Celebrating 100 years of Landscape Architecture at the University
By Bob Grese
Ann Arbor legend Shaky Jake liked to say that he was "On the move!" That might be an appropriate theme for the hundred year history of the landscape architecture program at the University of Michigan. We hit the ground running when the Regents approved the Master of Landscape Design degree (MLD) in November of 1909 and have been moving ever since. Our first home was in the College of Literature, Science, and Arts. Noted Chicago landscape gardener Ossian Cole Simonds was hired as a non-resident lecturer in 1908 for an initial series of five lectures in landscape design. In October of 1909, Aubrey Tealdi was hired as the first full-time instructor and a month later submitted a proposed curriculum to the Board of Regents. A short time later, Teadi and Simonds were joined by professors Harlow O. Whittemore and George C. Cone. The rest, like they say, is history....
Some 30 years after its founding, the department transferred to the College of Architecture, added an undergraduate program (BSLA) and changed the name to "Landscape Architecture." In the early 1940s, a PhD in Landscape Architecture was also added, the first and for many decades the only such program in the country. By 1965, the department was again on the move, transferring to the School of Natural Resources (the words "and Environment" would be added in 1992). A short time later, the undergraduate program was phased out (1967), and the program has continued with an emphasis on graduate studies.
Despite all the moving around, some things about our program have never wavered, never changed. The initial MLD curriculum included a broad grounding in the natural sciences (botany, geology, zoology, and forestry) in addition to a rigorous series of design studios, drawing and engineering courses. Our current program is firmly rooted in the interdisciplinary atmosphere of SNRE with its unique strengths in social and natural sciences and in design and planning. For nearly a hundred years, we have continued to produce graduates who use their technical skills and their artistic and ecological sensitivities to both lead and challenge the profession of landscape architecture as we strive for a more sustainable future.
