The Faculty And Their Works

Georgia enjoys the largest full-time landscape architectural faculty in the United States. It may be the country's most productive landscape architectural research faculty. We are proud of our faculty who number five Fellows of ASLA, three recipients of ASLA's Bradford Williams Medal, and nine recipients of teaching awards from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), three of which are the Outstanding Educator Award, North America's highest award for career contributions to teaching and research in landscape archtecture. Together, the faculty represent a complete array of specializations in landscape architecture; some individuals are considered the dominant authorities in their fields.

Mary Anne Akers, Associate Professor, coordinates community-based revitalization of depressed urban areas, while teaching city planning, environment and behavior, and community development. She is author of numerous research publications and serves as a consultant to community groups. BA and MA, University of the Philippines; Ph.D. in urban planning and community organization, Michigan State.

Wayde Brown, Assistant Professor, has worked in architectural offices in Canada and Lesotho (Africa), and for public preservation agencies including Parks Canada and the Nova Scotia Museum. Wayde is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, a former Vice-President of the Association for Preservation Technology, and a former Board member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites / Canada. In 1998 he was elected a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in the U.K. Research interests include early preservation projects in North America, especially historic re-constructions, and twentieth-century heritage. He has lectured on these and other research projects throughout Canada, in the United States, Britain and Australia.

José Buitrago, Assistant Professor of landscape architecture. Professor Buitrago has had extensive work experience in Hurricaine restoration in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA, for several hotels and resorts. Field knowledge in Hispanic-Caribbean Landscape Architecture history, economy, ecology, cultures and traditions. Concentrated in researching the topic of heritage tourism and its impact in the development of the infrastructure of the US Island of Puerto Rico; he has a BS in landscape architecture from Penn State, and an MLA from Harvard.

Ashley Calabria, Assistant Professor of landscape architecture.  Professor Calabria has taught computer graphics for over 10 years and also teaches traditional graphic communication and portfolio development.  Her research focus is on shifts in graphic techniques within the profession and the impact that computer applications have on traditional means of graphic representation.  She holds a BS in environmental science from The University of North Carolina-Asheville and an MLA from The University of Georgia.

Shelley Cannady, Assistant Professor, teaches studio courses in design, construction, and computer graphics. She has 8 years of private practice in landscape planning and design and manages a family horse farm and vineyard in North Georgia. Many years spent abroad have fostered her interest in cultural and historical expression in the landscape and in classical garden styles. Her reserach focuses on Japanese aesthetics and design principles and on the Russian/former Soviet historical use of public space. BA - Indiana University, MLA - University of Georgia, and graduate studies at Indiana University Russian & East European Institute.


Pratt Cassity is Director of Public Service and Outreach in the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia. At the School of Environmental Design, Mr. Cassity teaches graduate courses in Historic Preservation and Landscape Architecture and supervises thesis research. He works extensively on public service programs in preservation and community planning in the United States, Eastern Europe and West Africa. He has provided leadership for seven Your Town: Designing Its Future Workshops throughout the southeast as well as numerous community design charrettes within Georgia. He lectures annually at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation Leadership Training and the Academia Istropolitano Nova in Slovakia. His office provides assistance to state agencies regarding community planning, design review, DNR's Certified Local Government Program, and DCA's Better Hometown Program. He served as Executive Director of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions for 12 years and now serves as Executive Advisor to the National Alliance.

Mr. Cassity holds a B.S. in Horticulture from Mississippi State University and a M.S. in Public and Urban Affairs from Georgia State University and a Certificate in the Conservation from the Institute for Advanced Architectural Studies in York, England.


Gregg A. Coyle, Associate professor and Director of Resident Instruction for the BLA program also serves as the Internship Program Coordinator and the Chair of the Scholarship Committee in the school.  Prof. Coyle primarily teaches graphic communication and plant materials at the graduate and undergraduate level.  He was named the campus landscape architect for UGA Costa Rica in 2001 by the Associate Provost for International Affairs and has been designing and overseeing the construction of the Costa Rica campus from the land acquisition to the present Phase V completion.  Prof. Coyle was nominated to the Senior Teaching Fellows in 2007 and is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy. He is a co-editor of the Handbook of Landscape Architectural Construction series for the Landscape Architecture Foundation and the contributor of a chapter in the recent publication of Porous Pavements by Professor Bruce Ferguson.

Marianne Cramer, Associate Professor, was for 15 years the chief planner for the management and rehabilitation of New York City's Central Park. She established the park's central design office, where she oversaw the reconstruction of the park's historic Mall and Harlem Meer, and initiated the restoration of the park's 130 acres of woodlands. Her Rebuilding Central Park: A Management and Restoration Plan continues to guide the park's $200 million dollar rebuilding program. She now teaches urban design and landscape management. BA Thiel, MLA Georgia.

