The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Academy of Fellows inducted four members during the 2023 CELA Conference, Align | Realign Friday, March 17, 2023, in San Antonio, TX. The CELA Academy of Fellows welcomed Professors Sadık C. Artunç , Robert Corry, Robert Ryan, and Roxi Thoren to its membership. They were inducted by Terry Clements, FCELA, the Chair of the CELA Academy of Fellows.
The Academy of Fellows recognizes outstanding landscape architecture educators who advance the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s mission. Membership in the Academy of Fellows represents the highest level of achievement within the CELA membership and honors a faculty member’s accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and/or creative activity, and service.
Sadık C. Artunç, FASLA, has been Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University (MSU) since 2007. Prior to his tenure at MSU, he taught in the School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1981 until 2007. Sadık has dedicated his academic career to educating students and to serving as an advocate for the profession
and education of professionals.
Sadık Artunç has provided exemplary service to CELA. He has been an active member since 1987. Most recently, he served as the President-elect, President, and Past-President of the CELA. During his three-year service which has been impacted by COVID, the annual conference was canceled in 2020, and the first-ever virtual annual conference was held in 2021. The conference attracted national and international participants. He was also hands-on for the 2022 conference which was the first hybrid conference (face-to-face and virtual). Also, during his term, the CELA Board of Directors enacted and endowed the Charles Fountain Scholarship for minority students studying landscape architecture. In addition to these contributions, he has invested in CELA as a
Department Head participant, presenter and reviewer. He encourages his faculty and graduate students to be active participants in CELA
Dr. Robert Corry has dedicated his career to studying how scholarly evidence can be used to inform landscape architectural research and practice. He co-pioneered the term Evidence-Based Landscape Architecture (EBLA) and his papers on the topic have been widely cited by other scholars. Within the context of EBLA, he has also provided deep insight into how the ecological
characteristics of landscapes can be interpreted, measured, and applied to design so as to create ecologically sustainable landscapes. He is the 16th most-cited landscape architecture researcher in North America and the 2nd most-cited in Canada. He is an outstanding teacher and mentor. He introduces his students to evidence-based design in his studio teaching, and works closely
with his thesis advisees, many of whom co-author peer-reviewed articles with him. He brought Sigma Lambda Alpha to the University of Guelph and remains the Chapter Advisor of the only chapter outside the US. Recently Rob took on a very important and challenging role as the Chair of the CELA Task Force that charted the future of CELA’s flagship publication – Landscape Journal. His wisdom and integrity resulted in a very successful outcome that has ‘righted the ship’ and set the journal on a very positive trajectory. He also took on the important role as Interim Editor until a new Editor was named. He has received numerous honours and awards from a range of professional organizations including CELA, ASLA, and most recently the Ontario Association of Landscape Architecture Research and Innovation Award. Rob is a well-rounded scholar who has contributed substantially both to the professional-programs at the University of Guelph and the profession of landscape architecture. We think he has earned the honour of becoming Fellow of CELA
His research excellence has twice been recognized by CELA, first with the CELA Award of Recognition of Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service in 2006 followed by the CELA Award of Excellence in Research and Creative works in 2011. He also collaborated on research that received the ASLA President’s Award of Excellence in 1999. Rob is a true scholar who highly values ethical
research and is a major contributor to the scholarly foundations of landscape architecture
Dr. Robert Ryan has excelled at research, service, and teaching during his 26-year academic career at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He was inducted as Fellow of the ASLA in 2013 for his contributions in Knowledge. His research has bridged the divide between environmental psychology and landscape architecture including his co-authorship with Stephen and Rachel
Kaplan of the seminal book “With People in Mind – Design and Management of Everyday Nature” (1998). He has published over 30 peer reviewed journal articles, along with numerous book chapters. Notably, Professor Ryan often co-authors peer reviewed articles with MLA and PhD students. Professor Ryan is clearly a leader in, and advocate for, research in landscape architecture.
Robert Ryan’s service portfolio has been outstanding. During his tenure as Department Chair he has increased diversity within the faculty and strengthened ties to alumni. Robert has been instrumental in organizing and publishing all seven Proceedings of the Fábos Conferences. During his time as Chair of the EDRA Board he worked closely with CELA and Pat Taylor to help
with the leadership transition for both organizations. He also served on the ASLA Sustainability Sites Human Health and Well-Being Technical Subcommittee.
Robert Ryan’s service record is outstanding including terms as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning and a central role in organizing and publishing the proceedings of the Fábos Conferences. During his time as Chair of the EDRA Board he worked closely with CELA and Pat Taylor to help with the leadership transition for both organizations. Through his career he has contributed significantly to the mission of CELA.
Roxi Thoren is a Professor and Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Stuckeman Chair of Integrated Design at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), State College, Pennsylvania. For over 20 years, she has made outstanding contributions to advancing landscape architecture education and the profession. Thoren received a Master of Landscape
Architecture from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 2002, a Master of Architecture from UVA in 2001, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She also taught in the University of Oregon (UO) landscape architecture program for 17 years, where she served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (2015-2018), Department Head of Landscape Architecture (2018-2021), Director of the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes (2011-2021), Program Manager of the Overlook Field School (2012-2016) and Director of the Architecture in Rome program (2010-2011).
Thoren has provided extraordinary service to the LAAB. She is the LAAB Chair-Elect for 2023, and she currently serves as secretary to the LAAB. She has served as The CELA representative to LAAB. She has also served on LAAB’s Standards and Procedures Committee, where she worked to include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion comprehensively throughout the Standards and
implement major curricular standard overviews to align with current and emergent trends in the profession. Thoren receives frequent requests for peer review: external reviews for promotion and tenure, book proposals, manuscripts, and journal article peer reviews