Research and education play a critical role in the development and advancement of the green roof and wall industry throughout North America. Faculty and students have developed the performance knowledge and understanding in support of the validation of standards, the establishment of public policy, and product performance. Academic institutions also provide the human resources required for future innovation and advancement of the growing living architecture industry.
To support these efforts, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and its charitable arm the Green Infrastructure Foundation spearheaded establishment of collaborative, multi-disciplinary Regional Academic Centers of Excellence. The Centers will build upon much of the work in living architecture already underway at these universities, and set the stage for new developments in collaborative research and innovation, while helping students prepare to enter this growing industry.
The inaugural four Centers were announced at CitiesAlive in New York City in September of 2018. These centers were in Illinois at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville; New Jersey at Stevens Institute of Technology; Colorado at Colorado State University and University of Colorado - Denver; and Ohio at Kent State University, University of Cincinnati, adn Heidelberg University.
Center Objectives
To support the development of living architecture research, professional training, and policy development at a regional scale
To aid academic/industry/policy interaction in ways that can better address regional, environmental, market, regulatory, and climatological realities
To provide venues to hold GRP training courses, continued GRP education, and general membership drives
To engage more students to support the employment needs of the growing industry through membership and training
To support industry professionals in meeting and advancing policies within their region
To strengthen dissemination via the Journal of Living Architecture by supporting the research work completed at the centers
To facilitate academic meetings and seminars
To provide support to faculty for funding student research, directly with seed funding, and through industry partnerships
The PREP Fellowship Explained
The Pre-professional Recognition of Excellence and Potential Fellowship program, (PREP) is an international preprofessional development and training program helping students and emerging professionals gain knowledge towards professional green roof accreditation. The program is offered by the Regional Academic Centers of Excellence (RACE) in accordance with the Living Architecture Academy’s Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation program.
Each year candidates are nominated by faculty members from the RACE for their potential leadership and contribution in the field of living architecture. After GRHC board approval, the fellows are provided with a network of peers to study and learning advanced green roof training. They receive full access to the online Green Roof Professional Training, Materials, and Examination free of charge, enabling and assisting with professional development and accreditation. In addition, the cohort of fellows provides a group atmosphere for study and intellectual growth.
Expectations
Over the course of a year, fellows are expected complete all sections of the online training, participate with the group through online chat sessions/threads, and sit for the online exam. They must be a student or professional members during the fellowship and plan to attend in-person the annual Cities Alive conference.
Duration
Annual call for applicants occurs annually in the late Summer/Early fall. Fellows are announced at the annual CitiesAlive Conference and have one year in Fellowship. They will gain access to the materials have until August of the fellowship year to take the Exam.
Qualifications
Applicant fellows are expected to be associated with RACE schools or faculty as students, staff, or recent alumni. Students from non-RACE schools can apply as at-large applicants.
Applications
Applicants must submit a one-page maximum letter of interest and resume by the annual deadline.
Questions?
Please communicate with Blaine Stand at bstand@greenroofs.org for details.
Associated Schools
Colorado State University
University of Colorado Denver
Faculty Leads
Dr. Jennifer Bousselot, Special Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural and Landscape Architecture
Leila Tolderlund, Assistant Professor College of Architecture and Planning
Associated Schools
Kent State University
University of Cincinnati
Heidelberg University
Ohio University
Dickinson College
Faculty Leads
Dr. Reid Coffman, Associate Professor, College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Professor Virginia Russell, Director, Horticulture/Landscape Architecture/Professor Landscape Architecture
Dr. Ishi Buffam, Department of Biological Sciences
Mark E. Mitchell, Biological and Environmental Sciences
Dr. Allyssa Decker, Department of Environmental Science
Associated School
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Faculty Lead
Dr. Bill Retzlaff, Associate Dean, CAS, Distinguished Research Professor, Biological Sciences
Susan Morgan, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Graduate School, Professor of Civil Engineering
Serdar Celik, Professor and Graduate Program Director, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Associated School
Texas A&M University
Faculty Lead
Professor Bruce Dvorak, Executive Director, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture
Dr. Thomas Woodfin, Executive Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture