Honors and Recognitions

Planning Students Win National Award

A 17-member student team from the University at Albany’s Graduate Planning Program has won the 2003 American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) National Student Project Award for the “Contribution of Planning to Contemporary Issues.” This is one of the two student project awards granted each year by the AICP. The competition is open to student teams from over 70 accredited planning programs in the United States and Canada, and the award was formally presented at the American Planning Association’s Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado on March 31st 2003.

The Award was granted to the Fall 2001 Planning Studio Planning and Design Recommendations for the West Side Neighborhood, Saratoga Springs, New York. The final report of this project is a 150-page, highly-illustrated volume providing a great deal of background on the neighborhood and making detailed policy recommendations and design proposals for land use and zoning, gateways and connections, urban design, housing, and the revitalization of Beekman Street as a neighborhood commercial corridor. The report was prepared by the student team as a capstone project for their Masters (MRP) in Urban and Regional Planning. Their work was advised by Professor Cliff Ellis, AICP, and closely coordinated with the West Side Neighborhood Association and the City of Saratoga Springs Office of Community Development. The full report is posted on the web at: http://www.saratoga-springs.org/westsideplan.htm

In his letter of support for the national award nomination, Mayor Kenneth Klotz wrote:

The University at Albany Planning Studio was thorough in its study analysis, sensitive to neighborhood input and participation, and presented a professional-quality document that reflects a high level of expertise and commitment by the students. This study document, supported by the West Side residents, will provide the City with a valuable resource for future investment in this area. Furthermore, I believe this process and study will serve as a guide for similar analyses in other City neighborhoods in the future.

Albany’s MRP is a 48-credit professional program established in 1982 and located in the Department of Geography and Planning. It has about 230 graduates, over 90 percent of whom work as professional planners with consulting firms, non-profit and advocacy groups, or federal, state and local governments.

Each year the program undertakes one or two studio projects with communities in and around the Capital Region. The studios are team planning projects, prepared for the community and including several public consultation sessions and thorough review by local stakeholders. Several previous studio projects have won awards from the Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association, but this is the first time the program has won a major national award. The studio projects are an integral part of professional planning education at Albany, serving as both experiential learning and community service. Graduate planning students are also required to do internships with local planning agencies and to link theory and practice throughout their coursework.

APA Award Announcement

Great News! Our Fall 2001 Graduate Planning Studio Project "Planning and Design Recommendations for the West Side Neighborhood of Saratoga Springs, NY" has won one of the two national "best student project awards" granted by the American Institute of Certified Planners. This is a "first" for Albany. The competition is open to over 70 accredited planning programs and the winners are usually very well established large programs.

Our winning Saratoga Springs project will be featured in the March Issue of Planning Magazine. The Award will be formally presented at the American Planning Association's National Conference in Denver on Monday March 31st.

The project document is a highly illustrated 130-page report. Some of the recommendations are already being implemented by the City of Saratoga Springs.

Hearty congratulations to the 17-member student team which prepared the report under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Cliff Ellis! The full list of team members follows:

Ruchi Agarwal
Hannah Blake
Chris Eastman
Todd Gardner
Nadine Hardy
Jim Horton
Ken Kovalchik
Chris Leo
Rob Leslie
Kate Maynard
Aruna Reddy
Lori A. Shirley
Yilun Tseng
Dehui Wei
J-D Wood
Blaine Yatabe
Yongzhen Zhang

They have set a high standard for future generations to follow!

Pipkin Named Collins Fellow

"This year’s Collins Fellow is known for his indefatigable service across the entire spectrum of university activities, and for his singular devotion to our students. Join me in congratulating and thanking John Pipkin, Professor of Geography and Planning…this year’s Collins Fellow," President’s Spring Report to the Faculty, May 9, 2001.

John Pipkin has spent his whole professional career at the University at Albany. He joined our faculty as an Assistant Professor on completion of his PhD at Northwestern University in 1974. He was granted tenure and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1981, and he was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1996. He served as Chair of the Department of Geography and Planning from 1983 to 1986, and as Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1995 to 1999. He has co-authored two books, co-edited two more books, and authored a wide range of articles in refereed journals, book chapters, reports and reviews. He has received the President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Service (1987), the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1994), the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1994), and various other awards.

Department of Geography and Planning
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