Mission Statement
Through our teaching, research, creative placemaking and community engagement work, we educate our students to be accomplished, innovative, and reflective planning professionals. We teach the intellectual foundations of planning as well as the innovative and sustainable practices required to guide communities to equitable and healthy futures. Our research is dedicated to advancing planning as a rigorous and thought-leading discipline. As a land grant institution, we are strongly committed to addressing the needs of communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Northeastern U.S., and beyond.
Program Vision
Our program strives to be one of the leading graduate urban and regional planning programs in the US offering strong connections between students and faculty. We teach the knowledge, skills, and values that graduates need for successful and self-reflective careers in planning. Our graduates will use evidence-based practices to help communities envision and enact their desired futures that respect differences in culture and values, the realities of policy and law, and fiscal conditions. We train future planning professionals in planning across multiple scales from the site to the neighborhood, the city, and the region. Our faculty members are internationally recognized scholars and mentors in our core areas of excellence. Together, faculty and students will help to empower communities to be good stewards of local and global systems.
We use an equity and engagement lens to advance planning and practice in the following areas of excellence:
Placemaking
- Land use and housing policy
- Design and the built environment
- Transportation, revitalization, public space
Climate action
- Adaptation and just energy transition
- Cultural heritage and migration
- Urban greening and green infrastructure
Social and economic dimensions of technological change
Emerging digital tools for planners
Local economies and future of work
Uncertainty and planning practice.
Program Goals and Objectives
A. Our Context and Competitive Advantage
UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of our Carnegie 1 research institution. We are one of two PAB accredited graduate planning program at a public university in New England; the other (UMass Boston) is smaller and less well established. We draw students locally and from Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and New York as well as more distant locations. Our region is rich in political, cultural, and economic history: where the first post-Revolutionary War protests began (Shay’s Rebellion), where Sojourner Truth stirred the nation with her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, where America’s most famous utopian novel was written (Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward), where Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost wrote many of their poems, and the American System of Manufacturing began (the Springfield Armory). From Springfield’s historical reputation as ‘City of Firsts’ in manufacturing to the current ‘Knowledge Corridor’, the Pioneer Valley has long been an educational, cultural, and economic crossroads. We are also part of the Five College Consortium, where the University of Massachusetts, along with Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College, and together create what many believe is the most successful cross-institutional collaborative in the United States, sharing library and database resources, curricular offerings, and faculty resources. In our region, there are communities of virtually every size and type that can be found in America. Springfield, Holyoke and the Hartford region offer the range of challenges legacy cities experience, as well as significant diversity and equity building opportunities. Southern Vermont and the Pioneer Valley have outstanding small towns that struggle with providing housing and addressing climate risks. We work closely with regional planning agencies across the region in studios and community-engaged research to provide service and student learning opportunities. We are quite fortunate to have a region with such community diversity across multiple scales and train our students to work at multiple scales and in a range of contexts. We also engage in research throughout the country and the world, so that students learn broadly.
Our campus is also located in the middle of one of America’s greatest concentrations of planning education. Four leading private universities in our state (Harvard, Cornell, Tufts, and MIT) have accredited planning programs, with more in nearby Albany and New York City. This competition is both an impetus for continuous innovation and an ongoing spur to enhance program quality. We view this wide range of planning education options as a challenge we must meet: it stimulates us to constantly improve, to ensure that our students are well placed and that we are academically and professionally relevant to our region. It also requires that we carefully craft our mission; we do not need to be all things to all students, but rather offers a more asset-oriented approach that recognizes and addresses planning practice and scholarship relative to our peers. Being a practice-oriented regional planning program at a public institution with interdisciplinary strength in sustainability is our competitive advantage relative to other programs.
Our competitive advantage comprises five major elements:
- Location which enables a varied focus on rural areas, small towns, legacy cities, and large municipalities;
- Focus on regional planning with strong partnerships with regional planning agencies differentiates us from more highly urban-focused programs;
- Relative affordability, compared to private institutions;
- Small student cohort size with good faculty/student ratios enables student mentoring and small classes;
- Faculty are recognized scholars and practitioners with an appropriate range of expertise to deliver a comprehensive educational experience for students.
B. Strategic Scan
Strengths
Academic Programs and Student Success
- Overall steady enrollment in the MRP in recent years (excluding one-time post-Covid decline).
- Very significant increase in recent alumni feeling "extremely satisfied" with program quality -- 54% in 2024, 24% in 2018.
- State-of-the-art facilities for student recruitment and teaching.
- A student-centered curriculum emphasizing personal development, small-team collaboration, experience-based learning, real world applications, and accessible faculty.
