August 27, 2020
Professor Stephanie Rolley receives ASLA Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal
Kansas State University Professor Stephanie Rolley, department head for landscape architecture and regional & community planning, LARCP, in the College of Architecture Planning & Design, or APDesign, and a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, was awarded the prestigious Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The society created the award in 2000 to celebrate the outstanding life and career of Professor Jot D. Carpenter, also a society fellow and past president. Carpenter's position as professor of landscape architecture at Ohio State University was a formidable platform to showcase his honor, commitment and energy as an educator, leaving an indelible mark on landscape architecture education. This medal honors Rolley's contribution to education and the profession.
In his nomination letter, Kurt Culbertson, CEO of DesignWorkshop, noted, "I have met many of the Kansas State landscape architecture faculty and seen firsthand the impact of her leadership. I have hired many of her students. Like Stephanie, they are thoughtful, inquisitive, well-rounded and driven — qualities that radiate throughout the program. I knew Jot Carpenter and am certain that Stephanie is precisely the kind of person, he would want to honor for a lifetime of teaching. Her energy and the breadth of her involvement in the professional is remarkable."
The nomination was supported by leaders of the three landscape architecture organizations Rolley has led and served: the Landscape Architecture Foundation, the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board, and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.
Visualizing possibilities in communities and organizations shapes Rolley's contributions to landscape architecture. She works across scales and boundaries to connect people and ideas, shaping places and possibilities. Earning a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from K-State and a master's in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she practiced professionally before dedicating her career to teaching. As head of the landscape architecture and regional & community planning department at K-State, she is leading implementation of the first accredited nonbaccalaureate Master of Landscape Architecture degree.
Named a Most Admired Educators by DesignIntelligence three consecutive years, Rolley is committed to improving planning and design education through service and leadership. She served as president of the Landscape Architecture Foundation and led the American Society of Landscape Architects Council on Education and Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board. A fellow of the Council of Educators of Landscape Architecture, or CELA, Rolley has been honored with university and CELA awards for her academic leadership and received the national American Society of Landscape Architects' Outstanding Service Award.
Tim de Noble, dean of APDesign, fellow of the American Institute of Architects and supporter of the nomination, said, "Stephanie has proven to be a great leader, evidenced in her ability to build an amazingly strong esprit de corps in her department while wisely managing her personnel resources and capacities to great effect in teaching, research and service. Her continued involvement in the community and the profession, even as she takes on the challenges inherent in departmental leadership and her numerous national organizational leadership engagements, is rooted in her deep-seated belief in the transformative capacity of landscape architecture and the enriching path of landscape education. I cannot fathom a more worthy recipient of the ASLA Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal."