Points of Pride

Program opportunities

• GIS Certificate Program
  The community and regional planning department administers a comprehensive graduate certificate program in geographic information systems (GIS). Undergraduate students have access to the program’s leading-edge GIS technology.
• GIS Short Courses and focus area
• Outreach studios
  • Perry studio
  • Waukee studio

Student Awards & Research Grants

• Student Studies Poverty-Reduction Efforts for Quinoa Producers in Equador: Elisa Cárdenas received a Graduate Student Travel Award for International Study in Sustainable Livelihoods to study the work of a nongovernmental organization that supports small-scale quinoa producers of Equador
• Graduate Student Receives Travel Grant for Research in Ghana: Shelley Oltmans received a Butler Travel Award for International Studies in Sustainable Agriculture to conduct research on “food deserts” and food security in Ghana

Faculty

• Reducing Local Regulatory Barriers to Local Food
  Gary Taylor, associate professor and extension specialist, is the lead investigator for a 1-year Leopold Center grant awarded in 2014 to produce a guidebook about municipal zoning and land use regulations as they relate to community gardens, vacant lots converted for production, or sales through non-traditional establishments. The work continues the efforts of the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) to support the local foods movement in Iowa.
• Planning Professor Creates New Video Series on Flooding
  Gary Taylor, associate professor of community and regional planning and ISU Extension and Outreach planning and development specialist, has developed a new, web-based educational video series on “Flooding in Iowa” for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Students from CRP, architecture, landscape architecture, and biological/pre-medical illustration helped Taylor create the illustrations for the series.
• APA Chapter Presidents Council Leadership Award for Chapter Professional Development Officer Recognition
  Assistant Professor and ISU Extension Specialist Gary Taylor received the Chapter Presidents Council 2008 Leadership Award for Chapter Professional Development Officer Recognition from the American Planning Association (APA). He was honored for his leadership and dedication to training the professional and citizen planners of Iowa.