- An early pioneer in flexible degree and non-degree pathways, including a 4+1 accelerated SCD/MRP program, graduate certificates, U+ on-line courses, and dual degrees with other programs such as Public Policy, Architecture, and Sustainability Science.
- Renewed curriculum for Sustainable Community Development (SCD) with growing course enrollments and majors -- this is an important feeder for MRP enrollments.
- Students and studio teams recognized by regional and national professional awards.
- Strong alumni support and giving, with a $500k + increase in endowments and gifts since 2018.
- An extensive and engaged network of alumni working in local and regional planning and related careers both within and outside the New England region.
- High job placement rates for professional program graduates.
- Multiple pathways (thesis, project, 3-course option) for capstone allows students to match skills and interests to program requirements.
- PhD program advances research and shows interested students paths to a doctoral degree.
Research and Faculty Development
- Faculty are highly regarded and productive with good balance across research areas and geographies (local to international).
- High external research funding including interdisciplinary proposals.
- Recent books on Planning Methods (Renski), Climate Change (Infield et al.), National Parks (Carr), and Regional Development Theory (Renski); policy-influential reports (Brabec, Feiden and others); and peer-reviewed scholarship (all).
- A strong record of success in the promotion of junior faculty with active support in the form of course releases, internal grants, mentorship, and programming (e.g. ISSR Scholars, ADVANCE).
Commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), while recognizing the need for continual improvement.
- Departmental JEDI and workload-equity efforts are increasing equity, transparency and collaborative governance
- Diversity among full-time faculty and MRP students
- Targeted departmental funding for attracting and retaining students from underrepresented background to promote diversity.
- Formed Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee in 2020, with active faculty and student representation.
- Increase in JEDI-topics within our core and elective curricular offerings (e.g., Public Participation, Planning History and Theory, Land Use), invited speakers through the endowed Zube lecture series, and a focus on equity in almost all classes.
Outreach to the University, Commonwealth
- Significant increase in Center for Resilient Metro-Regions (CRM) contracts, providing more applied research and technical assistance services to area communities, a higher profile for the Department, and professional experience for students working on CRM projects.
- Excellent studio courses offer service-learning opportunities with area communities, regional commissions, and non-profits.
- Faculty leadership roles in campus initiatives related to sustainability, climate change adaptation, campus planning, economic development, and research methods.
Current and Future Challenges
- Recent faculty retirement of Extension Specialist leaves a gap in service to Springfield and profession.
- Additional faculty retirements expected within 3-5 years.
- New University policy requires prioritizing PhDs for teaching assistantships and limits offers of tuition remission to masters students. We have since shifted to offering additional cash incentives instead of full assistantships; we prioritize diversity students for the few masters-level assistantship remaining.
- Declining international enrollments due to national situation.
- Declining opportunities for major research funding due to national situation.
- Growth of 1-year (non-accredited) graduate programs on campus (e.g. Masters of Sustainability Science and Masters of Policy and Public Administration) competing with our 2 year professional accredited master’s program.
- High administrative work loads with most tenured faculty serving as program/certificate directors, center directors, or other high-level service appointments.
- Research centers are funded entirely on soft-money with limited professional support staff.
Opportunities
- Dual-degree programs with Public Policy and Administration, Architecture and others are growing and can be nurtured for further growth
- Sustainable Community Development undergraduate degree is growing and has become an important feeder for the MRP accelerated
- (4+1) degree pathway
- CRM is experiencing a renewal under new Director (Wayne Feiden). Increasingly developing this 'brand' will yield more service to communities and student opportunities.
- Enhanced connections with Transportation (Civil Engineering) creates a better opportunity to offer transportation as a focus for students.
- Combination of climate change, technology + data, green infrastructure, culture and land use expertise addresses key interrelated challenges facing communities; increased collaboration across faculty presents opportunity in this area.
C. Goals, Strategies and Measurable Objectives
Overall, we are pleased with our progress since 2018. The percentage of recent alumni rating their overall satisfaction with the program as ‘extremely’ went from 24% in 2018 to 54% extremely satisfied, and no students feeling 'unsatisfied' in the 2024 survey, which we view as a remarkable achievement. Faculty scholarship, and particularly grantsmanship, increased dramatically as well. We have actively addressed the two PAB 'partially met' criteria from the 2018 accreditation -- updated public information on our website (Criterion 1F) and limited engagement with APA and other professional communities (Criterion 3F). Below we identify the areas that we see as strategic growth opportunities.
