President's message 2017

Deb Cooper, LAAAB president - February 23, 2017

For the past six years I have had the delight of serving on the MSU LAAAB as a board member for three years, vice president for one year, president for two years, and I will round out my term as past president for one additional year.

Photo of Deb Cooper, LAAAB president. — Deb Cooper, LAAAB president.

For the past six years I have had the delight of serving on the MSU Landscape Architecture Alumni and Advisory Board as a board member for three years, vice president for one year, president for two years, and I will round out my term as past president for one additional year.

This has been one of the most gratifying periods of my career. The Board has provided an unparalleled opportunity for me to build lasting relationships
with fellow board members, faculty, students and staff at MSU. This is truly an experience that gives back as much as you put into it, and I would not hesitate to recommend that all alumni consider it at some point in their careers.

Many of the folks I have encountered along the way have a depth of experience, talent, passion and commitment to the MSU Landscape Architecture Program that is extraordinary. Some come to us with many years of experience working with the program, and others are just getting their feet wet,
looking to renew their involvement with a program that offers so many of us such fond memories.

This has opened my eyes to the wealth of opportunities for engaging in the education of our young professionals and to explore, learn from and reconnect with my peers.

Not only has it been fun to help connect all these folks through our events, but after 40 years of working with young professionals, I firmly believe that one of the most impressionable times in a career is the period in college and immediately thereafter, as new practitioners explore the profession, gain an understanding of what it means to be a landscape architect, and discover how many different avenues there are to practice landscape architecture. What better way to expose them to all of this than to provide access to all of you, the many alumni of our LA program at MSU?

As an inaugural member of the Board, I have witnessed the development of an evolving mission and agenda: Starting from scratch outlining what we wanted to accomplish, the resources needed, and the organizational structure that could sustain our mission; learning the ropes within the University structure, and our role within the partnership of faculty, staff, and students; and stepping back to regain the perspective of being a student.

I will miss this experience and this responsibility, and I intend to maintain the connections I have made. Our Board remains committed to recruiting the very best board members we can to provide a rich and diverse group of individuals to move this forward for future generations. Many of our board members completing their initial terms have agreed to reappointment, taking on executive committee roles that extend their terms, and returning to the
Board. This is testimony to the gift of the experience.

So as I end my tenure on the Board (at least for now), I would like to reach out to all of you and first recognize past Board members, and second ask
that all of you consider engaging with the MSU Landscape Architecture Alumni and Advisory Board to enrich the student, faculty, and your own professional experience.

We look for individuals with a strong desire to give back to the student experience and who offer a diverse point of view and experience base to the Board discussion. This really has been a blast!

Contact Scott Reinholt or Mike Rein for board opportunities.