Department history

In 1868, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign became one of the first institutions of higher learning in the United States to offer a course in landscape design. The timeline below presents highlights from our long and distinguished history.

View of newly constructed Davenport Hall — 1906: View of Davenport Hall: the new Agriculture Building became the first home to our department.

1906: View of Davenport Hall: the new Agriculture Building became the first home to our department.

View of Prof. Ralph Rodney Root and students on a site visit — ca. 1912-1915: Prof. Ralph Rodney Root and students on a site visit

ca. 1912-1915: Prof. Ralph Rodney Root and students on a site visit

1913-1914: Students and faculty in the Division of Landscape Gardening

1915: Drawing by Noble P. Hollister (BSLG 1915), Senior Design studio

BSLA students Lois Green Guild and Gertrude E. Sawyer in second-year surveying class — ca. 1915: Lois Green Guild (BSLA 1917) and Gertrude E. Sawyer (BSLA 1918) in second-year surveying class

ca. 1915: Lois Green Guild (BSLA 1917) and Gertrude E. Sawyer (BSLA 1918) in second-year surveying class

1916: Drawing by Mary A. Simpson (BSLA 1916), Senior Design studio, First Prize

Photo of Margaret Henson (BSLA 1918), Lucia B Fox (BSLA 1918) and unidentified person — ca.1918: Margaret E. Henson (BSLA 1918), Lucia B. Fox (BSLA 1918) and unidentified person, possibly a classmate

ca.1918: Margaret E. Henson (BSLA 1918), Lucia B. Fox (BSLA 1918) and unidentified person, possibly a classmate

View of Professor Irving L. Peterson and students on the cornice of Davenport Hall — early 1920s: Professor Irving L. Peterson and students on the cornice of Davenport Hall

early 1920s: Professor Irving L. Peterson and students on the cornice of Davenport Hall

1924: View of newly completed Mumford Hall

1926: View of Mumford Hall

1927: View of studio at 200 Mumford Hall

View of stacks in City Planning & Landscape Architecture (CPLA) Library at 203 Mumford Hall — 1927: View of stacks in the City Planning & Landscape Architecture (CPLA) Library at 203 Mumford Hall

1927: View of stacks in the City Planning & Landscape Architecture (CPLA) Library at 203 Mumford Hall

1929: Faculty and students of the Department of Landscape Architecture. Included are students from the classes of 1929 to 1932.

1932: Photo taken by Professor Florence Bell Robinson on research trip to Japan

Prof. Florence Bell Robinson in 1933 — 1933: Prof. Florence Bell Robinson

1933: Prof. Florence Bell Robinson

Four junior-year BFALA students outside Mumford Hall — 1942-1943: Junior-year BFALA students Robert Goetz, William Nelson, Arthur Spencer, and Theodore Ebel outside Mumford Hall

1942-1943: Junior-year BFALA students Robert Goetz, William Nelson, Arthur Spencer, and Theodore Ebel outside Mumford Hall

Hideo Sasaki’s junior-year entry the Landscape Exchange Problems competition — 1945: Hideo Sasaki’s junior-year entry the NCILA (now CELA) Landscape Exchange Problems competition

1945: Hideo Sasaki’s junior-year entry the NCILA (now CELA) Landscape Exchange Problems competition

Photo of Professors Hideo Sasaki, Irving Peterson, Stanley White, and Otto Schaffer — 1948: Standing: Professors Hideo Sasaki and Irving Peterson; seated: Professors Stanley White and Otto Schaffer

1948: Standing: Professors Hideo Sasaki and Irving Peterson; seated: Professors Stanley White and Otto Schaffer

1949: Drawing by Yu-Ling Shen (MS City Planning 1949)

Photo of Professors Irving Peterson, Florence Bell Robinson, Walter Keith, Otto Schaffer, Stanley White, and Karl Lohmann in Fall 1950 — Fall 1950: L to R: Professors Irving Peterson, Florence Bell Robinson, Walter Keith, Otto Schaffer, Stanley White, and Karl Lohmann

Fall 1950: L to R: Professors Irving Peterson, Florence Bell Robinson, Walter Keith, Otto Schaffer, Stanley White, and Karl Lohmann

Spring 1950: Students from the Class of 1950 with Professor Hideo Sasaki outside Mumford Hall

Photo from field trip to estate in Lake Forest, IL — 1950s: Field trip to estate in Lake Forest, IL

1950s: Field trip to estate in Lake Forest, IL

1951: Senior BFALA students, Class of 1951, in 214 Mumford Hall

Photo of Instructor Tom Wood and students on a planting design site visit — 1952: Instructor Tom Wood and students on a planting design site visit

1952: Instructor Tom Wood and students on a planting design site visit

Photo of landscape model made as team project in studio LA 235 (now 335) — 1953: Team project in studio LA 235 (now 335)

1953: Team project in studio LA 235 (now 335)

Photo of students and staff on field trip visit to Mt Holyoke Range State Park — 1954: Field trip visit to Mt Holyoke Range State Park, Amherst, MA. Photo by Stan White.

