PennDesign :: City&Regional Planning

Last modified: 09.24.07

The Graduate Group

The Graduate Group in City and Regional Planning is responsible for doctoral education in urban planning at PennDesign. The Graduate Group is drawn from the Department, and additional faculty who work in related disciplines throughout the University. Each of its members has marked out one or more fields of expertise, so that the Graduate Group as a whole covers most of the major areas of planning scholarship. Through scholarship and teaching, Penn faculty are deeply engaged with a broad range of urban issues.

At the time a student first matriculates into the Program, the Graduate Group Chair serves as his or her advisor. During the first year of study, each student should undertake to meet with faculty in the Graduate Group whose scholarly interests coincide with their dissertation interests. Students should begin these conversations even though they may not have a fully developed dissertation proposal in mind because the process of discussing intentions and ideas will aid in the formation of a defined research focus. By the end of the second semester, each student, with the approval of the GGC, must ask one of the members of the Graduate Group to serve as his or her advisor in setting up examination and dissertation committees. The faculty member must indicate his or her willingness to accept this responsibility in a letter to the GGC.

From the time a student arrives on campus, she or he should be getting to know the members of the Graduate Group and identifying those members whose research interests parallel those of the student. Each student should take courses with all faculty who are potential candidates for either of the above two committees. The process of moving through coursework and completing a dissertation is customized to each student's individual interests and prior studies and, as relates to the composition of committees, based on mutual respect and interest between faculty and student. Engaging with faculty early in the course of study is the best way to understand which faculty members are best matched to a student's intellectual interests and can best serve on the examination and dissertation committees. Ongoing intellectual interaction with faculty is also an essential part of the Ph.D. process.

List of Graduate Group Members

Name	Title/School	Email	Research Areas
Eugenie L. Birch	Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	elbirch@design.upenn.edu	Housing, Planning History, Community Development
Jonathan Barnett	Professor of Practice, City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	jonathanbarnett@erols.com	Urban design
Ram Cnaan	Professor of Social Work (School of Social Policy and Practice)	cnaan@sp2.upenn.edu	Urban Institutions & Social Systems
Thomas L. Daniels	Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	thomasld@design.upenn.edu	Environmental & Land Use Planning, Land Preservation
Gary Hack	Dean and Paley Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	gahack@design.upenn.edu	Urban Design, International Planning & Development
Amy Hillier	Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	ahillier@design.upenn.edu	Community Development, GIS
Michael B. Katz	Professor of History (SAS)	mkatz@upenn.edu	Urban History
Don F. Kettl	Professor of Political Science (SAS) and Di-rector of the Fels Institute	dkettl@sas.upenn.edu	Urban Governance and Political Organization
John D. Landis	Crossways Professor of City & Regional Planning (PennDesign)	jlan@design.upenn.edu	Housing, Urban Economics, Project Development, and Sustainable Urban Development
Michael A. Larice	Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	larice@design.upenn.edu	Urban Design & Neighborhood Planning
Janice F. Madden	Professor of Regional Science, Sociology and Real Estate (SAS, Wharton)	madden@ssc.upenn.edu	Urban & Regional Economics
Randall F. Mason	Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	rfmason@design.upenn.edu	Historic Preservation & Preservation Planning
Wendell Pritchett	Associate Dean Penn Law and Professor of Law (PennLaw)	prtichet@law.upenn.edu	Land Use & Planning; Legal History, Property Law
Lynne B. Sagalyn	Professor of Real Estate Development and Planning (PennDesign, Wharton)	lsagalyn@pobox.upenn.edu	Real Estate Development
Tony E. Smith	Professor of Systems Engineering and Regional Science (Engineering)	tesmith@ssc.sas.upenn.edu	Urban Systems & GIS
Thomas J. Sugrue	Professor of History and Sociology (SAS)	tsugrue@sas.upenn.edu	Urban History
Dana Tomlin	Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	tomlins@tiac.net	GIS & Natural Systems
Domenic Vitiello	Assistant Professor of City & Regional Planning (PennDesign)	vitiello@design.upenn.edu	Housing, Community & Economic Development, Urban and Planning History
Vukan R. Vuchic	UPS FDN Professor of Transportation (Engineering)	Vuchic@seas.upenn.edu	Transportation Planning
Susan M. Wachter	Real Estate (Wharton, CPLN)	wachter@wharton.upenn.edu	Real Estate Economics
Rachel R. Weinberger	Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning (PennDesign)	rrw@design.upenn.edu	Transportation Planning & Policy
Robert Yaro	Professor of Practice, City and Regional	yaro@rpa.org	Regional & Metropolitan Planning