Policy Shapers Interview: Robert Weygand, FASLA

ASLA's Public Practice Advisory Committee's "Policy Shapers" Series spotlights landscape architects who are active in shaping public policy. Jason S. Hellendrung, ASLA, interviewed the Hon. Robert Weygand, FASLA, for this article.

What is your field of practice in landscape architecture, and what is the journey you have taken to get to where you are?
                                                                                    
My start was in public practice, then moved to private practice, before moving to a range of roles in public administration, including my current position as Vice President of Administration at the University of Rhode Island.

Why did you decide to become a landscape architect, and how did that influence you attaining your current position?

I have what I would characterize as a nontraditional background. First, I didn't major in landscape architecture in college, partially because I didn't really know what it was at the time, and it wasn't offered at the University of Rhode Island when I was attending. I received a dual degree in civil and environmental engineering and theater design. After I graduated, my first job was with the State Department of Natural Resources (which would later become the Department of Environmental Management.) I worked as a drafter for the design of public parks—it was at that time that I realized I had an interest in the profession. I went through a period of self-study to gather more knowledge about the profession while spending four years working with public agencies in the state, followed by a year with the City of East Providence working on their comprehensive plan to redevelop the city's waterfront. I then took the national exam, the CLARB exam, and became registered—I used to spend time in Swan Point Cemetery (in Providence) studying the trees (to prepare).

After getting licensed, I went to work with a private firm, spending four years there, working largely on urban parks and redevelopment projects and larger recreational areas. After this period, I started my own office, still focusing on public projects but also large-scale commercial developments for private developers. The mix of the work was probably 50/50 public/private, with a lot of parks making up the public projects. After a few years, I felt like I was losing projects to some of the larger firms, so I decided to expand and partnered with two other professionals—an architect and an architect/landscape architect—and continued the practice for several more years. Our work was a little broader, including some residential, commercial, public, and even some regulatory work.

What projects, programs, and community groups do you serve?

Around the time I was starting my office, I began to get more engaged with public-related work. In 1978, I was appointed to the East Providence Planning Board. There, we developed new statutes on land use and planned development for the city. Then I ran for State Representative in 1984 and was one of the few landscape architects to hold an elected office in the country. Back then, no one understood what I did—they thought I cut grass and planted trees. But I had a key position to write and pass legislation, lead efforts to write and rewrite the zoning and comprehensive plan requirements for the state, and make the state one of the leaders in the country. We wrote some really amazing environmental legislation, including aquifer protection, water supply planning, subdivision law, and laws on historic preservation, and we put a moratorium on billboards. I was in a really unique position where I could change law.

In 1992, I ran for and became Lieutenant Governor, whose role is also to serve as President of the State Senate. I was the first landscape architect to hold a state-elected office. During my period as Lieutenant Governor, we passed some terrific legislation to help small businesses, protect wetlands, and fund programs for early childhood development. During this period, I wasn't practicing landscape architecture, but I was practicing to create new laws, statutes, and policies that impact the profession. Then, in 1996, I was elected to Congress and again became the first landscape architect in the United States elected to Congress. Throughout this period, I did have involvement with outreach efforts of ASLA. There was legislation associated with ASLA interests, like environmental protection and funding for parks. We did have legislation that would have pushed money to the public realm, parks, and waterfronts. With the reauthorization of the transportation bill, this required a lot of work to get passed. Getting approval for reauthorization ultimately required removal of the enhancement money, and it was stripped from the bill.

I was in Congress from 1996 to 2001, but ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and lost. In 2001, I became president of the Board of New England Higher Education, which is a collaboration of public and private colleges in New England. During this time, I remained involved with ASLA on the Government Affairs Committee for a period. Finally, in 2004, I became Vice President of Administration for the University of Rhode Island. In my role, I am the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the university.

What are some examples of how your work influences the community (and/or its natural systems)?

I really enjoyed and am very proud of some of the design work that I did for the community—the parks, recreational facilities, and campus work. I did work for the redevelopment of Benefit Street in Providence, along with Roger Williams Park Zoo, and the redevelopment of Atwells Avenue in Providence. The community recreational facilities were very rewarding. And the historic parks—Roger Williams Park Zoo—there was a great deal of research that went into the renovation, restoration, and design of the zoo.

The other aspects—the legislation, planning, zoning, historic preservation, and the efforts associated with highways to limit billboards—I'm so proud of that because it is going to have such a longer impact than some of the design projects. Those efforts are so far-reaching. Too often, we only appreciate how we design aesthetically—there needs to be a greater respect for landscape architects that provide qualitative benefits to society, like limiting harmful impacts to the environment. We take those qualitative benefits for granted, and they aren't appreciated enough.

What are your goals for the University of Rhode Island, and what would you like to accomplish?

The university is my alma mater, and I live nearby in the community, so it meant a lot to me to come back, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be coming home. With everything that I am doing with the university, I am asking myself, "What can I do to make the university a better place?" I am really focused on improving the physical environment of the campus. Over the years, the campus has grown, but the quality of the landscape has not kept up. We didn't have a strong plan in place, so over the past five or six years, we have now developed a good master plan.

In my position, I oversee all physical development—both renovations and capital improvements. We have a roughly $500 million annual budget with approximately $50 to $60 million in construction taking place. We are now making decisions that are not just shaping the campus today but are shaping the campus that will be used by students in many years to come. One of the first things that we did was create an Office of Capital Planning and Design. We now have a campus architect, landscape architect, and site planner working to manage these projects. We have updated the master plan to best guide future development.

We have been working very hard to renovate the campus facilities and add new construction to meet the needs of the university community. This has included $90 million to construct new residence halls, $22 million for a new dining facility, $75 million for a new College of Pharmacy, $55 million for a new Biotechnology Center, and a new $15 million Marine Sciences Library and Oceanographic (InnerSpace) Center at the Narragansett Bay campus. At the Narragansett Bay campus, our new InnerSpace Lab will connect to all of the elementary schools in the state and researchers throughout the world in real time. We've spent $20 million renovating older academic buildings, including Independence Hall and Lippitt Hall. We're initiating a new University Research Park and Research Foundation. And we're adding more retail to support the university community.

In the future, we have a new Chemistry Building and Nursing Building planned, along with proposals to restore and create new landscape spaces, a study for a new Wellness Center, as well as expansion of our athletic facilities.

With all of these projects going on, I have dedicated nearly half of my time to reviewing campus projects. We've instilled a new attitude on campus about what we want, what we should be, and how to get there.

In general, what has been the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Definitely the legislation—that will have such a longer impact than the design work. But also the work on campus—there is the immediate impact, and we will have a long-term impact in shaping the learning environment for the university that will be experienced by many students in the future. We are making the university a first-class institution.
                                      
What guidance or other sources of information would you share with other landscape architects who are looking to bring positive change in the public realm? What are the issues you see developing within the industry that landscape architects need to address?