1954: Field trip visit to Mt Holyoke Range State Park, Amherst, MA. Photo by Stan White.

Photo of Joe Clark (BFALA 1957) inside the Observation Tower at Vicksburg National Military Park — 1957: Joe Clark (BFALA 1957) inside the Observation Tower at Vicksburg National Military Park on field trip visit to Vicksburg, MS

1957: Joe Clark (BFALA 1957) inside the Observation Tower at Vicksburg National Military Park on field trip visit to Vicksburg, MS

Photo of senior BFALA students preparing exhibit “The Future of Northeastern Illinois” — 1961: Senior BFALA students prepare exhibit “The Future of Northeastern Illinois”

1961: Senior BFALA students prepare exhibit “The Future of Northeastern Illinois”

Plan by Brian Zimmerman (BFALA 1967) for a Home Environment for a Bachelor (LA 133) — 1965: Drawing by Brian Zimmerman (BFALA 1967) in LA 133 (now 233)

1965: Drawing by Brian Zimmerman (BFALA 1967) in LA 133 (now 233)

Plan of Peech Playground by Robert Zolomij (MLA 1970) — 1970: Drawing by Robert Zolomij (MLA 1970)

1970: Drawing by Robert Zolomij (MLA 1970)

Photo of building at 1203 W. Nevada St., Urbana — 1973-1995: “Temporary” accommodations at 1203 W. Nevada St., Urbana, which the Department occupied for 22 years

1973-1995: “Temporary” accommodations at 1203 W. Nevada St., Urbana, which the Department occupied for 22 years

1973-1995: Photo of building at 1205 W. Nevada St., Urbana — 1973-1995: Annex accommodations at 1205 W. Nevada St., Urbana

1973-1995: Annex accommodations at 1205 W. Nevada St., Urbana

Photo of Landscape Architecture at community playground they designed and constructed — 1977: Community playground designed and constructed by Landscape Architecture students. Photo by Susan McCabe.

1977: Community playground designed and constructed by Landscape Architecture students. Photo by Susan McCabe.

Map from the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (1978) — 1978: Map from the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, the Department’s first major research-grant funded project

1978: Map from the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, the Department’s first major research-grant funded project

Photo of graduating seniors assembled in front of 1205 ½ W. Nevada St. (1979) — May 1979: Graduating seniors at 1205 ½ W. Nevada Street

May 1979: Graduating seniors at 1205 ½ W. Nevada Street

Photo of students working in sophomore studio (Fall 1979) — Fall 1979: Sophomore studio

Fall 1979: Sophomore studio

Cover of the Illinois Streams Information System report (1982) — 1982: Cover of the Illinois Streams Information System report, a grant-funded departmental research project

1982: Cover of the Illinois Streams Information System report, a grant-funded departmental research project

Photo of Hideo Sasaki, recipient of Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree (1982) — 1982: The University of Illinois awards Hideo Sasaki (BFALA 1946) an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree

1982: The University of Illinois awards Hideo Sasaki (BFALA 1946) an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree

Photo of Professors Robert Riley, Lew Hopkins, and Cherie Kluesing at Allerton — 1982: Professors Robert Riley, Lew Hopkins, and Cherie Kluesing at Allerton

1982: Professors Robert Riley, Lew Hopkins, and Cherie Kluesing at Allerton

Photo of Landscape Architecture students assembled in front of 1205 ½ W. Nevada St. — Spring 1982: Landscape Architecture students assembled in front of 1205 ½ W. Nevada St.

Spring 1982: Landscape Architecture students assembled in front of 1205 ½ W. Nevada St.