John F. Crowley III, Professor, is an urban planner and designer who has overseen major development institutions for 25 years. He has served as a Chief Planner for a State Parks system, Executive Director of a major Metropolitan Planning Commission, Vice President for Development for a large Development Corporation, and Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He teaches urban design, planning, and land development. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. BA, MRCP, and Ph.D. in urban geography, University of Oklahoma.
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Brad Davis, Assistant Professor, is licensed in the state of Tennessee and has lived and practiced across the southeast designing residential estates, commercial sites, and public urban spaces. He teaches undergraduate courses in plant materials, planting design, and site engineering. His research areas include therapeutic gardens, planting design in various contexts, and the cultural landscapes of rural Appalachia. BS Biology, East Tennessee State University. MLA Louisiana State University.

Joseph Disponzio, Associate Professor, research interests focus on the origins and history of landscape architecture and on the meaning and implications of human intervention in the landscape. His professional and academic background leads to an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and practice of landscape architecture. His particular area of concentration is garden design theory of the 18th and 19th centuries and contemporary landscape practice. He is an authority of the French interpretation of the English gardening tradition.

Bruce K. Ferguson, Franklin Professor of Landscape Architecture, teaches urban design and landscape construction. He practices landscape architecture nationally, in projects applying new technologies to solve demanding urban and environmental problems. His most recent book is Porous Pavements. He is a Fellow of ASLA and a recipient of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture's Outstanding Educator Award. BA Dartmouth, MLA Pennsylvania.

Andrew Fox, Assistant Professor, teaches studio courses in landscape architecture, urban design, and site construction.  Andrew has provided project management, design and construction administration services throughout the United States, including the Pacific Northwest, Gulf Coast and Great Lakes regions.  He has been involved with numerous award-winning projects ranging in scope from city-wide transportation & urban design initiatives to small-scale public parks and school sites.  His interests include the development of educational environments, integration of low impact development strategies, context sensitive solutions at all scales, and the art of construction detailing and implementation.  BGS University of Michigan, MLA Louisiana State University.

Georgia Harrison, Assistant Professor, has practiced landscape architecture in the southeast for 19 years within a variety of sectors, including institutional, commercial and residential. Prior to coming to UGA, she taught in Clemson University's Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture for three years. She teaches courses in design, engineering, construction, graphics and planting design. She is focusing her research on the work of landscape architectural modernists in the southeast, including a study of Robert Marvin. BS University of Memphis, MLA University of Virginia.

Marguerite Koepke, Associate Professor, teaches basic design, planting design, and applied graphics. Her recent practice includes planning of the International Garden at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. She is the author of Model Graphics, Using and Building Study Models. BSLA Iowa State, MLA Kansas State.

Brian J. LaHaie, MLA Graduate Coordinator and Associate Professor, teaches studio design, construction and environmental planning. He is a registered landscape architect and an active member of ASLA at the state and national level. His work on both the Highway 441 Heritage Highway and the Wehle Nature Center earned Honor and Merit Awards from the ASLA Georgia and Alabama Chapters. Before joining the faculty at The University of Georgia, Professor LaHaie taught at Auburn University for over fifteen years. Currently, his areas of interest include eco-tourism, coastal ecology, heritage tourism, environmental ethics and landscape interpretation. BS Southern Illinois University, MLA University of Illinois.

Eric MacDonald, Assistant Professor, teaches cultural landscape interpretation and management, and theories and practice of community design. He has completed cultural landscape documentation and management projects for the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, the Midwest Region of the National Park Service, and for the State of Wisconsin, Department of Administration. His research focuses on the historical interpretation of social, ecological, and aesthetic values in landscape architecture and allied environmental design professions.

William A. Mann, Professor Emeritus, taught landscape history and site planning.  He is the author of Landscape Architecture: An Illustrated History in Timelines, Site Plans and Biography.  BSLA Michigan State, MLA Harvard.

Roger D. Moore, Associate Professor, teaches computer graphics applications in landscape architecture. His digital artwork has been shown in national exhibits and he received an ASLA merit award for The Chattahoochee Riverway project. He is a Fellow of ASLA and a recipient of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture's Outstanding Educator Award. BFA Illinois, MLA Harvard, and postgraduate Michigan.

David Nichols, Associate Professor, teaches plant materials, landscape engineering, and site planning and construction. He has done the leading research on the applications of "grass pavers", and recently oversaw the award-winning assimilation of Land Development Provisions to Protect Georgia Water Quality. BS Tennessee, MLA Louisiana State.

