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Spotlight on the 2014 ASLA Class of Fellows from the Great Plains, Tennessee, and Louisiana Chapters02-09-15 | News

Spotlight on the 2014 ASLA Class of Fellows from the Great Plains, Tennessee, and Louisiana Chapters
The American Society of Landscape Architects named 32 members to its 2014 Class of Fellows. The new Fellows received their medals and were formally inducted into the ASLA Council of Fellows in Denver on Nov. 23, 2014.

The Fellow designation is conferred on ASLA members in recognition of exceptional career accomplishments. ASLA recognizes their accomplishments under one of three categories: body of work, leadership and management, or knowledge and service to the profession.

There was only one representative in the 2014 Class of Fellows from the Great Plains Chapter, one from the Tennessee Chapter, and one from the Louisiana Chapter. Congratulations to those Fellows!

Sam Rogers

Institution: University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Education: BS in Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Tennessee; MLA, University of Georgia, Athens
Tennessee Chapter
Category: Service
During a career of four decades, Sam Rogers has served the profession through education, practice, advocacy and volunteer initiatives. He has elevated the visibility, capacity, and stature of landscape architecture to the benefit of the profession at large and the various constituencies his service has touched. Through his 30 years at University of Tennessee-Knoxville, he has established an accredited professional landscape architecture program, a shared effort that resulted in full LAAB recognition in 2012.

John Royster

Firm: Big Buddy Workshop, Omaha, Nebraska
Education: BS, South Dakota State University; MLA, Kansas State University
Great Plains Chapter
Category: Leadership/Management
John Parke Royster's sustained leadership through his environmental, organizational, community and design efforts has strengthened landscape architect licensure, provided inspiration to organizations throughout Nebraska and enhanced the quality of built landscapes. He remains a respected mentor, advocate, and advisor to three regional landscape architecture programs. He continues making a difference in ways that will benefit communities and the ecology of the Great Plains and landscape architects for generations to come.

Stephen Shurtz

City: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Department of Public Works
Education: BLA, from Louisiana State University
Louisiana Chapter
Category: Service
Stephen Shurtz's volunteer service has made him a highly visible proponent of landscape architecture and urban forestry. As Louisiana Chapter president in 2002, he helped organize the 2003 ASLA Annual Meeting in New Orleans. His drive to create a statewide continuing education requirement has strengthened the profession in Louisiana. He regularly interacts with top-level politicians and related professionals and always emphasizes the importance of design, planning and green infrastructure management. As a LSU adjunct professor he encourages students to consider the emerging field of municipal urban forestry and landscape management, areas he's versed in through his design and construction experience.