Photos of students on LA 250 field trip to the Cache River State Natural Area — 1984: LA 250 field trip to the Cache River State Natural Area in Belknap, IL

1984: LA 250 field trip to the Cache River State Natural Area in Belknap, IL

Photo of students on field trip visit to Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY — 1985: Field trip visit to Gainesway Farm, designed by A. E. Bye, in Lexington, KY

1985: Field trip visit to Gainesway Farm, designed by A. E. Bye, in Lexington, KY

1986: Convocation — 1986: Faculty and students at Convocation ceremony

1986: Faculty and students at Convocation ceremony

Photo of Yangki Chin, Gary Kesler, and Brian Orland in the Imaging Systems Lab — 1986: Yangki Chin, Gary Kesler, and Brian Orland with new equipment in the Imaging Systems Lab

1986: Yangki Chin, Gary Kesler, and Brian Orland with new equipment in the Imaging Systems Lab

Photo of Professors Vince Bellafiore and Terry Harkness reviewing work by Jeffrey Richter (BLA 1988) — 1987-1988: Professors Vince Bellafiore and Terry Harkness review work by Jeffrey Richter (BLA 1988) in 200 Mumford

1987-1988: Professors Vince Bellafiore and Terry Harkness review work by Jeffrey Richter (BLA 1988) in 200 Mumford

Photo of graduates after Departmental Convocation ceremony (1988) — 1988: Gathering of graduates after Departmental Convocation ceremony in the Sunken Garden at Allerton

1988: Gathering of graduates after Departmental Convocation ceremony in the Sunken Garden at Allerton

Photo of Debra L. Mitchell (MLA 1975) delivering the Convocation Address (1993) — 1993: Debra L. Mitchell (MLA 1975) delivers the Convocation Address in the Sunken Garden at Allerton

1993: Debra L. Mitchell (MLA 1975) delivers the Convocation Address in the Sunken Garden at Allerton

Photo of newly completed Temple Buell Hall (1995) seen from east — 1995: Newly completed Temple Buell Hall (seen here from the east) becomes the primary base for Landscape Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, and Architecture

1995: Newly completed Temple Buell Hall (seen here from the east) becomes the primary base for Landscape Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, and Architecture

Photo of newly completed Temple Buell Hall (1995) seen from west — 1995: Newly completed Temple Buell Hall (seen here from the west) becomes the primary base for Landscape Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, and Architecture

1995: Newly completed Temple Buell Hall (seen here from the west) becomes the primary base for Landscape Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, and Architecture

Aerial photo of constructed wetland by Professor Dave Kovacic, near Villa Grove, IL. — ca. 1995: Constructed wetland by Professor Dave Kovacic, southern Champaign County, near Villa Grove, IL. Photo by David Riecks.

ca. 1995: Constructed wetland by Professor Dave Kovacic, southern Champaign County, near Villa Grove, IL. Photo by David Riecks.

Cover of special issue of Landscape Journal serving as the catalog for exhibition “Eco-Revelatory Design — 1998: Special issue of Landscape Journal serving as the catalog for Department-organized exhibition “Eco-Revelatory Design: Nature Constructed/Nature Revealed”

1998: Special issue of Landscape Journal serving as the catalog for Department-organized exhibition “Eco-Revelatory Design: Nature Constructed/Nature Revealed”

Photo of All-Department Meeting on the patio and grass terraces by Temple Buell Hall — October 2003: All-Department Meeting on the patio and grass terraces by Temple Buell Hall

October 2003: All-Department Meeting on the patio and grass terraces by Temple Buell Hall

Photo of students on LA 250 field trip visit to Dixon Springs, IL — 2006: LA 250 field trip visit to Dixon Springs, IL

2006: LA 250 field trip visit to Dixon Springs, IL

Photo of Jim Wescoat reviewing LA 335 project by Shimon Zimbovsky (BLA 2009, MLA 2013) — 2007: Department Head Jim Wescoat reviews LA 335 project by Shimon Zimbovsky (BLA 2009, MLA 2013)

2007: Department Head Jim Wescoat reviews LA 335 project by Shimon Zimbovsky (BLA 2009, MLA 2013)

Rachel Leibowitz receiving first PhD in Landscape Architecture at Illinois, with Professor Robert Riley — 2008: Rachel Leibowitz receives first PhD in Landscape Architecture at Illinois, with presentation and hooding by Professor Robert Riley

2008: Rachel Leibowitz receives first PhD in Landscape Architecture at Illinois, with presentation and hooding by Professor Robert Riley

Selected images

Professionalization

Year	Event
1868	A course in "landscape gardening" is first offered at the University of Illinois, one year after the institution's founding.
1869	A course in "the management and care of gardens, hot beds, orchards, tree plantations and ornamental grounds" is added to the catalog of offerings. Like the course on "landscape gardening," it is taught by Dr. Thomas Burrill, Head of Botany.
1871	"Garden Architecture" is added to the course catalog.
1896	Joseph Cullen (J.C.) Blair comes to the University of Illinois from Cornell. Although his primary interest is in horticulture, his interest in landscape architecture leads to the initiation of professional courses in that field—and, later, city planning.
1904	Blair brings Alanson Phelps (A.P.) Wyman to Illinois to offer lectures in landscape gardening. After graduating from Cornell (BS in Agriculture, 1897), Wyman took courses in architecture, landscape design, and engineering at MIT (1902-1904) and had worked for O.C. Simonds, the Olmsted Brothers, and Charles Platt.
1907	The professional curriculum for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Landscape Gardening (BSLG) is established by Blair and Wyman.
1911	Hugh Imlay and Charles S. LeSure are the first two students to earn the Bachelor of Science in Landscape Gardening degree.
1912	The Division of Landscape Architecture is created in the Department of Horticulture, and a discipline specific library is established. Ralph Rodney Root is appointed as an Instructor.
1913	Root is promoted to Assistant Professor in charge of the Division of Landscape Architecture.
1914	Root and Charles Faben Kelley, an art professor at Ohio State, publish the textbook Design in Landscape Gardening.
1915	BSLG student Florence Yoch becomes the first woman to graduate from the Division of Landscape Architecture.
1916	The first students graduate with a BS in Landscape Architecture.
1918	Two of the first women admitted to the Division of Landscape Architecture program, May Elizabeth (Betty) McAdams (BSLA 1916) and Jean Ripley Johnson (BSLG 1919), are appointed as teaching associates. McAdams teaches in the program until 1928, then returns to Chicago to establish her own practice. She serves as Landscape Architect for the Chicago Park District (1935-1947) and is elected a Fellow of ASLA in 1955.
1926	Florence Bell Robinson joins the faculty as its first female member. Robinson eventually became the first woman tenured in the department and the first female professor tenured at any accredited school of landscape architecture.

Consolidation

Year	Event
1929	Illinois is one of the first eight schools recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects as meeting its standards for accreditation.
1929	Beatrice Horneman graduates with a BS in Landscape Architecture. Horneman eventually becomes Chief Planner for the U.S. Public Housing Administration and a landscape architect at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) from the mid-1950s through the 1960s.
1931	The Division of Landscape Architecture is reorganized as a Department in the newly formed College of Fine and Applied Arts.
1945	The graduate program in Landscape Architecture is established.
1950	The first master’s-level degree in Landscape Architecture is awarded to Charles Stephen Schuster.
1950	The Edward L. Ryerson Traveling Fellowship in Landscape Architecture is established to support international travel and study by students.
1954	The Department is renamed the Department of City Planning and Landscape Architecture. The Bureau of Community Planning (established in 1934) is incorporated into the new departmental structure.
1955	Louis Wetmore is named Head, and the Department is organized into two divisions: Landscape Architecture and City Planning.
1958	The last BS in Landscape Operations is awarded.

Knowledge and growth

Year	Event
1965	The Department of Landscape Architecture is given separate status, with William Carnes as Chair.
1968	The undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Landscape Architecture degree is redesignated a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) degree.
1970	Department leadership is reclassified as a headship, and Robert Riley becomes Department Head.
1971	The graduate program is expanded and directed toward two areas of emphasis: regional design and design-behavior interactions.
1973	A major expansion of physical facilities more than doubles the usable space available to the Department.
1975	An evaluation of the undergraduate curriculum results in restructuring and re-sequencing while maintaining the four year/128 credit-hour structure.
1982	Hideo Sasaki (BFA in Landscape Architecture, 1946) receives an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois.

