4/9/09

Contacts:
Jonathan Martin, Iowa ASLA, (515) 309-3276, JMartin@rdgusa.com
Doug Johnston, Chair, Landscape Architecture, (515) 294-5676, dmjohnst@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, College of Design Communications, (515) 294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu

Six Iowa State University students receive landscape architecture awards

AMES, Iowa -- Six Iowa State University landscape architecture students received awards from the Iowa Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) — and one of them received the President's Award for Academic Excellence. The awards were presented at the organization's spring conference in Des Moines on April 3.

Mary Bumgardner of St. Paul, Minn., Jason Grimm of North English and Megan Truebenbach of Mankato, Minn., received undergraduate Certificates of Honor, while Jennifer DeWall of Pocahontas, Tyler Krob of Tipton and Stephanie Nelson of Ames received undergraduate Certificates of Merit.

Grimm was also awarded the Iowa ASLA President's Award for Academic Excellence.

All six students are seniors who will graduate with bachelor of landscape architecture degrees from Iowa State in May.

The students were nominated by faculty in the ISU landscape architecture department based on outstanding academic scholarship and accomplishments as well as willingness to work with others, self-motivation and responsibility, and design abilities.

Each nominee presented his or her work to a four-person jury of Iowa ASLA representatives. The jury could award up to three Honor and three Merit certificates, but was not required to give any awards in either category, said Jonathan Martin, who chaired the jury.

"After listening to the students present their projects, we unanimously decided that all six were deserving of recognition. The difficulty was in determining which would receive Honor awards and which would receive Merit awards," he said.

In awarding the Iowa ASLA President's Award for Academic Excellence, Martin said the jury was especially impressed by Grimm's senior thesis project, which looked at ways to utilize the urban fabric to provide sustainable local food sources for communities. "This project, taken together with his stellar body of work while at ISU, his dedication to his education and his future profession, and his desire to better the world he lives in, established [Grimm] as a most deserving recipient of this award," Martin said.

The Iowa ASLA presents its student Honor and Merit Awards in April to help observe National Landscape Architecture Month. ASLA's 48 chapters across the U.S., as well as the national headquarters in Washington, D.C., are marking the occasion with public outreach activities to introduce the profession as a green career choice to children, parents and educators. For more information on the ASLA Iowa Chapter, visit http://www.iaasla.org.

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