ECU planning dept celebrates 30 years

GREENVILLE, NC  —   The Urban and Regional Planning Program at East Carolina University is observing its 30th anniversary with an awards banquet featuring a presentation by the national president of the Collegiate Schools of Planning.

Jerry Kaufman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the keynote speaker on Friday evening for the program’s awards banquet. Kaufman’s presentation is about conflict resolution in planning. He will present a lecture for area planners and students on Thursday on “Strategic Planning.”
The banquet and lecture is sponsored by the Student Planning Association Network (SPAN), the Planning Society of the ECU Alumni Association and by Urban and Regional Planning Program in the Department of Geography and Planning.

Dr. Richard A. Stephenson, an ECU professor of Geography and Planning, said the Urban and Regional Planning Program was started in 1963 “to satisfy the need for planners in local communities.” “We were among the first planning programs in the southeast,” said Stephenson. At the Friday banquet, the program officials will present awards to outstanding students. Tracy Roberts of Greenville will get the John C. Ralph Scholarship and Dan Willis of Harkers Island will receive the S.M. Hankins Scholarship.

James White of Coudersport, Pa., is the Outstanding Planning Student in the Department of Geography and Planning. Michelle English of Mt. Holly, N.C. is the ECU nominee for the “Student of the Year” award given annually by the N.C. Chapter of the American Planners Association. Earlier on Friday, the Student Planning Area Network will sponsor a panel discussion about the perspectives of pursuing a graduate degree in planning. The panel includes three area planners. They are: Libby Anderson, a Pitt County planning and development officer; Lynn James, planning director for Lenoir County; and Jeff Ulma, planning director for Pitt County.