Campus Planning and Design PPN Members Respond to Second Annual Member Survey
The second annual survey of PPN members was conducted in February. In this series, we highlight information on PPN member activities based on survey responses. This week’s focus is on the Campus Planning and Design PPN.

Members of the Campus Planning and Design PPN work on college campuses, large and small. Some are university employees, while others work for private firms that may specialize in campus planning. Sustainability is an increasingly important issue in campus planning, as mentioned by several of the PPN’s survey respondents.

Peter F. Bemis, ASLA, recently accepted a teaching position at Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI, as the program lead and instructor for a new two-year degree program titled Landscape Horticulture. Bemis was formerly landscape architect for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In 2006, he received the Professional Grounds Management Society’s Grand Award for outstanding accomplishments and excellence in grounds management.

Gary A. Brown, FASLA, is director of campus planning and landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Having completed a new master plan in 2005, he is developing over 30 major projects on this Big 10 campus. One of the most challenging and rewarding of these projects, says Brown, is developing a sustainability initiative for the campus.

Robert Sabbatini, ASLA, is sole proprietor of the San Francisco-based firm Robert Sabbatini, AICP ASLA, specializing in campus planning and design. Current projects include planning at Mills College in Oakland, and at Stanford University. Sabbatini is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences. Recent presentations include "Campus Planning for Sustainability" at San Jose State University, and two presentations at the Society for College and University Planning National Conference: “Universities and Cities: Making Great Communities” and “Past Tense, Future Tense—Cultural Heritage and the Contemporary Campus.” Having been part of a large organization for over 25 years, Sabbatini is now sole practitioner in his own firm. Recent challenges are those associated with starting his own operation: securing work, networking, designing his website, and accounting.

Margaret Robertson, ASLA, is on the faculty at Lane Community College in Eugene, OR, where she also chairs the college’s Facilities Council. Last year’s accomplishments include the college's first Long-Range Strategic Campus Plan and a Sustainable Construction policy, mandating LEED silver minimum and no net environmental loss for all new construction or major renovations.

Susan M. Hatchell, FASLA, is principal of Susan Hatchell Landscape Architecture, PLLC. The firm, located in Raleigh, NC, does only public work, much of it on North Carolina campuses. Currently, the firm is handling several campus pedestrian projects. Asked about projects she finds particularly interesting or exciting, Hatchell’s response is “all of them!”

Peter V. Auyer, ASLA, of Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture in Syracuse, NY, is project manager for many planning projects, including K–12 schools and college campuses. The firm’s recent college planning focus, says Auyer, is an outgrowth of many years of K–12 school work. Auyer finds the Campus Planning and Design PPN to have been a helpful tool in his work because of the listserv discussions.

If you are a member of this PPN, please be sure to participate in next year’s survey! For more information on ASLA's PPNs, visit the PPN homepage at http://www.asla.org/members/ppn/home.htm or contact Rachel Shaw, ASLA's Coordinator of Professional Practice, at rshaw@asla.org.