it embarked on a variety of projects involving
students and faculty that will continue to aid communities in the future.
Research from Hamer Center interns Bryan Heritage (’12 B.Arch.) and Abigail Thomas (’11
B.L.A.) was one of four projects selected to represent Penn State at the fall 2011 Undergraduate
Research at the Capitol event in Harrisburg.
The students’ poster, The River Town Assessment Tool: A Process to Revitalize River Towns
in the Susquehanna Valley, showcases their work on the River Town Assessment process,
a joint program of the Hamer Center; the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership; and SEDA-
Council of Governments (SEDA-COG), a public development organization serving eleven
central Pennsylvania counties.
Thomas and Heritage worked with members of SEDA-COG and the Susquehanna
Greenway Partnership to finalize the assessment process, which provides direction for
communities’ long-term sustainable development as river towns. They then worked with
stakeholder groups in Shickshinny and Montgomery to pilot test the tool, using it to create
designs that reflected the community members’ visions. They also presented this work at the
annual Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) conference in Seattle, Washington.
Katie Hess-Reichard (’12 M.L.A.) worked with the Borough of Juniata Terrace to successfully
complete a Pennsylvania Historic Resources Survey Form, an application for recommendation
to the National Register of Historic Places. She is now helping the community submit the final
application. Once Juniata Terrace is awarded National Register status, the borough will be
eligible for a variety of grants that can then be used for improvements.
In the spring semester, Bose co-presented at the fifteenth annual Community Campus
Partnership for Health Conference in Houston, Texas, with former assistant professor
Caru Bowns and community partner Jim Wilson, executive director of the Danville Business
Alliance. They detailed the impact of a series of projects led by students and faculty in Danville
since fall 2008.
Under the direction of Bose, the Hamer Center has continued its commitment to
“building community through building knowledge.” Bose, who has decided not to seek reappointment
as director, “deserves great credit for the stability of the Hamer Center, as well as
the leadership and engaged consult of her advisory board,” said Stuckeman School Director
Nathaniel Belcher. “I want to thank her for her service to the Stuckeman School, and wish her
well as she returns to the faculty.”
Visit hamercenter.psu.edu to see a complete list of Hamer Center projects, and stay
tuned for news from the new leadership. —M.M.
A symbiosis between science and design generates deeply
informed solutions to challenges that no discipline can
solve on its own. Recognizing the value of interdisciplinary
collaboration that combines critical thinking and
creativity, Penn State is launching graduate-level
geodesign programs. While geodesign has deep roots in
landscape architecture, the name and the formalization
of a proven framework are more recent.
The September 2011 visit of Carl Steinitz, Eleanor
R. Stuckeman Chair in Design, dovetailed well with the
programs’ initiation. Carl is author of A Framework for
Geodesign (Esri, 2012), which outlines the process he has
refined for more than thirty years. He is among several
experts who have provided astute feedback on our ideas.
In June 2012 we honed our programs with the first
meeting of our Geodesign Advisory Board. Outside
experts on the board include Sven Bilen, Penn State School
of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional
Programs; Stephen Ervin, Harvard University; Brian Lee,
University of Kentucky; Bill Miller, Esri; Doug Miller and
Anthony Robinson, Penn State, Master of Geographic
Information Science program; Jim Sipes, Sand County
Studios; and Steinitz, Harvard University.
Collaborating with our colleagues at Penn State’s John
A. Dutton e-Education Institute, a unit of the College of
Earth and Mineral Sciences, we are launching our program
with a geodesign option within the MGIS degree. Late in
2013 we plan to offer a master’s certificate in geodesign.
Once final approvals are secured, we intend to offer a
master’s in professional studies (MPS) in geodesign.
Those completing the certificate will be able to apply to
the MPS program.
These programs will be offered completely online via
Penn State’s World Campus, the result of a partnership
between the Stuckeman School and the College of Arts
and Architecture’s e-Learning Institute. My sabbatical at
GIS technology firm Esri focuses on researching optimal
online studio environments. Track developments at
geodesign.psu.edu. —Kelleann Foster, RLA, ASLA
Left to right, seated: Carlo Ninassi, inaugural chair of the Stuckeman Advisory; Barbara Korner, dean of the College of Arts
and Architecture; Cal Stuckeman; Nathaniel Belcher, Stuckeman School director; Darwina L. Neal, International Federation
of Landscape Architects. Left to right, standing: Patricia Kucker, associate professor of architecture, University of Cincinnati;
Kelleann Foster, Penn State associate professor of landscape architecture; Jeff Morgan, principal, Environetics; Scott Wing,
Penn State associate professor of architecture; Mehrdad Hadighi, head of Department of Architecture, Stuckeman School;
Tim Simpson, Penn State professor of mechanical & industrial engineering; Christine Astorino, founder and CEO of fathom;
Bill Stinger, partner, HOK, Washington, D.C. office. Advisory members not pictured: George Miller, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners;
Michael Pinto, Osborn
ABOVE & RIGHT
Hamer Center interns Bryan Heritage (’12 B.Arch.) and Abigail Thomas
(’11 B.L.A.) work on the River Town Assessment process.
TOP:
Left to Right: Carl Steinitz, fall 2011 Eleanor R. Stuckeman Chair in Design;
Ray Gastil, Stuckeman School Chair in Design Innovation; Stephen Ervin,
Harvard University Graduate School of Design; and Brian Lee, University
of Kentucky. Photo by Michael Palmer.
BOTTOM:
Carl Steinitz provided valuable commentary during the Geodesign
Advisory Board meeting in June 2012. Photo by Michael Palmer.
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