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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Sources: Dennis Law, 785-532-5950, dela@k-state.edu;
and M. Duane Nellis, 785-532-6224, dnellis@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/lawbio.html
News release prepared by: Diane Potts, 785-532-1090, potts@k-state.edu

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

DENNIS LAW TO STEP DOWN AS DEAN OF K-STATE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND DESIGN IN AUGUST 2009

MANHATTAN -- Dennis L. Law, dean of the Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning and Design, will step down in August 2009 after 14 years in that post. He plans to return to full-time teaching for several years before retiring.

Law joined K-State's department of landscape architecture in 1974 as an instructor. He earned the rank of assistant professor in 1976, was named an associate professor in 1982 and was promoted to full professor in 1986. He became acting head of landscape architecture in 1988 and head in 1989, serving until 1993, when he returned to teaching. Law became dean in 1995.

"Serving the College of Architecture, Planning and Design has been a pleasure," Law said. "I am very proud of the progress we have made, and it is with mixed emotions that I step aside.

"However, I am extremely excited about my return to the classroom, my first and real passion, for a few years before retirement," Law said. "I sincerely appreciate the wide support I received as dean from the college's constituents and my colleagues."

"Dean Law has done an excellent job of leading this important college to new levels of success," said M. Duane Nellis, K-State provost and senior vice president. "His personable and student-centered approach has earned raves from students and appreciation from employers who hire them.

"Ninety-eight percent of the college's 2006-2007 bachelor's degree recipients were employed in their field of study within a few months of graduation," Nellis said. "Surveys conducted by Design Intelligence and the Almanac of Architecture and Design asked firms to name the schools that have provided them with the best employees in the last five years. K-State ranked eighth for interior architecture and design programs, first in landscape architecture, and eighth in architecture programs.

"This is due in large part to Dean Law's leadership and the support he has from his faculty, staff, alumni and students. The university appreciates his leadership not only in the college but also across the university."

Law received his bachelor's degree in park administration from Texas Tech University and his master's degree in landscape architecture from K-State in 1976.

During his tenure as dean Law worked diligently to supplement state funding, and the college's endowment increased fivefold. He established endowed chairs for each of the college's three departments. He also successfully lobbied for $6.2 million of "crumbling classroom" funds in the late 1990s to remodel the college's teaching facilities. The coming year will see additional improvements in the form of a new roof on Seaton Court.

In keeping with national trends, in 2006 Law led the college's transition to offering five-year master's degrees rather than bachelor's degrees. The college also developed a doctoral program in environmental design and planning.

A revitalized Kansas City Design Center, in partnership with the University of Kansas, now houses an interdisciplinary studio in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Funded by the William T. Kemper Foundation, the Hall Family Foundation and others, the center promotes opportunities for collaborative research, community service, professional development and public education.

Under Law's leadership, rankings of the college's academic programs have steadily risen and the number of the college's students who participate in study abroad programs has doubled. The diversity of the college's faculty and students continues to grow, the ACT/SAT scores of incoming freshmen continue to rise, and DesignExpo, the college's annual career fair, is among the largest in the U.S.

Law has traveled extensively to meet with alumni, to recruit the best students and to connect with businesses and individuals. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius chose Law to be part of a trade mission to China in 2005 and to Mexico in 2007.

On a national level, Law was among the academic leaders profiled in the October 2004 edition of Landscape Architecture magazine. In 2005, Law was included in an elite group of U.S. educators who were noted for connecting the practice of architecture with higher education. In 2003 he received the outstanding administrator award from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

Named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1999, Law has received several society honors, including the Prairie Gateway chapter's merit award and the Michigan chapter's honor award for outstanding professional achievement.

Law's landscape design projects include parks, residences, landscape development and plazas. He also is an expert in environmental ethics, tropical rain forests and reclamation of disturbed lands.