Faculty

All Department faculty are engaged at some level in the Landscape Architecture program, and students in the program benefit enormously from exposure to the faculty’s diverse research interests and areas of specialization. In the close-knit community of the Department, students are encouraged to discuss their interests, studio projects, and other coursework with any member of the faculty.

 

Core BSLA Program Faculty

 

Aragón, Carolina: Associate Professor

B.Arch Savannah College of Art and Design, MLA Harvard Graduate School of Design. An artist and educator who uses public art to transform landscapes, engage communities, and teach students. Carolina’s professional practice in the field of landscape architecture focused on green infrastructure through the creative design of green roofs and sustainable stormwater projects.

Brabec, Elizabeth: Professor

BSc in Environmental Agriculture, and MLA University of Guelph, Canada; Juris Doctor, University of Maryland. Founded and managed the landscape planning firm, Land Ethics, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Teaches cultural landscape history, professional practice and leads international field studies programs. Research interests focused on land conservation and the design and planning of sustainable open space; culture and the historical basis of landscape form.

Carr, Ethan: Professor of Landscape Architecture

M.A. in Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University; M.L.A. Harvard Graduate School of Design; Ph.D. Edinburgh College of Art; Fellow, ASLA. Landscape historian and preservationist specializing in public landscapes. Has written two award-winning books, Wilderness by Design (1998) and Mission 66: Modernism and the National Park Dilemma (2007). Editor of Volume 8 of the Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, 1882-1890. Worked previously for New York City Parks, National Park Service, and non-profit organizations and private design offices. Has taught previously at the Harvard GSD and the University of Virginia.

Clouse, Carey: Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

B.Arch University of Oregon; SMArchS Architecture and Urbanism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Teaches landscape urbanism, design|build, and community-engaged landscape architecture. Researches and has written about self-sufficiency, climate change adaptation and animal architecture; currently writing about the infrastructure of food security in post-Soviet Cuba.

Davidsohn, Michael: Senior Lecturer II of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Stockbridge Landscape Contracting Program.

A.S. in Landscape Operations, Stockbridge School of Agriculture; B.S. in Environmental Design, University of Massachusetts; M.S. in Landscape Architecture, University of Massachusetts. Teaches small-scale landscape design, surveying, construction materials, and small business management as it relates to landscape contractors. Owner of design/build firm specializing in private garden construction.

 

Eisenman, Theodore: Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture

B.S. in Journalism, University of Maryland; M.P.S. in Natural Resource Management, Cornell University;
M.L.A. Cornell University; Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania. Theodore’s principle scholarly interest concerns the historical, scientific, cultural, and design bases of urban greening, defined here as the introduction or conservation of outdoor vegetation in cities. Prior to starting at UMass, Eisenman was an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Humanities Institute at The New York Botanical Garden. His career spans research and practice with a range of federal, municipal, and nonprofit organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, Scenic Hudson, Trust for Public Land, U.S. Forest Service, and Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.

 

McGirr, Patricia: Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Director of the Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture Program, and Associate Department Chair

B.S. in Architecture, University of Michigan; M.L.A., University of Michigan. Teaches design studios, landscape history, and introduction to the visual environment. Professional experience in both architecture and landscape architecture. Research interests include social, historical, and cultural aspects of landscape, particularly as they relate to gender.

 

Ryan, Robert: Department Chair, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and Director of the Dual Degree MLA/MRP Program

B.S.L.A., California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo; M.L.A. and M.U.P., University of Michigan; Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. Teaches courses in open space planning and research methods. Research interests include environmental psychology and landscape planning.

 

Sleegers, Frank: Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Master of Landscape Architecture Program

M.L.A., University of Massachusetts; Dipl–Ing, Hannover, Germany. Teaches design studios in landscape architecture design and urban design. A practicing landscape architect with an office in Hamburg, Germany. He has won competitions in urban design, parks, and plazas, and a special point of interest and research is the building and organizing of site specific ephemeral art work in urban environments.

 

Solano, Samantha: Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

B.L.A. University of Nevada, M.L.A. Harvard Graduate School of Design. Teaches design studios and advanced representation. She is the founding principal of JUXTOPOS, a co-founder of the Visualizing Equity in Landscape Architecture (VELA) project, and a co-collaborator of the International Landscape Collaborative (ILC). Samantha is a licensed Landscape Architect in the state of Utah.

 

Thurber, Jane: Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

B.A. in Studio Art and English, Hamilton College; Master of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University. Teaches landscape architecture studios and design drawing. Has practiced in Massachusetts, Florida, and New Mexico; and taught in Miami and Tampa. Professional work has focused on the design of public projects – plazas, parks, campuses, streetscapes, and playgrounds.

 

 

Additional Department Faculty

 

Barchers, Camille: Assistant Professor of Regional Planning

PhD, School of City & Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology; Masters in Regional Planning, Cornell University, Bachelors of Science in Natural Resources and International Agriculture & Rural Development, Cornell University. Camille Barchers, AICP, has practiced as a regional planner throughout Florida, the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. Prior to joining LARP, Camille taught in the Leadership Education and Development program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Camille’s work examines how planners use technology and how it changes the way we engage with the public. Her research interests include community engagement via information & communication technology, big data applications for equitable long-range planning, and the interaction between land use & transportation planning.

 

Di Pasquale, Michael: Extension Assistant Professor

Master in Regional Planning UMass Amherst; Master in Architecture Washington University in St. Louis; BA Architecture University of Detroit. Michael Di Pasquale, AIA, is a registered architect and urban planner. He was part-owner of Davis Square Architects in Somerville, Massachusetts for over 12 years. While there his work emphasized urban design and mixed use developments, including housing for persons with special needs. His designs include one of the first housing developments in the nation for persons with AIDS. He is currently working on the design of a mixed-use development in Northampton, MA, in association with Davis Square Architects.

 

Dunn, Peter: Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community Development Program Director and Lecturer

PhD University of Washington; MSc London School of Economics; BA University of Virginia. Professor Dunn’s intellectual focus is at the intersection of planning and digital technologies. Specifically, he asks how such technologies are not straightforward solutions to identified problems, but are messy sites where diverse actors work through conflicting visions of desirable public life. Work from his doctoral dissertation, which investigates the idealized promise and actual use of smartphone apps for urban mobility, has been published in Urban Planning and the Journal of Urban Technology. He also served as a researcher on an NSF-funded project investigating community resilience to natural hazards. Other interests include cartography, the politics of public space, and feminist political theory. Prior to entering academia, Professor Dunn worked for Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the International City/County Management Association.

 

Feiden, Wayne, FAICP: Director of the Center for Resilient Metro-Regions (CRM)

BS Natural Resources, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Masters of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In addition to teaching in LARP, Wayne is the principal of Plan Sustain, Inc. a mission-driven planning and sustainability consultancy. Previous to that he was Director of Planning and Sustainability for Northampton. He led that city to earn the nation’s first Five-STAR Communities rating for sustainability and the highest “Commonwealth Capital” score, the former Massachusetts scoring of municipal sustainability efforts. Wayne oversaw the city’s planning, conservation, sustainability, climate framework, and plan implementation efforts. His focus includes downtown revitalization, sustainable transportation, open space preservation and recreation, and streamlined regulatory efforts

 

Infield, Elisabeth M: Professor of Regional Planning and Director of the PhD in Regional Planning Program

B.A. in Business Administration, Cleveland State University; Masters of Management, Northwestern University; PhD in City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania. Teaches growth management, climate change planning, real estate planning and regional planning studio. Current research into the planning adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts to local communities and sustainable community development.

 

Ramsey-Musolf, Darrel: Associate Professor of Regional Planning

PhD, Housing Policy and Analysis, UW-Madison; MURP, Cal Poly Pomona; MPA, Suffolk University; BA, Dance, UCLA. As an instructor, his courses (e.g., Planning Studio, Housing, Land-Use/Growth Management) reflect his research interests, including: Urban Morphology (i.e., cities, housing, infill, and redevelopment), Regionalism (i.e., inter- governmental relations, urban containment), Planning Praxis (i.e., private capital, public interest, and political will; balancing theory and practice).

 

Renski, Henry: Professor of Regional Planning, Director of the Master of Regional Planning Program, and Director of the Center for Economic Development

PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2006. MRP, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1998. B.A., University of Southern Maine, 1995. Former Special Assistant to the Governor of the State of Maine in Economic Development. Teaches GIS and economic development. Research focuses on understanding the forces driving regional economic competitiveness and transformation and building upon this knowledge to improve the effectiveness of economic development policy.

 

 

Visiting and Adjunct Faculty, 2016-2024

 

Benjamin, Thomas: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

MLA/MCRP, University of California Berkely. Registered Landscape Architect in MA, CT, RI, and NY. Owner of Wellnesscapes Design.

Burgel, Joshua: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BA in Studio Art and BS in Civil Engineering, Stanford University: MLA Harvard Graduate School of Design. Principal of Lemon Brooke.

DeWitt, Erika: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BA in Geosciences, Williams College; MArch, University of Massachusetts.

Fairweather, Allyson: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BS Interior Design, Endicott College; MLA, University of Massachusetts.

Gordon, Dan: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BS Environmental Design, University of Massachusetts: MLA, Harvard Graduate School of Design. Registered Landscape Architect in MA, CT, RI, NH, ME, NY, MD, CA, and UT. Principal of award-winning design firm, Dan K. Gordon Associates.

Jennings, Lee: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BA, English, Macalester College; MLA, University of Massachusetts. Registered Landscape Architect in MA, CT, and MD. Senior Associate of Dodson Flinker Landscape Architecture and Planning.

MacDonald, Dana: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

B.S. Biology, University of Michigan - Flint. Research Fellow, Geosciences, University of Massachusetts. Works on paleo-ecological (Pleistocene/Holocene) reconstructions of drought, fire, and hurricanes as well as use pollen analysis to reconstruct vegetation. Also conducts field work using sediment coring in coastal environments mostly from New England south to Central America.

Loeffler, Rachel: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BA, Architecture, Washington University; MLA, University of Massachusetts. Registered Landscape Architect in MA, CT, RI, and NH. Principal of Berkshire Design Group.

Reid, Melinda: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BS, Marketing, Oklahoma State University; MLA, University of Massachusetts.

Tang, Hongbing: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BArch, Tsinghua University; Graduate Diploma in Housing, McGill University; MLA/MRP, University of Massachusetts. Registered Landscape Architect in MA. Co-founder and principal, LANDD International. Also teaches at Boston Architectural College.

Wright, Emily: Adjunct Lecturer of Landscape Architecture

BA, Landscape Architecture, University of Kentucky; MLA, University of Massachusetts. Registered Landscape Architect in KY, and MA. Co-founder and principal, WOLA.