Honored for Uplifting

The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) has inducted Diane Jones Allen to its Academy of Fellows for her work in underserved communities.

This designation puts Allen, program director for landscape architecture in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, among the best landscape architecture educators in the world.

“I feel honored and humbled to be among some of the most accomplished landscape architecture educators that have made a difference,” says Dr. Allen.

CELA, the primary organization for landscape architecture educators, includes virtually all the programs of higher learning in landscape architecture in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Membership in the Academy of Fellows is the highest level of achievement within CELA and honors accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and/or creative activity and service.

Allen was particularly lauded for her work in Black communities. From working with African America Freedmen communities to exploring how self-liberated slaves adapted to life in Louisiana’s wetlands, she has made it her mission to use landscape architecture to benefit and support underserved communities.

“You’re trying to make something positive out of something that was really tragic,” she says. “But when you can do that, you feel that you have accomplished something for others.”