Technology and collaboration

Year	Event
1982-84	The Department invests much energy and many resources in computer-based design education, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, becoming one of the leading schools in the country experimenting in that field.
1983	The first Sasaki Lecture is delivered by Charles Harris.
1984	The Department receives an equipment grant from IBM and develop a plan for integrating computers into design education.
1985	Vincent J. Bellafiore becomes Department Head and expands the program to include significant opportunities for study abroad.
1986	The Imaging Systems Laboratory is established and developed.
1986	The Department Resource Committee is formed.
1987	The 80th anniversary of the department is celebrated with the creation of an annual lecture series and department charrette.
1987	The Ecology Laboratory—later known as the Land Resources Laboratory—is developed.
1989	The first Alumni Undergraduate Scholarship of Merit is awarded.
1990	The first Kluesing Prize is awarded to a student for achievement in the integration of art and landscape.
1990	The Geographic Modeling Systems Laboratory is developed in cooperation with the Departments of Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, and Anthropology.
1990	The first Karl B. Lohmann Lecture is delivered.
1990	The Department collaborates with the School of Architecture and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning to form a cooperative engagement program, the East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP), a project that continued for more than two decades, concluding in 2012.
1991	The first Alumni Lecture is delivered.
1992	The Visiting Practitioner Fund is initiated under the leadership of Scott Byron and Dick Brickman. Annual revenue from this endowment supports the hire of practitioners as visiting instructors in the Department.
1992	Debra L. Mitchell endows a professorial chair.
1995	The Department moves to Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, along with the Department of Urban & Regional Planning and part of the School of Architecture.
1995	Electronic studios are established.
1995	Stu Dawson provides an endowment to support educational activities of the junior class. Room 327 Temple Buell Hall is named the Dawson Studio in his honor.
1997	The Brenton and Jean Wadsworth Endowment is established to provide financial support for faculty research, scholarship, and creative activities that strive to demonstrate and/or substantiate the value of landscape and the work of landscape architects to society.
1997	The first Visiting Practitioner, Tom Oslund, teaches in the program, supported by the fund initiated in 1992.
1998	Three research facilities—the Geographic Modeling Systems Lab, the Land Resources Lab, and the East St. Louis Action Research Project—move to Noble Hall.
1998	The traveling exhibition “Eco-Revelatory Design: Nature Constructed/Nature Revealed” opens at the University of Illinois. A special issue of Landscape Journal serves as the catalog.

Global perspectives

Year	Event
1999	The Natalie B. Alpert Prize in Landscape Architecture is established in memory of former faculty member Natalie Alpert (1903-1998). The award recognizes excellence in study of the history of landscape architecture, as demonstrated through research papers written for the course LA 314: History of World Landscapes.
1999	The Kluesing Fellowship is established in memory of Cherie Kluesing, a former graduate student and faculty member. The fellowship is intended to further her aspirations, namely the creative integration of fine arts in landscape design.
1999	The Floyd C. Tobrocke Endowment is established.
1999	A jointly administered Ph.D. program in Architecture and Landscape Architecture receives final approval.
2000	Gary Kesler is appointed Interim Department Head.
2001	The first Ph.D. student in Landscape Architecture, Rachel Leibowitz, is admitted.
2001	The first SmithGroup/JJR Lecture is delivered.
2001	The first of three faculty-student studios is conducted at the Champaner-Pavagadh historic site in India. Along with the subsequent studios, held in 2003 and 2005, this work leads first to a successful UNESCO World Heritage nomination (2004) and then to the establishment of a workable landscape management plan for Champaner-Pavagadh.
2002	James L. Wescoat is appointed Department Head.
2002	The Dan Ryan Prize is established in memory of BLA student Daniel J. Ryan by his classmates. This special recognition is awarded annually to an undergraduate in the first-year studio nominated by their peers based on exceptional ability in design and visual communications and demonstrated willingness to help fellow students.
2002	The Chalet Nursery Prize is established.
2002	The Bruce Borland Golf Course Design Scholarship is established to commemorate the life of Bruce Borland (BLA 1981) and to support the education of students interested in golf course architecture.
2002	The Department hosts the symposium “Landscape and Vision,” organized by Prof. Dianne Harris and Prof. D. Fairchild Ruggles.
2004	The Allerton Landscape Scholars program is established for student interns at Allerton Park.
2004	The Department hosts the symposium “Constructing Race: The Built Environment, Minoritization, and Racism in the United States,” organized by Prof. Dianne Harris.
2005	The George and Dorothy Fiel Fellowship is established to support student travel and research for study of historical and contemporary landscapes in the United States.
2005	MLA concentrations are organized to include History, Culture, and Heritage Design; Ecological Design; and Community-Based Urban Design.
2006	The undergraduate Business Specialization option and the Wadsworth Business Scholarships for Internship Support are established.
2006	The undergraduate Minor in Landscape Studies is approved.
2006	The Ph.D. concentration in Environment and Technology is established.
2006	The first JJR/Deb Mitchell Lecture is delivered.
2007	The professional internship requirement is approved.
2007	The Department's first Internship Fair—later renamed the Career and Networking Fair—is held in Chicago.
2007	The Charles W. Harris Endowment for Field Study is established by alumni from the Classes of 1957 and 1958.
2007	The graduate Minor in Cultural Heritage is approved.
2008	Landscape architect Peter Walker receives an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois.
2008	The first Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture at Illinois is awarded to Rachel Leibowitz.
2008	The Department celebrates its 100th anniversary in Fall 2008. As part of the celebration, the Windsor Road Design Charrette is held with team leaders from Conservation Design Forum, EDAW, JJR, MVVA, Olin, Oslund Associates, and Stoss.

