School of Planning, Design and Construction

The School of Planning, Design and Construction is hosting it's 2nd annual SPDC Lecture Series. The series represents all our programs with an aim of bringing eminent speakers and alumni from the built environment industry to share their insights and inspire our students.

2022

ID Lecture

Topic: Natural Qi Energy - How it Impacts You from Feng Shui Perspectives
Speaker: Alexander Ho, Co-Author Feng Shui Stories Around the World
Date: April 7, 2022 10:30AM-12:00PM

ID Lecture

Topic: Improving Safety and Quality Through Evidence-Based Healthcare Design
Speaker: Anjali Joseph, Director for Health Facilities Design and Testing
Date: February 23, 2022 3:00-4:30PM

LA Alumni Lecture

Topic: Biomorphic Urbanism & The Future of Cities
Speaker: Peter Kindel, Director of Urban Design and Planning, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Date: February 3, 2022 5:30-7:00PM

2021

CM Alumni Lecture

Topic: Affordable Housing Opportunities with Mass Timber
Speaker: Jeff Spritos, Spritos Properties
Date: October 6, 2021, 5:00-6:30PM

LA Distinguished Speaker Series

Topic: The Detroit Waterfront:  Charting a Just and Equitable Future
Date: October 14, 2021, 6:00-7:30PM

Speaker: Elnora Austell, President, E. Austell Associates

Speaker: Nate Trevethan, ASLA, RLA, Principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Speaker: Mark Wallace, President & CEO, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

LA Professional Lecture

Topic: Landscape, Health and Technology
Date: November 4, 2021, 5:00-6:30PM

Speaker: Dr. William Sullivan, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Speaker: Dr. Chun-Yen Chang, National Taiwan University

ID Lecture

Topic: Caring for Caregivers through Evidence-Based Design
Speaker: Lesa Lorusso, PhD, MBA, Allied AIA, ASID, RID, NCIDQ; Healthcare Director of Research and Innovation, Gresham Smith

Date: November 16, 2021, 4:00-5:30PM

2020

CM Alumni Lecture

Topic: Building a COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility
Speaker: Jack Brierton, Engineer, Clark Construction Group - Chicago, LLC.
Date: September 10, 2020

LA Distinguished Speaker Series

Topic: Social Equity in a Post-COVID-19 World: A Designer's Perspective
Date: October 22, 2020
Speaker: Alma Du Solier, Landscape Architect, and Studio Director, Hood Design Studio

Speaker: Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director, The McHarg Center, UPenn Weitzman School of DesignID Guest Lecture 

Speaker: Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, Principal at EDSA.

ID Guest Lecture

Topic: Inclusive Design and Diversity
Speaker: Linda Nussbaumer, PhD, NCIDQ, IDEC, Professor Emerita, South Dakota State University; Adjunct Professor, Radford University 
Date: November 5, 2020

URP Guest Lecture

Topic: Why Latino Vendor Markets Matter: Selected Case Studies of California and Texas
Speaker: Edna Ledesma, Assistant Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin Madison
Date: January 27, 2021

LA Distinguished Alumni Lecture

Topic: Embracing Spaces / Changing Places
Speaker: Robert ‘Bob’ Ford, FASLA, Founding Chair, MSU Landscape Architecture Alumni & Advisory Board; Founder and Partner, Landscape Architects & Planners, Inc.
Date: February 4, 2021

LA Alumni Lecture

Topic: Challenges and Opportunities in Post-Pandemic Public Space Design and Planning
Speaker: Ernest C. Wong, PLA, FASLA, APA, Founding Principal and President, Site Design Group, LTD.
Date: March 4, 2021 

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URP Guest Lecture

Topic: Racial Disparities, Urban Form and Transportation Expenditures
Speaker: Prentiss Dantzler, Assistant Professor, Urban Studies Institute, Georgia State University
Date: April 8, 2021

CM Distinguished Guest Lecture

Topic: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime Creating the Built Environment
Speaker: Joel Altman, Chairman and Co-CEO of The Altman Companies
Date: April 14, 2021

2019

LA Distinguished Speaker Series

Topic: Plant Passion, Roberto Burle Marx and Raymond Jungles
Speaker: Raymond Jungles, FASLA, Founder, Raymond Jungles, Inc. (RJI)
Date: September 19, 2019

SPDC Industry Seminar Series

Topic: Accelerating Company Strategy with a Dynamic Built Environment
Speaker: John Beeder, retired President and CEO, American Greetings
Date: October 16, 2019

SPDC Industry Seminar Series

Topic: Building Consensus through Collaboration in Difficult Settings and Diverse Communities
Speaker: Stacie Smith, associate managing director and a senior mediator at the Consensus Building Institute
Date: October 24, 2019

ID Guest Lecture

Topic: Multiple Facets of a Life in Design
Speaker: Valerie Wright, principle and senior interior designer at Diekema Hamann Architecture & Engineering
Date: November 7, 2019

LA Distinguished Alumni Lecture

Topic: Collaborations: You're Not All That!
Speaker: Debra Guenther, partner of Mithun
Date: February 6, 2020