Please note that our ‘aspirational’ goals assume an increase of 2 full-time tenure line faculty by 2034, while the ‘realistic’ assumes an increase of 1 full-time tenure-line faculty member by 2029. Both assume that the recent retirement of outreach/Extension faculty (DiPasquale) will be replaced, and potential retirements of tenured faculty will be replaced with tenure-line faculty. Reductions in faculty counts would reduce our ability to achieve these goals.
Goal One – Overall Program: Maintain and Improve Public Perception, Reputation and overall Quality of the MRP Program
1a. Achieve positive outcomes from PAB accreditation
Strategies |
Years accredited |
Unmet criteria |
Partially met criteria |
Chair/faculty serve as PAB site reviewers |
Begin work on SSR one year in advance |
Baseline: 2018 to 2024 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | YES |
Realistic: 2025 to 2031 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3* | YES |
Aspirational: 2032 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3-4 | TBD |
*Renski, Infield and Feiden are currently active PAB reviewers.
1b. Increase student and faculty engagement with the profession and area communities
Strategies | Increase CRM/Center contracts with communities | Faculty engagement at regional/national professional meetings | Students attend professional planning meetings | AICP Continuing Maint. credits for Zube and other LARP events | Co-sponsored events with Western MA APA or similar annually |
Baseline: 2018 - 2024 | 21 funded projects (average of 3 per year), 12 faculty involved as PIs or Co-PIs, 9 Center and 4 Studio Reports | Ad hoc, average 1 faculty presentation every other year | Ad hoc, with student conference support primarily through PSO fund raising
| No | None prior to 2024, First co-sponsored event in 2024 |
Realistic: 2025 - 2031 | Fully funded MRP planning studios, 4+ funded CRM projects per year (given staff and faculty resources) | 1 to 2 faculty presentations per year at regional or national professional conferences | PSO president (or delegate) attends NPC APA PSO members reimbursed for SNEAPA & NECAPA travel (8 students in 2025) Establish a budget for matching department support | Started in 2025 | One per year |
Aspirational: 2032 | 5-6 funded CRM projects per year CRM nationally and internationally competitive on applied research and technical assistance contracts | 2-3 faculty presentations per year at regional or national professional conferences | Continue previous level of support + build the Waugh Alumni Board endowment fund as a dedicated source for student professional development | Offer regular non-credit and professional development workshops | LARP serves as hub for professional planning community in Western MA, Southern VA, and Western CT |
1c. Strengthen relationships and outreach with our alumni and the public to benefit our students and program
Strategies |
Alumni and professional panels |
Distinguished Alumni Awards (to be presented at graduation with a speech) |
Planner representation on Waugh Alumni Board |
Social media / newsletter posts profiling planning projects, students, faculty, and alumni (see Appendix, "Regional Planning Program Publicity" document for listing and links) |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | One alumni panel per year, 3-4 participants | 1 awarded in 2019, interrupted by Covid | 2018 –1 planner on alumni board (of 6) 2024 –2 planners (of 6) | 2018 - None 2019 - 9 stories 2020 - 14 stories 2021 - 13 stories 2022 - 33 stories 2023 - 38 stories 2024 - 59 stories |
Realistic: 2025 to 2031 | Same as above + Regular alumni mentoring events | Resume award for 2026, onward with a target of a planning professional award every other year | 2025 - 3 planners (of 8) | Minimum 50 stories/posts per year Begin tracking stories/events picked up by media outside LARP |
Aspirational: 2032 |
| Sustain award, publicize talks with SNEAPA/NECAPA networks | 1/2 of Alumni board comprised of planners or MRP grads | Minimum 75 stories/posts (or whatever is used in 2034) per year 5-10 picked up by media outside LARP |
Goal Two – Students: Build Enrollments and Enhance the Student Experience during and after Matriculation
2a: Increase Enrollment through more aggressive recruitment of traditional (2-yr degree) and non-traditional (4+1, dual degrees, part-time) students
Between 2009 and 2017, we witnessed a steady decline of applications to and enrollment in our Master of Regional Planning degree program, in part due to our then-aging building. Enrollment has since stabilized, but at a lower equilibrium and with more students enrolling in our dual and accelerated degree programs. This reflects a nation-wide phenomenon also being experienced by other professional degree programs (e.g. MLA and MArch) programs. However, there is countertrend of growth in undergraduate planning and other professionally-oriented disciplines. We need to capitalize on these opportunities by strengthening ties between our undergraduate SUSTCOMM and graduate programs.
We also need to aggressive market to and recruit master’s students from outside UMass. This is complicated by new rules from our college that disallow allotting assistantships and other sources of tuition waiver for most master's students. Such waivers were a primary recruitment tool prior to 2024. We have since repurposed some of our endowed funds to offer fellowships/cash incentives to priority MRP applicants. Tests of this policy in AY2024 found it to be fairly successful in recruiting in-state students, given that our tuition is already cheaper than private universities.
Strategies | Grow and stabilize enrollment (FTE Student Headcounts) | Increase applications and yield of students from underrepresented backgrounds |
Increase SUSTCOM enrollment as potential feeder to 4+1 MRP | Offer intro/gateway courses in SUSTCOM to attract majors from other programs or non-majors |
Offer fellowships and other sources to support recruitment |
Coordinate with SBS staff for outreach events, such as graduate and career fairs |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | 31 (annual mean), | 51 applicants (13%) | 81 majors (mean) | 3 feeder courses
| Started in 2024, $23k offered, $10k distributed (total) | Average 1-2 UMass events per year staffed by MRP GPD. In 2024 - SBS hired professional staff to represent LARP and other majors at fairs. |
Realistic: 2025 - 2031 | 40 (annual mean), | 15% of applicant pool | 95 majors per year | 4 - 5 feeder courses1, | Offer $20-30k per year (total) allocated 50-60% for underrepresented applicants. Work with area employers to establish formal internship program -- pilot 1-2 per year | Above, plus 2-3 external events. Work closely with SBS staff to ensure RP is highlighted at events. |
Aspirational: 2032 | 45 (annual mean), | 20% of applicant pool, | 110 majors per year | 5 - 6 courses | Offer up to $40k per year ~ $20k distributed. Build Mullin endowment through targeted fundraising campaign. Expand internship program.
| 6-8 internal and external events per year |
- As of 2024, there were four Gateway courses offered by SUSTCOMM: Intro to Community Engagement, City Planning, History of Sustainable Community Development, Dynamics of Human Habitation, and Global Cities. The undergraduate Climate Change Planning course is also a feeder.
2b: Student Satisfaction: Maintain and increase a high level of Student Satisfaction through community building activities, student engagement, professional development opportunities, and favorable employment outcomes.
Timeline | Recent alumni rate program as "extremely satisfied" | Maintain high retention rate (return after first year) | On-time graduation rates (2 years MRP, 3-4 years Dual Degree) increase | Students undertake professional development opportunities | Share of students attending thesis / project defenses | Students have professional internship (optional for traditional MRPs, required for 4+1 MRPs) | Students have full-time relevant employment (incl. higher ed) within one-year of graduation |
Baseline: 2018-2024 | 34% (7-year average) | 95% | 64%, up from 50% 2011 to 2017 | 2022 - started annual Waugh Alumni Board mentoring sessions | Ad-hoc, but uncommon | 5 - 8 per year (average) | 88% (overall), 77% (planning or closely related) |
Realistic: 2025 - 2031 | 54% | 90 - 100% | 70% | Alumni mentoring now offered 2 x per year (one online, one in person). | 50% of students attend defenses -- increase is through clearer expectations, guidance, and more promotion. | 7 - 10 per year | 92% (overall), 80% (planning or closely related) |
Aspirational: 2032 | 64% | 90 - 100% | 80% | Most (20 -- 24) planning students participate in alumni mentoring (per session) by 2032. | 90 - 100% | All interested students | 95% (overall), 85% (planning or closely related) |
Goal Three: Curriculum and Instruction: Ensure a strong core curriculum for students and support flexible access to advanced and specialty courses within the program, the department, and the college. Build internship programs with area employers and alumni.
Strategies
|
Conduct a comprehensive curriculum review every 3 years |
Increase student access to data and design-related classes (elective studio, GIS/design courses) |
Review elective offerings (timing + topics) to ensure relevancy and availability |
Faculty and students co-author articles and professional reports |
Identify and implement one important and feasible curricular innovation to have in place prior to the next accreditation cycle. |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | Planned 2021 review postponed by Covid/remote. Comprehensive review in 2024; no major changes but beginning discussion of possible changes to capstone option and credits. | 2019 - Successful faculty search with focus on Data Analytics. Graduate urban design studio reoriented to be more welcoming to MRP students.
