Shaping students' learning landscapes

For Jessica Canfield, a career centered on landscape performance, student mentorship, international education and professional leadership has provided countless opportunities to explore how landscape architecture can shape healthier, more resilient and more meaningful communities.

That work has now earned Canfield, a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning in K‑State's College of Architecture, Planning & Design, a place in the 2026 Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects — one of the highest recognitions bestowed within the profession of landscape architecture.

Canfield's teaching focuses on landscape performance, conceptual site design and storytelling in public space design. Her studios emphasize applied learning and student-centered mentorship, often connecting students with real-world projects, interdisciplinary collaboration and professional practice opportunities.

Over the years, her students have earned numerous honors at local, regional and national levels.

Advancing landscape performance through research and practice

Canfield is nationally recognized for her scholarship in landscape performance and landscape architecture education. Her research has been supported through numerous internal and external grants, including fellowships from the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

She is co-author of the influential publication "Evaluating Landscape Performance: A Guidebook for Metrics and Methods Selection," a widely utilized resource within both academic and professional practice.

Her creative and professional work spans installations, exhibitions, public art collaborations and community-focused design initiatives.

Among her notable accomplishments are a garden installation at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival in France, participation in design collaborations with the Denver Art Museum and leadership in community tree-planting initiatives supported by the U.S. Forest Service.

"Jessica Canfield represents the very best of APDesign and Kansas State University," said Michael McClure, dean of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design. "Her work demonstrates how landscape architecture can shape healthier, more resilient, and more meaningful communities. Through her teaching, scholarship, and leadership, she has transformed the educational experiences of countless students while advancing the national conversation around landscape performance and public space design. This recognition from ASLA is incredibly well deserved, and our entire college is proud to celebrate this milestone with her."

Connecting students to a global profession

An internationally engaged educator, Canfield has led study tours and taught courses abroad, including programs in Italy through APDesign's longstanding international studies initiatives. Her leadership in global education has helped students gain broader cultural perspectives while deepening their understanding of landscape architecture's role in shaping communities worldwide.

Her work in education and the profession has also extended beyond K-State. Canfield has held numerous leadership roles within professional organizations, including service on the Prairie-Gateway ASLA Executive Committee, the Landscape Architecture Foundation Education Committee and leadership positions within the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. She currently serves as faculty advisor to the Kansas State University Student Chapter of ASLA and remains deeply involved in advocacy and recruitment efforts for the profession.

"Professor Canfield's impact reaches far beyond the classroom," said Huston Gibson, professor and department head for LARCP. "She is an extraordinary mentor, researcher, and advocate for landscape architecture education. Jessica consistently creates opportunities for students to engage deeply with design, research, and professional practice while fostering a culture of curiosity, empathy, and innovation. Her election to the ASLA Council of Fellows reflects decades of meaningful contributions to both the profession and our department."

Canfield's path to academia includes professional experience with nationally recognized firms including Ground, Inc., EDAW, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Martha Schwartz Partners. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Colorado State University.

At APDesign, Canfield also serves as director of International Programs, extending her work in education and global engagement across the college.

The ASLA Council of Fellows recognizes individuals whose careers have demonstrated exceptional leadership, influence, service and contributions to the profession and society. Canfield joins an elite class of landscape architects whose work has advanced design excellence, environmental stewardship, research and education across the nation. Fellows will be formally recognized during the 2026 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Los Angeles this September.

Canfield's recognition as an ASLA Fellow further reinforces APDesign's longstanding reputation for excellence in design education, research and professional leadership, while highlighting the growing national impact of Kansas State University's landscape architecture and planning programs.

Along with Canfield being honored are K-State alumni Celine Armstrong, '13, and James "Jamie" Fogle, '97.