By John Koepke, head

May we live in interesting times." This old proverb, reportedly of Chinese origin, is an apt description of the past year in the Department of Landscape Architecture. It has been an exciting whirlwind of activities and events, from hosting the second momentum-building all-class reunion and participating in the National American Society of Landscape Architects national conference in October, to launching a strategic planning effort and cycling through the gigantic task of forming a new interdisciplinary college for most of the rest of the year. Not to mention teaching our students and participating in several innovative research and scholarship endeavors.

Now that you have a flavor of the context, let me give you a brief update on landscape architecture's strategic planning efforts. We have been busiest working on strategies to increase the visibility of the department within and outside the University and have already made some important inroads (see below). At the same time we have undertaken efforts to continue improving both our undergraduate and graduate curriculum, as well as strengthening our financial base to better support our teaching, research, and students.

Perhaps the most engaging idea that has emerged from the faculty's strategic planning discussions is the decision to launch a new departmental initiative, "Understanding Global Climate Change." Over the next year, faculty and students will begin to educate themselves about this critical issue to determine what role our department and profession might play in preparing for the impacts of climate change on our communities and region. We would like to invite the professional community to be involved in this effort. If you are interested in helping to formulate this initiative, please contact me by e-mail at koepk002@umn.edu or 612-625-6068.

Dean Tom Fisher and I have begun the planning to cohost a joint administrators conference of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) and American Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) in November 2007 in Minneapolis on this very topic. The conference is titled "Preparing for the Inconvenient Truth," and we plan to open some sessions to the public. Please look for more information about this conference on the College of Design Web site.

We have begun discussions with a small group of alumni about connecting with our constituents. We are grateful for their time and talents. Not only did this alumni group help plan the alumni reunion last fall, but they also developed the concept of "Connect and Communicate." The first effort will be to launch a biannual newsletter from the landscape architecture department that will feature updates on departmental activities as well as profiles of alumni, students, and faculty. We are very enthusiastic about this idea and look forward to developing the inaugural issue for release next September.

We would like to determine if the newsletter should be published electronically, perhaps bundled with MASLA's popular Scape publication, or on good old-fashioned 100 percent recycled paper. Please e-mail me at koepk002@umn.edu and let us know what you think would be the most effective format for receiving departmental news.

Faculty Projects

David Pitt, professor of landscape architecture, is on sabbatical leave for the 2007 calendar year as a visiting scholar at Wageningen University and Research Center in Wageningen, the Netherlands. He is working on a research project called Green Blue Networks: Coordination and Design Guidelines for Achieving Sustainable Nature and Recreation Networks. This project aims to create landscape patterns that simultaneously produce high quality outdoor recreational experiences and ecosystem services (such as biological diversity and water quality) in the Dutch environment. Pitt's work focuses on how restoring heath landscapes and wet forest communities in Dwingelderveld National Park affects visitor perceptions and behavior. He will also offer a graduate course focusing on theories and strategies for integrating biocentric and anthropocentric value systems into regional land-use planning.

Kristine Miller continues to work with community organizations in Minneapolis on urban design issues. She is also planning a sabbatical leave to finish work on her upcoming book.

Laura Musacchio is emphasizing interdisciplinary research projects on ecological and cultural sustainability. She is working with Nick Jordan (agronomy and plant genetics) and Linda Meschke (Rural Advantage) to develop alternative futures for biofuels, biodiversity, and agritourism in the Madelia area. Their report will be released in spring 2007. In addition, Musacchio has been invited to present her research about the regreening metropolitan landscapes at the Iowa Shade Tree Conference in Ames.