Clemson University, Clemson, SC

 
Thomas Schurch has demonstrated exceptional knowledge-based leadership and significant cross-disciplinary discourse between practice and theory for more than forty years. Long devoted to advancing landscape architecture and urban design, he has made significant contributions through teaching, research, writing, and community-based learning techniques that have benefited both students and communities. After some years in practice, he joined academia. At the University of Oklahoma, as the director of the division of landscape architecture, he was responsible for the program achieving its first full accreditation and for the creation of the Center for Community Based Projects to organize community workshops and advance community service learning. He continues his engagement with underserved communities and presents community-based design studios at Clemson University, where he was appointed chair of the department of planning and landscape architecture. At Clemson, he led the curriculum development effort for the new cross-disciplinary post-professional degree, Master of Resilient Urban Design. An ASLA member of long standing, he served as co-chair of the ASLA Urban Design PPN. He has contributed to that effort through continued engagement, creation of online learning resources, and importantly, the implementation of a new Urban Design Category for the ASLA Awards program. His many writings on subjects such as urban design, sustainability, and climate change have been lauded by his peers and the public.