Galen Newman, Candidate for CELA First Vice President/President-Elect
BRIEF BIO AND QUALIFICATIONS Dr. Galen Newman joined the faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in 2011. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Design, a Master of Landscape Architecture, a Master of Community Planning, and a PhD in Planning, Design and the Built Environment. Prior to becoming faculty at TAMU, Dr. Newman worked a design office in Columbus, Georgia entitled Gullatte and Associates. He was also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Clemson University for a year. His research experience and background focus on urban regeneration and community resilience. Within these foci, Dr. Newman crosses interdisciplinary fields in land use science, spatial analytics, landscape performance, and urban design. At TAMU, he serves multiple administrative capacities including roles as Associate Department Head, Coordinator of the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Program, Director of the Center for Housing and Urban Development, and the Youngblood Endowed Professor in Residential Land Development. He is also former Associate Director of the TAMU Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center and Community Resilience Lead for the Institute for Sustainable Communities. Each of these positions has helped prime Dr. Newman for leadership roles in other administrative capacities.
Dr. Newman has also received several individual awards, including a 2019-2020 Most Admired Educator Award from Design Intelligence and an Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award from CELA. He has been a part of 50 peer reviewed articles (accepted or published), 2 book chapters, co-author of 1 Book accepted and forthcoming in 2020, 7 peer reviewed conference proceedings, and nearly 100 published conference abstracts/presentations. Funding wise, he has been involved over 30 grants – 13 external and 18 internal – and numerous service-learning projects. In total, this funding has resulted in around 30 million dollars. Dr. Newman’s research was rewarded at the university level through being only 1 of 5 TAMU faculty selected as a TAMU Inaugural Arts & Humanities Fellow and at the professional level through receiving the 2016-2017 CELA/CLASS Fund Research Award. He has won the Outstanding Mentor Award for his work with graduate students at TAMU as well as being selected as a TAMU Service Learning Faculty Fellow for his work in building flood capacities in local communities. His presentation at the ESRI GeoDesign Summit won the Lightning Talk Award and his work has been cited in many media outlets including The Atlantic and Forbes Magazine. Student work from his studio projects have won 3 National Awards from the American Society of Landscape Architecture, 1 National Student Design Award from CELA, 21 State Level Design Awards from the American Society of Landscape Architecture, Texas Chapter (TX-ASLA), 2 State Chapter of the American Planning Association (TX and PA) Student Planning Awards, and a series of local and regional level awards. His own design and research capabilities from separate projects were also rewarded with a 2014 Tri-State Professional Design Award by the ASLA – North Carolina Chapter and a TX-ASLA Research Merit Award.
PREVIOUS SERVICE AND VISION FOR CELA My participation in CELA traces back to 2010 when I first presented my research at the CELA annual conference. CELA is actually the first peer reviewed conference I presented at as first author. Since, I have attended CELA annually and continually enjoy intellectual exchanges and conversations with CELA members. Since 2012, I have been involved in CELA administrative roles, serving as the chair of the Landscape Planning and Ecology track for four years, before taking a position as the CELA Vice President for Research (VPR) and Creative Scholarship, a role in which I currently serve. Serving as track chair provided me with critical insight into the CELA research mission, inner workings, and future desired direction. These insights were further broadened through service as the VPR from 2018 and I have developed a cohesive and supporting working relationship with many members of the CELA board. As VPR, I have continued to update the Conference Track System, managed the OpenConf abstract submission system, led the implementation of 3 new tracks, guided a series of new track chairs, and have begun the process for developing a tracking system to monitor track chair terms and times, all on top of the other myriad of other normal duties conducted by the VPR. Under my term as VPR, CELA will launch a special issue for its 100th anniversary, with Landscape Journal and Landscape Research Record. I have learned a great deal about the process, needs, and strengths of CELA through working my way through multiple administrative roles; this will serve me well if I am selected to move forward as future president.
My vision for CELA is to enhance the organization’s capacity in advancing research related to climate change, promoting social inclusion and diversity, and identifying and addressing issues related to faculty/student recruitment and retention. My Objectives to achieve this include 1) to assist CELA in growing its national and international reputation, 2) to strengthen CELA’s relationship and interoperations with professionals and related organizations such as LAF and ASLA, 3) to update the CELA track structure to conform to changing societal and professional needs, 4)to increase its capacities and farther the charge for CELA becoming an icon for sustainable practices, 4) to monitor and assess the potential effects of landscape architecture finally becoming a to a STEM designated program, and 5) to continue to support CELA’s services to its members. The previous CELA Strategic Plan (a new plan is currently in development) articulates four key goals: research, faculty support, and curriculum/student body and community outreach/stakeholder relationships. If elected, I plan to integrate my vision thought the implementation of tasks and activities to help achieve these four goals, such as increasing the quality of CELA related peer reviewed conference publications, continuing the profess of reinforcing the quality and process of peer review involved with Landscape Journal, updating the CELA track system, and better connecting landscape architecture education with professional needs while reflecting this connection through the CELA structure. It has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve CELA. I look forward to the opportunity and welcome the challenge to contribute to CELA’s mission through further development of existing projects and the support for new initiatives. It will be a tremendous honor to continue working with and for the membership.