Larsen appointed director of the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning

January 16, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kristin Larsen, associate professor of urban and regional planning, has been appointed director of the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning’s School of Landscape Architecture and Planning.

Larsen began the position Jan. 2 after serving as chair of the department of urban and regional planning for two years. In her 12-year tenure at UF, Larsen has achieved several scholarly milestones including being named outstanding teacher of the year five times and conducting major research initiatives in historic preservation, housing policy and urban and planning history. While chair, she spearheaded development of the first graduate on-line planning program in the country. Larsen’s areas of expertise include affordable housing, community development, community planning, social equity, growth management, historic preservation, housing studies and planning history.

“Dr. Larsen’s appointment takes us another large step toward creating an integrated unit that allows our esteemed Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning programs to support their shared academic and professional missions,” College of Design, Construction and Planning Dean Christopher Silver said.

The school was formed through a merger of the departments of landscape architecture and urban and regional planning in 2008. While both of the departmental units retained their individual identities under the school organization, there have been a series of important collaborative initiatives in recent years, including joint studios, shared staff, joint research projects, increased coordination and collaboration between the respective professional advisory groups, more students taking courses from both disciplines and development of a proposed master’s program, the Master of Environmental Analysis and Design. The degree will draw its courses from both disciplines and offer a unique blend of the skills and perspectives of these mutually supportive professional fields.

An interim chair for the department of urban and regional planning will be appointed pending a formal search process for a permanent chair later this year.