Landscape values

Year	Event
2008	M. Elen Deming is appointed Department Head.
2009	The Robert B. Riley MLA Student Recruitment Fund is established.
2011	The Brenton and Jean Wadsworth Undergraduate Recruitment Scholarship program is established.
2012	The Pauline Tilton Kennedy Prize for student research travel is established.
2012	The Department hosts the annual Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Conference with the theme “Finding Center: Landscape Values.”
2013	The Visiting Designer-in-Residence program is launched with the inaugural position held by Jessica Henson.
2013	The Florence Bell Robinson Scholarship Fund is established with support from the Department’s Resource Committee, alumni, and friends.
2014	D. Fairchild Ruggles is appointed Interim Department Head.
2014	William C. Sullivan is appointed Department Head.
2015	The Department hosts the charrette “Points-Lines-Trains: Vision Strategies for Champaign’s Railway Corridor.”
2016	Anticipating the sesquicentennial celebration of the University of Illinois, the Department hosts the charrette “Imagining the Illinois Campus: 2017-2067.”
2017	As part of the sesquicentennial celebration of the University of Illinois, the Department hosts a university-wide, student Sesquicentennial Design Competition.
2018	The Debra L. Mitchell Chair in Landscape Architecture is inaugurated with its first recipient, D. Fairchild Ruggles.
2018	The Brenton H. and Jean B. Wadsworth Headship of the Department of Landscape Architecture in inaugurated with its first recipient, William C. Sullivan.
2018	The Alumni Medal is established as an annual award bestowed by the Department upon an alum whose lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession have had a unique and lasting impact on the welfare of the public, the environment, and the Department.
2018	The Department hosts the symposium “Fresh Water: Design Thinking for Inland Water Territories."
2019	D. Fairchild Ruggles is appointed Interim Department Head.
2019	The Department hosts the symposium “What is an Islamic Garden in the 21st century?,” organized by Prof. D. Fairchild Ruggles and Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture candidate Amir Habibullah.
2020	The Department hosts the symposium “Bio(graphical) Diversity.”

Grounded speculations and expanded opportunities

Year	Event
2020	David L. Hays is appointed Brenton H. and Jean B. Wadsworth Head.
2020	The Master of Sustainable Urban Design (MSUD) program is launched.
2020	The inaugural Terry Harkness “Plants in Design” Lecture is delivered by Thomas Rainer, Principal of Phyto Studio.
2021	The Department hosts the symposium “Wild Zones: Designing for Urban Wildlife at the Intersection of Landscape Architecture, Biology, and Public Policy,” organized by Prof. Conor O’Shea.
2021	The Landscape Architecture Renaissance Scholarship is inaugurated. Recognizing the holistic value for students of participation in sports, music, and interdisciplinary study, it encourages ongoing engagement in those activities as a sustaining part of university student life.
2021	Funded through earlier and ongoing gifts, the inaugural North Shore Garden Club Landscape Architecture Scholarship, F. R. Vogelgesang Landscape Architecture Scholarship, and Florence Bell Robinson Scholarship are awarded.
2021	The Department’s first MSUD degree is awarded to Mengdi Chi.
2021	The "Projects in Practice" series of talks by alumni practitioners is launched.
2022	The Department hosts the charrette "Center Connect" with professional team leaders Jessica Henson (OLIN), H. Nyunny Kim (MVVA), and Mary Anne Ocampo (Sasaki Associates).
2022	The Department hosts the symposium “The Aesthetics of Infrastructure/The Infrastructure of Aesthetics,” organized by Prof. Pollyanna Rhee.
2022	The James Martin Family Scholarship in Landscape Architecture—to be awarded annually based on a student planting design competition—is established. The inaugural scholarship is awarded to BLA student Eduardo Rodriguez.
2022	The Sofia T. Soudavanh Garden is established. Conceived as a memorial to BLA student Sofia Soudavanh, the garden is a "living lab" for plant identification and planting design courses.