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“I am insatiably curious about landscape—particularly about how people interact with the built and “natural” environment. Knowing how people make use of public open space, for example, is one critical element in successful design projects. Equally important are the ways people construct landscape meaning in terms of their everyday lives.” Research Interests:
Dr. Dennis joined UW-Madison in fall 2003 after having taught landscape architectural design and theory at Penn State since 1999. Sam is a registered landscape architect and has practiced community design in North Carolina and Georgia. At UW-Madison, his teaching duties include the Urban Open Space Design Studio in the undergraduate curriculum and the Regional Design Workshop in the graduate program. Dr. Dennis’s scholarly interests center on the social dimensions of environmental design broadly defined. Some of this research focuses on the social construction of landscape meaning and how struggles over landscape interpretation shape social relations of power. Projects in this area examine the many ways cultural landscapes are understood by different social groups and how dominant interpretations find expression in heritage landscapes, often at the expense of other ways of seeing landscape. Much of this research builds on his dissertation, Seeing the Lowcountry Landscape: ‘Race’, Gender and Nature in Lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia, 1750-2000. Although grounded in environmental history, he is more concerned with the contemporary social uses of history, particularly in the field of cultural landscape preservation. He writes about his approach to cultural landscape interpretation in “The Landscape Literacy Trap: Guidelines for Landscape Interpretation in a Postmodern World” a paper published in the 2002 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. Dr. Dennis is also interested in the intersection of urban open space and issues of social justice. This work examines the ways public open space can support the positive development of children, youth and families—particularly where planning and design processes include the meaningful participation of marginalized social groups. For the past two years, his Harrisburg Studio has worked with at-risk youth on several participatory design/build projects in the South Allison Hill community in Harrisburg, PA. Sam also continues to be involved with the American Indian Housing Initiative’s partnership with the Northern Cheyenne (www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/intro.html). Sam’s community-based work is strongly influenced by the emerging idea of Public Scholarship, an approach to theory and practice that seeks a more profound University-Community partnership. Professor Dennis is a member of the Association of American Geographers, the American Society for Environmental History, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Planning Association.
Folklorist Janet C. Gilmore links the Department of Landscape Architecture with UW-Madison's Folklore Program and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, in a "cluster" appointment that began in Fall 2003. A native of Dr. Gilmore brings to the cluster many years working as an independent public folklorist and humanities consultant, documenting and presenting folk artists, their handiwork and the creative process, in a variety of public formats. She has interviewed a broad range of traditional practitioners, from needleworkers and knot-tyers to wood-carvers, boat-builders, and welders, and her research has introduced her to widely varied indigenous, long-settled immigrant, and recent emigré populations in the Dr. Gilmore's research has been integral to projects that result in folklife festivals, educational programs and workshops, and--her favorites--museum exhibitions and catalogs. She has participated in all phases of production, and collaborated with interdisciplinary teams at public and private non-profit cultural organizations (like the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at Michigan State Museum, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, the River Museum in Dubuque, Northwest Folklife in Seattle, and the Smithsonian Institution) to create programs that reach, educate, and appeal to broad and diverse audiences. Her work included research, exhibits, and programming for the former She regularly participates in meetings and activities of regional folklorists, the American Folklore Society, and the Folklore Studies Association of Canada. She has served on peer review arts panels at local, state, and federal levels, including the Heritage, Preservation, and Access and National Heritage Fellowship panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Currently she is working on a project through the Center, supported by NEA funds, to identify, catalog, and make accessible the past quarter century of publicly-funded folklife documentary collections produced in Wisconsin and border areas.