William L. Ramsey, Jr., Associate Professor, practices in both landscape architecture and real estate development. He has designed mixed use communities and parks in the Southeast for 30 years. From these professional projects, he derives keys to teaching design conceptualization in his studio classes. BLA Georgia, MLA Harvard.

James K. Reap, Public Service Associate, teaches preservation law, advocacy and professional development, preservation economics, and international issues in heritage conservation, and is Program Director for the University of Georgia Croatia Study Abroad Program. He conducts training for local government commissions throughout the country and is active in international preservation issues through the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). He is author of Athens: A Pictorial History. A.B. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and J.D., University of Georgia.

Mark Reinberger, Associate Professor, teaches courses in architectural history and historic preservation. He holds a BA degree from The University of Virginia and an MA and PhD from Cornell. His primary area of interest is the history of American architecture. He has published Utility and Beauty: Robert Wellford and Composition Ornament in America (2003), as well as numerous book chapters and articles.

Ronald B. Sawhill, Assistant Professor, has practiced landscape architecture since 1980 and is registered professionally in Georgia and South Carolina. His private practice experience includes a wide variety of residential, commercial and institutional projects with special emphasis upon on-site stormwater management.  His teaching and research continues to focus on better integrating stormwater management into the overall site design process in order to produce site developments that respect and respond to existing natural conditions and long-term environmental health.  He teaches graduate and undergraduate studios, landscape construction, and landscape engineering. He is a Past-President of the Georgia Chapter ASLA. BLA Georgia ('80), MLA Georgia ('95).

René Shoemaker, Librarian III, Director of the Owens Library and Circle Gallery.

David Spooner, Assistant Professor. Teaches undergraduate studios in Urban Design, Planting Design and Construction Methods and Application. He is a registered Landscape Architect in Georgia and North Carolina and has private practice experience in urban design, botanical gardens, and residential garden design. His research focus is centered on the relationship between physical form and human behavior. BS Horticulture, NC State; MLA, Georgia.

Allen Stovall, Professor, received dual Honor Awards from ASLA and the National Trust for Historic Preservation for his The Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys — A Preservation Study. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a frequent juror in ASLA award programs. He teaches natural and cultural landscape analysis and planning. BLA Georgia, MLA Pennsylvania.

R. Alfred Vick, Assistant Professor, is a licensed landscape architect whose main interest is preserving and enhancing the functioning of natural systems while effectively and attractively integrating human use. He specializes in storm water management, stream restoration, native planting design, sustainable landscape design/construction and landscape ecology. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, presented numerous lectures on water conservation, storm water management, and invasive exotic plants, and co-authored "Greenspace: Evaluating, Restoring, and Managing Natural Areas in the Atlanta Vicinity". BS Illinois, MLA Georgia.

Judith Wasserman, Associate Professor, teaches urban design and community participation. She has practiced in Boston, Florida, and Arizona. BA, MLA, and MRP Cornell; Certificate of Horticulture, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

John C. Waters, Professor and MHP Graduate Coordinator, heads the school's historic preservation program while teaching preservation planning, cultural resource assessment, and landscape conservation. With his students he has coordinated preservation studies for more than 20 towns and historic places. He is the co-author of Georgia's state Historic Preservation Act and was instrumental in founding the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. He is the author of Maintaining a Sense of Place: A Citizen's Guide to Historic Preservation. BLA and MLA Georgia, with graduate studies in historic preservation at Vermont and Cornell.

E. Neal Weatherly, Associate Professor Emeritus, is a registered landscape architect in Georgia and continues to teach plant materials and planting design at the School. Other duties include coordinating the Continuing Edcuation offerings for the School. For further information on any of these courses see the Schools visit SED Continuing Education. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. BLA and MLA Georgia.

Scott Weinberg, Interim Dean, SED Director and Professor, teaches computer applications, planting design, landscape construction, and recreation design. He is co-editor of the Handbook of Landscape Architectural Construction series for the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and the computer applications editor for Landscape Architect and Specifier News. He was Venue Technology Manager for the 1996 Olympic Games. He is a Fellow of ASLA. BLA and MLA Iowa State.

Richard Westmacott, Professor Emeritus, teaches rural conservation and landscape engineering. He is the author of The Gardens and Yards of African Americans in the Rural South and co-author of Agricultural Landscapes: A Second Look for England's Countryside Commission. He currently advises the U.S. National Park Service on the management of culturally significant agricultural landscapes such as the historic Gettysburg battlefield. BS Reading (England), MLA Pennsylvania, and additional graduate study at Edinburgh.