| Changes to specializations based on 2017 review. Began shifting 600 level (graduate only) numbered electives to 500 level (upper-level undergrad and grad) to secure enrollments and availability | Ad hoc, often stymied by lack of student response post-graduation | 2025: Thesis style guidelines adapted to encourage journal article style outcome |
Realistic: 2025-2031 | Next comprehensive review in 2027, 2031. Annual "check-ins" on specific courses. Discuss and incorporate results of Barchers et al (2025) study on demand for planning skills. | 2025 - began offering a “Visual Communication: Design Principles and Digital Skills” course with a experimental RP graduate section. Summer GIS class cross-listed with Data Analytics and Computation Social Science (DACSS). Seek additional collaborations with LA & DACSS. | Add a course (potentially co-taught) in transportation, reflecting strong student interest. More U+ (online) course offerings, possibly in a short-term / limited topic format. | Changes to Masters thesis format to mirror academic article to encourage submission. Initiated process for more equitable distribution of thesis advisees in 2025, implement in 2026 and on. | 1 major innovation Possible changes to thesis/project/three course option and/or reducing total credits (e.g. 48 to 45) to allow for accelerated pathway (15 credits in three semesters) |
Aspirational: 2032 | On-going, adjust process as results from previous process are clear. | All students have very high level of data or design skills | Possible specializations in Urban Design as well as Transportation | 1 article or published reports per-year based on theses w/ student lead or co-author(s) | 3 innovations |
Goal Four – Faculty: Support our faculty as they strive for excellence in teaching, research, and outreach
Our total number of RP planning faculty has declined since 2018, with the (unreplaced) retirement of one full-time tenured faculty (Pader) and the 2025 retirement of a part-time Extension Professor (DiPasquale). Replacing these positions is essential to ensuring the quality of our teaching, mentoring, scholarship, and community outreach. With the anticipated expansion of the SUSTCOMM program, we aspire to gain to two one net faculty positions by 2032. Replacing retiring faculty may also help increase our publication counts, as junior faculty tend to be more active in this domain.
Our primary metrics for productive faculty scholarship are peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, published policy reports, external grants, and awards. A recent revision to the department's tenure and promotion culture document gives clear credit for grantsmanship for the first time (see Governance and Funding section). We also undertook initiatives to support scholarship by creating a more transparent and equitable distribution of mentoring and service appointments. As a consequence of our most recent curricular review, we revised the structure of the Master’s Thesis to encourage students to draft a journal article from their work and make it easier for continue with the review process after student graduates.
Strategies | Maintain Regional Planning Faculty strength and size | Peer-reviewed articles or chapters | Public policy reports and other non-peer-reviewed | Grant and contract awards / amounts | Awards and honors (UMass and external) |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | 2025 - 6 FT tenure track faculty and one FT lecturer, 3 PT faculty (1 retired in 2025), 1 short-term contract | 78 articles (~ 11 per year) | 85 (~12 per year) | 46 grants, 16 contracts, $6.4 million | 10 |
Realistic: 2025- 2031 | Return to 2018 level - 7 FT, one FT lecturer, and 4 PT faculty. Replace any new retirements. | 14 per year | 14 per year | Anticipating fewer grants given federal cuts, offset in part by an increase in CRM contracts | 10 |
Aspirational: 2032 | Addition of one tenure-line faculty to teach in MRP and SUSTCOM programs over current number. | 16 per year | 16 per year | Return to normalcy for federal grants | 14 |
Goal Five – Diversity: Ensure a Welcoming and Diverse Program and Increase Support for Student and Faculty Diversity in Recruitment and Retention
At LARP, we follow an expansive view of diversity to ensure that our students are exposed to a broad spectrum of ideas and experiences, better understand the populations and communities they serve, and find mentors and peers that they can identify with. Recruitment of under-represented students remains a priority for our fellowship funds and the few remaining assistantship positions. We also hope to help diversify our student body and the professional pipeline by organizing career days and other events with area high schools and partnering with Community Colleges through the MassTransfer initiative (2 years at CC, 2 years at UMass). We plan to continue the work of the LARP JEDI committee in inviting diverse speakers and issues to campus and into our classrooms, with perhaps a larger JEDI committee role in organizing community outreach activities. Zube lecture series has been an increasingly important contributor to bringing diverse voices in for lectures. Although we don’t ask speakers to self-identify, by our estimation over one-third of Zube speakers in the past two years spoke on justice, race or equity-related issues, with a higher concentration among speakers invited by planning-faculty. To ensure fair hiring processes our college requires all faculty involved in search committees to complete Graduate School diversity training. LARP strongly encourages all new members of the Departmental Personnel Committee to attend University training on fairness in promotion and evaluation procedures. We continue our outreach work with Springfield, Holyoke, and other Gateway Cities/Legacy Cities in organizing studios, practica and fieldwork that focus on diversity and equity issues.
