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Robert S. Harris, FAIA to Continue as Director of Master of Landscape Architecture Programs
August 10, 2009, Los Angeles The University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture is pleased to announce that Rachel Berney, Ph.D., has been appointed Assistant Professor of Architecture effective fall 2009. The landscape tenure track faculty search committee reviewed a strong, diverse field of candidates prior to recommending Dr. Berney as an important addition to the School’s growing Master of Landscape Architecture Program. In addition, after an extensive search the School is pleased to announce that Emeritus Professor Robert S. Harris, FAIA will be continuing as director of the Master of Landscape Architecture Programs. Though many strong candidates were considered for the position, Professor Harris’s strong, ongoing leadership ensures the continual development of our growing landscape program, a smooth accreditation process and a steady effort in searching for the next director to extend the program’s trajectory for national and international leadership.
Professor Harris came to USC in 1981 and served as Dean of the School until 1992. From 1992 to 2004 he was Director of the Master of Architecture programs. His teaching and research at USC is in urban architecture and design. He has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, at the University of Oregon, where he also served as Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, and as the Visiting Andrew Mellon Professor at Carnegie-Mellon University. He has practiced architecture and urban design in Texas, Oregon and Los Angeles. Professor Harris is a former President of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and has been a member of the National Architectural Accrediting Board. He is active in professional and community organizations with special interests in urban design and historic preservation.
Dr. Berney has taught design studio and drawing, community design and planning, ecological and sustainable design and development, and urban design and planning policy in an international context. Her research interests include sustainable urban design and development, social and cultural factors in design, and community planning and university-community partnerships.
Her work has been exhibited in many municipalities and at the Oakland Museum of California. Her research has been presented at diverse conferences including those of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Her illustrations have appeared in a variety of publications, including Randolph T. Hester’s Design for Ecological Democracy (MIT Press, 2006), the Journal of Urban Design, and the City of Seattle’s Making Streets That Work.
Dr. Berney received a B.L.A. from the University of Washington and her M.C.P. and Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from the University of California at Berkeley.
The USC School of Architecture is located in the heart of Los Angeles, a singular laboratory in which to study and understand urban conditions and their architectural implications. With the appointment of Dean Qingyun Ma the School extends its global reach into new territories, launching new initiatives in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary discourses, strengthening ties in the community and around the world. Established in 1919, the USC School of Architecture was the first of its kind in Southern California. Educational offerings include architecture, landscape architecture, building science and historic preservation. Among its notable graduates are Conrad Buff III, Donald H. Hensman, Pierre Koenig, and two Pritzker Prize Laureates: Frank O. Gehry (1989) and Thom Mayne (2005).
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August 10, 2009
Jane A. Ilger ilger@usc.edu 213 740 2092