New scholarships, case studies and a proposed national center have all been on the agenda of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

In 2003 the LAF Board of Directors celebrated the launch of the Land and Community Design Case Study Series. The first three case studies in the series include Village Homes: A Community by Design by Mark Francis; Urban Open Space: Designing for User Needs, also by Francis; and The Paris-Lexington Road: Community-Based Planning and Context Sensitive Highway Design by Krista Johnson.

These case studies were scheduled to be published in August through a publishing partnership with Island Press, which is the culmination of five years of research and development, marking a major advancement for the landscape architecture and planning professions and landscapes across the country.

This series will demonstrate how design delivers holistic solutions to economic, social and environmental problems and will provide a legacy of critical thinking that will advance enlightened planning and innovative development in the classroom, in practice and in policy.

National Center for Landscape Intervention Proposed

LAF is continuing to explore the creation of a National Center for Landscape Intervention through the National Science Foundation. LAF is currently developing a white paper entitled The Landscape Imperative that shapes the case for the national center. If approved, a university consortium that would receive funding for research, benefiting not only the host university, but also the profession, would host the center.

Thomas Scholarship

The 2003 Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellowship in Garden History and Design was awarded to Rachel Leibowitz for her dissertation on the writings of William Allen White, and his impact as a journalist on early twentieth century landscape across the country.

Leibowitz is in her final year of coursework in the new doctoral program in landscape history and theory at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. With assistance from the Douglas Dockery Fellowship, she will visit Kansas and Washington, D.C., to view source material on White. Leibowitz intends to demonstrate how White?EUR??,,????'???s descriptions of his hometown of Emporia, Kansas promoted small-town middle-class values and impacted streetscapes, gardens and public parks across the country by shaping American perception of the ideal landscape.

The Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellowship in Garden History and Design is awarded annually and provides $4,000 to an exceptional graduate student studying landscape architecture or horticulture.

2003 Officers

Kenneth Bassett, president of Sasaki Associates, Inc., was named president of LAF in 2003; Barbara Faga, chairperson of the board at EDAW, was named president elect, and will assume the title of president 2004.

Dennis Otsuji served as vice president of development; Philip Arnold was VP of finance; Susan Goltsman served as VP of communications; Gary Hack was VP of research and information; Grant Jones was VP of education; and L. Susan Everett served as executive director.

New Donors for American Landscape Fund (ALF)

The commitment and support of more than 900 donors has allowed LAF to continue the ambitious, long-range programs benefiting the profession. ALF gifts range from individual contributions of $35 per year to large donations: HNTB has pledged $10,000 per year for five years; Landscape Forms has contributed $20,000.

ALF was created to foster an ethic for shaping the land and enriching the human spirit by designing landscapes that enhance our environment and our lives.

To make a tax-deductible donation contact Melinda Sippel at msippel@lafoundation.org.