Strategies |
Faculty percent identifying as minority or international | Increase applications of students from underrepresented backgrounds |
Student percent identifying as minority or international |
Diversity students receiving departmental financial aid | Develop pipeline programs to introduce planning to diverse audiences | Zube speaker series profiling planning and social justice themes |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | 3 of 7 (two others with permanent resident or dual citizenship) | 51 applicants (13%) | 15 enrolled (12%), an international Fulbright student enrolls about half the years. | 60% of recruitment fellowships distributed to students from under-represented background + one RA with tuition waiver (per year) | Support for Make-it Springfield and other community development activities through UMass extension | 86 planning-related Zube presentations since 2018, of which |
Realistic: 2025 - 2031 | 1 Latina female added to PT faculty with graphic design class Priority for future hires | 15% of applicant pool | Supporting one international Fulbright student annually, 15% of diverse applicants enrolled | Maintain ratio with increased applicant pool | Hire replacement extension professor to work with community groups in gateway cities. | Maintain 60 - 70% of planning-related Zube lectures focus on diversity themes |
Aspirational: 2032 | Diverse representation exceeding Commonwealth | 20% of applicant pool | 25% of diverse applicants enroll | Maintain ratio with increased applicant pool | Established pipeline from CC to SUSTCOMM to Accelerated MRP | Maintain 60 - 70% of planning-Zube lectures on diversity themes |
Goal Six – Governance and Funding
The new chair is making a concerted effort to stabilize revenues, prioritize expenditures, and promote transparency and equity in governance decisions given rapidly shifting external forces and very significant reductions in graduate school funding for departmental operations. For example, the chair recently began reporting on the state of the budget at the Spring faculty retreat. The Chair anticipates working with the MRP Director and faculty in identifying potential income-production opportunities and, in the next five years, implementing them. Options include potential continuing and professional education courses that would be popular options for summer or January terms.
During AY 2024 through 2025 our Departmental Personnel Committee has studying workload equity in LARP to ensure that faculty efforts and teaching allocations are fairly distributed.
Strategies | Build endowed scholarships | Graduate school funding for department | Policy/ practices for transparent reporting for CRM and grants | Dept Workload Equity efforts are implemented |
Baseline: 2018 – 2024 | Established Mullin endowed fellowship for MRPs. Repurposed Zube and Z&T fellowships to use for recruiting incoming students. | 2024-2025 Operating funds from SBS decline substantially. Upper admin expectation shifts to minimizing masters students' tuition waivers and ties dept funding to tuition paid at masters level. | Pre-2024, very little transparency or reporting.
| Initial efforts underway 2024-2025 |
Realistic: 2025 - 2031 | Program Chair and Department Chair work with UMass Development personnel to identify and engage potential high-net-worth donors for the program | Partial rebuild SBS operational funds Diversify revenue streams | 2025 – improved ability of PIs to see and manage funds. Faculty know and support the use of funds.
| Policies implemented; higher faculty satisfaction with equity of work |
Aspirational: 2032 | Fully endow Mullin and Waugh endowments, | Stable and predictable funding flows. | Funds provide clear benefit to students and faculty | Outcomes assessed and policies updated |
Monitoring and Evaluation of Progress
The program has annual retreats each May, December and late August. Prior to the May retreat, the program director, in consultation with the department chair, reviews progress on the existing strategic plan, presents that to faculty in our May retreat and then consults with faculty on priorities for implementation in the next year. Going forward, we will have the Objectives Matrix to aid in this process. We anticipate that the program director will fill in the Objectives Matrix to mark progress on goals prior to the May faculty retreat. At the retreat, we will begin by reviewing the Objectives Matrix progress report and discuss any needed changes or questions. The Indicators are those from the Strategic Plan Objectives Matrix. Annual progress on the strategic plan will be tracked through the Objectives Matrix. Annual updates to the Strategic Plan and the Objectives Matrix will be made through faculty votes, so that the plan can respond to changing conditions and emerging priorities.
A. Progress meeting goals of previous Strategic Plan
We reviewed our 2018 strategic plan, and below report on outcomes and status of the various goals and objectives from that plan.
Goal One: Maintain and Improve Perception and Reputation of UMass MRP Program Quality
Objective 1a: Gain Full Planning Board Accreditation in 2019 and thereafter
Status 2025: Achieved 7-year accreditation in 2018, on-going goal
Objective 1b: Have at least three MRP alums participate on the Alumni Board.
Status 2025: Increased planning alum on the Board from 1 to 2, on-going goal to 3.
Objective 1c: Create the Distinguished Alumni Award to be given to a high-profile MRP graduate each year at a distinguished lecture, symposium, or commencement
Status 2025: Partial. We began giving this award at the 2019 graduation. However, the initiative was sidelined by Covid and administrative changes and did not resume when we began holding in-person ceremonies again. However, we streamlined our graduation event for 2025 and the relevant program directors and Chair are interested in renewing this award going forward, alternating between planner and landscape architecture every-other year.