Professor Harrington is engaged in conservation planning, ecological restoration and management, and urban ecology studies. Professors Harrington and Howell co-teach courses in restoration ecology, vegetation management, and field studies of native plant communities. These collaborations between a landscape architect and a plant ecologist enhance problem-solving opportunities in many landscape situations. Professor Harrington also teaches courses in the use of plants in design, an urban ecology seminar and study abroad courses. Professor Harrington’s research targets Midwestern prairie and savanna systems as well as changing vegetation patterns in urbanizing regions. Professor Harrington is currently engaged in studies with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, The Prairie Enthusiasts, and the National Park Service exploring land cover patterns and change in southwest Wisconsin and on the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. He has recently concluded a series of studies on the role of fire and grazing in the recovery of oak savanna and previously conducted studies on the establishment of indigenous grassland species on highway rights-of-way with funding from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. He is also setting up a series of vegetation studies on the urban forest corridor along Lake Mendota near the UW-Madison campus. Professor Harrington served as chair of the Department from 1996 to 2001 as well as Chair of the Campus Natural Areas Committee (1999-2004) and the 19 th North American Prairie Conference (2003-2004). He currently sits on the Science Advisory Board for Nygren Wetlands (Illinois Natural Land Institute), design review boards for the University Research Park and Fitchburg Center, Inc., and the City of Madison’s Urban Design Commission. He designed the concept and plantings for a 6-acre prairie swale that serves as a storm water system for a biotech campus. During the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, he assisted with the design of a campus master plan for Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, based on original plans by the well-known Midwestern landscape architect, Jens Jensen. He has also designed a natural planting for a 42-mile stretch of one of Wisconsin’s major interstate highways. Lou Host-Jablonski
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Evelyn A. Howell |
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Professor Howell is interested in ecosystem conservation and restoration ecology. She brings a solid background in plant community ecology to several courses and also co-teaches with faculty trained as landscape architects. This combination provides students with a unique approach to site analysis, planning, and management.
Dr. Howell recently collaborated on a restoration and management plan for Eagle Valley Nature Preserve in Wisconsin and worked with Professors Alanen and Harrington on an integrated management plan for George Washington Carver National Monument in Missouri. She has also published articles addressing natural landscaping, exotic species control, the effects of fire on prairie forbs and grasses, prairie restoration techniques, and vegetation assessment.
Professor Howell served as Chair of the Department from July 1988 to June 1993, and as the head of the UW-Madison Faculty Senate from January 1996 to June 1997. She is the Vice-Chair of the state Natural Areas Preservation Council, a citizen’s group that advises the Endangered Resources Program of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Professor Howell also serves on the City of Madison Parks Commission and is an active participant in numerous restoration and management projects for organizations such as the International Crane Foundation, the City of Madison, and the University of Wisconsin Arboretum.
Eileen Kelly
- B.S. Community and Regional Planning, College of Design at Iowa State University
- Master’s in Business Administration, Iowa StateUniversity.
- Member of the American Planning Association, the Wisconsin Chapter
- Member of t he American Institute of Certified Planners.
Eileen Kelley, AICP, has twenty-four years of experience in local planning and design review. Particular interests include sustainable design, mixed use and infill developments, and new urbanism. She has taught the Housing and Urban Design class as a senior lecturer since the year 2000.
Email: emkelley@wisc.edu
Shawn Kelly
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Shawn T. Kelly, ASLA, CLARB, earned his Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Arizona. He has practiced Landscape Architecture and Planning in Arizona, California, and Wisconsin. Mr. Kelly holds Landscape Architecture license #59 in Wisconsin, and license # 3320 in California. He is Principal of the Kelly Design Group, LLC, in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. This office is a design/bid studio which produces concept to construction documents for projects ranging from zoos and college campuses, commercial sites, municipal projects, and restoration plans to residential and estate plans. Mr. Kelly also has taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the Department of Landscape Architecture for the past fourteen years. He teaches from four to six classes per year with studios. He serves of the Dean’s Instruction Improvement Committee for CALS, as well as the Dept. Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. He also acts as a student advisor in the Department. Shawn also created and continues to produce the Dept. Career Fair. Shawn has been an active member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and has served as Wisconsin ASLA President during the ASLA Centennial, Secretary, and currently as Chapter Trustee on the National Board of Trustees. His Committee work for ASLA includes the Wisconsin Strategic Planning Chair and Chair of the Licensure Upgrade Committee. He is currently also serving on the National Council of Educators and the Ethics Committee for the ASLA.
Janet Silbernagel
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My scholarship centers on bioregional studies and conservation GIS. My academic training in landscape ecology, cultural ecology, and landscape architecture gives me quite an integrated and applied perspective. This means that I try to understand the ecology, culture, patterns, and processes of place. I integrate that bioregionally based knowledge with GIS and the spatial sciences to inform conservation planning and design. I am particularly interested in studies and projects within the Northern Great Lakes region, land stewardship of tribal groups and conservation organizations, and working landscapes.
I also work in the area of environmental design, in which I collaborate with public artists and undertake projects that seek to reveal ecological processes and change through site-specific ‘eco-revelatory’ design and environmental art. For example, UW artist Gail Simpson and I have jointly designed and installed site-integrated sculptural rain gardens and are now producing an indoor-outdoor exhibit for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. We have also worked on environmentally informed bus shelter designs, and are currently designing a green ‘wallscape’ for an urban site. For more information on the projects and people see Grad Research Studio.
My teaching in landscape architecture and related departments compliments and supports work in bioregional studies, conservation GIS, and environmental design. These courses are:
- LA 375: Regional Design and Conservation (senior studio)
- LA 695: Applications of GIS in Natural Resources (Applied GIS and Conservation)
- LA 740: Research Methods in Landscape Studies
- LA 940: Graduate Seminar
Previously I served on the faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Washington State University (1995-1999), and was employed by the U.S. Forest Service in Pennsylvania and Upper Michigan as a landscape architect (1987-1993), and as a landscape ecologist (1993-1995). I have a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University, with emphases on cultural ecology, landscape history, and landscape ecology.
I am involved in the International Association for Landscape Ecology (US Chapter), the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, The Nature Conservancy, Gathering Waters, Natural Heritage Land Trust, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and the Society for Conservation Biology.
James Steiner
James Steiner received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Louisiana State University in 1981. He is currently a registered landscape architect in the State of Wisconsin.
After graduating from LSU, James worked in the areas of landscape design, design-build and architectural construction in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He moved to Wisconsin in 1986, where he was hired as the lead landscape architect for the Zimmerman Design Group in Milwaukee. While at ZDG, James expanded his professional experience by working on interior design, space planning and architectural projects. From 1993 to 1997, he worked for Stano Landscaping, then joined Tom Mortensen, ASLA, as a partner in Landgraphics Landscape Architecture in Milwaukee.
In 1997, James joined Quorum Architects, Inc. in Milwaukee as a senior designer, where he continues to work on site, architecture and interior design projects, as well as architectural rendering and presentation graphics. In 2000, James was hired as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Department of Landscape Architecture. In 2004, he became a permanent faculty member, dividing his time between teaching design and graphics at UW and working on both large and small-scale design projects at Quorum Architects.
Email: jdsteiner@wisc.edu
Susan A. Thering
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Dr. Thering joined the UW-Madison faculty in July 2001. She has a joint appointment with the Department of Landscape Architecture and the UW Extension Community Natural Resource and Economic Development (CNRED) Program. Professor Thering’s primary teaching responsibility is the supervision of the senior capstone thesis projects. In addition, during each semester she teams up with other UW faculty, Extension educators, and interested students to organize and facilitate participatory community design and planning projects around the state.
Professor Thering’s research investigates and documents the community capacity building benefits of participatory community design and planning processes. She analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data from her work with participatory community design and planning to contribute to the growing body of research in "Sustainability Indicators" by developing indicators of community capacity. Dr. Thering is actively recruiting graduate students to work with continuing investigations into theory, practice, and research in participatory community design and planning.
Her recent grants and honors include a research grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; a research grant from the US Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining; and an Honorary Induction into the Sigma Lambda Alpha Honor Society of Landscape Architecture.
William H. Tishler (Emeritus)
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A native of Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula, Professor Tishler completed graduate work at Harvard University. He undertook additional study at the University of North Carolina, the Nantucket Preservation Planning Institute, Cornell University, and the Attingham Summer Institute in England. He is past president of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, has served on the Board of Advisors to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been chairperson of Wisconsin's Historic Preservation Review Board, and Vice-President for the Arts of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.
Professor Tishler lectured widely throughout his career; his professional achievements include awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Historic Madison, Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Fraternity, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been a Senior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., and served as the H.W.S. Cleveland guest professor at the University of Minnesota. His many papers, reports, and articles on historic preservation and landscape architecture include the award-winning book that he edited, American Landscape Architecture: Designers and Places (1989), acclaimed by a reviewer as "one of the most significant works published on landscape architecture in the past decade." More recently, he served as editor of Midwestern Landscape Architects (2000). Professor Tishler also organized and serves as co-director of The Clearing Landscape Institute at the home and school of the noted landscape architect, Jens Jensen, in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. A Fellow of the American Association of Landscape Architects, he received the 1998 Award of Distinction from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.
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