Objective 1d: Encourage faculty and students to attend and present at CPTC, APA state, regional, or national conferences and to submit applications for award competitions
Status 2025: Significant progress made as demonstrated in current Accreditation report. CPTC (Citizen Planner Training Conference) has been de-emphasized in favor of local APA meetings. On-going goal. The Department is supporting student travel for PSO members as well as Chair/Director travel to represent LARP at regional and national APA conferences.
Objective 1e: Encourage faculty to become AICP certified as a model for students and alumni
Status 2025: Achieved. Four faculty for the reporting period are AICP, including two who are FAICP. Given faculty interest, this is unlikely to change, so it is not an on-going goal. If we get permission for a new hire, AICP or interest in it will be a preference in the hire.
Goal Two: Build and Promote Areas of Excellence to Ensure Recognition of Our Expertise in Research, Teaching, and Outreach
Objective 2a: Encourage faculty to submit course or studio work for planning award competitions; our objective should be at least one submission per year
- Status 2025: Studios have received Mass APA awards. Both state and national awards are now very limited, so this is less prioritized going forward.
Objective 2b: Identify and secure excellent practicum/studio projects for our students
Status 2025: Achieved. It is now pretty institutionalized, so not needed as an on-going goal.
Objective 2c: Employ department funds to create one regionally-oriented planning event every other year as may be fiscally possible.
Status 2025: Achieved for reporting period through Zube lectures (which are attended by the public) and Fabos Conference which is held in Amherst every four years. On-going goal.
Objective 2d: Motivate all faculty members to participate in ScholarWorks
Status 2025: Partially achieved, we had made considerable progress getting all faculty and student work posted and indexed on scholarworks. However, the University has shifted platforms for Scholarworks and the transition was not smooth. With the rise of individual websites, and aggregators such as Google Scholar it is each scholar’s choice of whether to keep updating Scholarworks or use their own social media approach. Not included as a goal in 2025, although faculty are asked to provide information for the department website. The Department has been providing assistance.
Objective 2e: Showcase ‘Areas of Excellence’ through department forums and media
- Status 2025: With the hiring of a departmental person for communications, we have significantly increased our social media and other ways to showcase areas of excellence. Areas of excellence were updated in 2024 to fit new faculty hires and evolving faculty research and teaching areas. Included as an on-going goal under 'build relationships with alumni and public'
Goal Three: Improve and Increase Recruitment as well as Retention of Quality Students
Objective 3a: Use connections with regional high schools, community colleges and state universities to recruit high achieving students, especially from underrepresented cohorts.
Status 2025: Progress achieved but on-going. Prior to retirement, Extension Professor Michael DiPasquale developed a partnership with Springfield Honors Academy to bring 50-60 high school juniors (mostly Black and Latino) to the UMass design building for a tour and to work with MRP students on public engagement activities. Following Michael's retirement, the LARP Chair has taken up organizing this initiative, receiving financial support from the UMass Office of Equity and Inclusion and lunch provided by UMass Dining services. We are currently organizing the event for 2026. More recently, the Planning Student Organization (under the director of Dr. Barchers) held student outreach events in Holyoke. We would like to begin similar initiatives with other communities, but recognize the difficultly finding time for faculty or department administrators to organize. Fortunately, The College now has personnel devoted to this and we are working with them to bring our program to community and regional colleges events. On-going goal.
Objective 3b: Send out personal communications to colleagues in educational institutions across New England asking them to identify prospective candidates for the MRP program
Status 2025: Partially achieved. It is difficult to find the time for faculty or department administrators to do this. Fortunately, The College now has personnel devoted to this and we are working with them to bring our program to community and regional colleges events. Not an on-going goal.
Objective 3c: Develop marketing materials and presentations for MRP program recruitment
- Status 2025: This was achieved, and updates are now institutionalized with our hire of departmental communications staff – not needed as an on-going goal.
Objective 3d: Prepare targeted news and events pages that celebrate the accomplishments of our program, faculty, and graduates and update it regularly (e.g., website, social media)
- Status 2025: Achieved. The hiring of a departmental person for communications, we have significantly increased our social media and other ways to showcase our work. On-going goal in 'social media posts'.
Goal Four: Increase Support for Student and Faculty Diversity in Recruitment and Retention
Objective 4a: Meet with diversity representatives at the university to identify metrics of progress and performance in retention and recruitment, and resources to improve both goals
- Status 2025: Progress achieved but on-going. The Grad School and University have been very active on this. We have had faculty trained in diversity and established a JEDI committee for the department. It remains an on-going goal.
Objective 4b: Identify and request the assistance of willing graduates in serving as mentor/advisors to MRP diversity students prior to matriculation.
Status 2025 : Progress achieved but on-going. We began to make headway on this prior to COVID, but efforts got derailed by that crisis . The previous Program Director (now Chair) began the process of restarting this initiative by building a massive database of MRP alumni and including questions on the recent alumni survey to gauge interest/availability. In the meantime, the renewed Waugh alumni board has been organizing its own mentoring sessions with alumni which has proven to be popular with students (not limited to diversity). This is folded into a broader goal in the 2025 strategic plan for student mentoring.
Objective 4c: Seek expanded funding and financial assistance for enrolled diversity students
Status 2025: We were achieving this prior to 2024. The University changed policies and we now can only offer full assistantships to masters students in very limited circumstances. On-going goal is to use available cash as recruitment tools rather than assistantships, and to build our endowments to the level where we can use them for new assistantships for diversity students. So far this has show some success with nearly 60% of fellowship support used to support students from underrepresented background.
Objective 4d: Continue to work with Springfield, Holyoke, and other Gateway Cities/Legacy Cities in organizing studios, practical and fieldwork that focuses on diversity and equity issues.
- Status 2025: This was largely achieved. Specifically for our regional legacy cities, while Michael DiPasquale retired, Frank Sleegers continues this important work in his urban design studio, and Camille Barchers has worked extensively with the Hartford CT area regional planning agency. International scholarship and outreach by faculty, such as Feiden in Sierra Leone and Indonesia and Elizabeth Brabec in a range of developing countries, increases the diversity and equity work of the program. It is an on-going goal.
Goal Five: Enhance the Student Professional Experience during and after Matriculation
Objective 5a: Review course content every three years to ensure it meets PAB accreditation goals
Status 2025: Achieved. Previous review identified specializations as a better approach for us than concentrations, and we made that change. We reviewed curriculum every other year and made minor adjustments; the RP faculty did not view any other major adjustments as required. On-going goal.
Objective 5b: Every two years undertake a survey of recent graduates to determine how well they were prepared for their professional work
- Status 2025: Not achieved. This was paused during Covid, but restarted in preparation for this year’s accreditation. Given our small class sizes, we also realize that bi-annual is too frequent, so we have a new goal of every three years. On-going goal (not included in strategic plan as it is not a major effort of our outreach and student outcomes evaluation strategy).
Objective 5c: Offer an annual or bi-annual in-house (live or online) workshop introducing students to the APA and AICP examination, potentially in collaboration with APA-MA and other planning programs.
Status 2025: Not achieved. This was not a feasible goal given limited faculty and staff time and funding resources. We now address this inside required courses. For 2025, we plan to do more of this in Zube lectures.
Objective 5e: Along with the PSO, ensure that the orientation is a community-building experience. It should include academic, social and bonding events
Status 2025: Achieved. This is now institutionalized as part of our program’s regular practice. We instead have a goal of general community building events in the 2025 plan. Not an on-going goal.
Objective 5f: Experiment with having the Alumni Board provide a ‘mentoring night’ with students; if successful, repeat annually.
Status 2025: Achieved. We have shifted this to holding a MRP alum panel each year through the Zube Lecture Series. This is better as it brings more diverse and younger voices to the students. As it is now an institutionalized practice, it is not an on-going goal.
Goal Six: Identify how the new Olver Design Building (opened January 2017) can create new opportunities for teaching, studio, research, and social collaborations with other affiliated design disciplines (Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Building and Construction Technology, etc.)
Objective 6a: Collaborate in consideration of development of core shared classes in sustainability principles and design principles
Status 2025: Partially achieved. We encourage students to take the Urban Design studio as an elective, and are experimentally offering MRP sections in Graphic Design class. The 2018 anticipated focus on sustainability principles was not able to be built into other programs curricular requirements. Status: on-going goal for improving student access to data and design courses.
Objective 6b: Use building spaces to maximize interaction between disciplines while maintaining a sense of ownership of each program regarding their own program space.
Status 2025: Achieved. While space is always an issue, we have a fairly well developed plan that achieves this goal. We also hold many events in conjunction with Architecture (e.g. student welcome, grad orientation, student work showcase, Zube speakers and gallery exhibits). Not an on-going goal.
Objective 6c: Support efforts to have the new building be as innovative and sustainable as fiscally possible, not only in its construction but also operations, maintenance, and pedagogy.
Status 2025: Outstanding success. The building has won multiple prestigious awards and is a highlight of campus tours. Not an on-going goal.