PLAUDITS
K-STATE'S ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PROGRAMS RANKED HIGH NATIONALLY
K-State's accredited academic design programs have again been ranked highly by professionals in a recent survey published in the journal DesignIntelligence.
According to the 11th annual survey, K-State is ranked:
* Third among bachelor of interior architecture/design programs;
* Third among bachelor of landscape architecture programs;
* Fourth among master of landscape architecture programs;
* Sixth among bachelor of architecture programs;
* Seventh among master of interior architecture/design programs; and
* 16th among master of architecture programs.
"Ours is one of the few schools with such high rankings in multiple programs, an indication of the continued strength of our programs and the potency residing in having the allied professions housed in one college," said Tim de Noble, dean of K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design. "These rankings afford us an even greater opportunity to build upon on our recognized strengths in the future."
Kirk Schulz, K-State president, said the rankings illustrate the quality education provided by K-State.
"The extremely high rankings of these professional programs are a clear indication of how our land-grant university can consistently compete with the finest private or public institutions in the country," Schulz said.
The annual survey is conducted by DesignIntelligence and the Design Futures Council in conjunction with the Almanac of Architecture and Design. A cross section of U.S. architectural and design professionals were asked to rank accredited undergraduate and graduate programs they've had direct experience hiring graduates from. Respondents were asked to select from lists of accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in each discipline, and were asked which college and university programs had best prepared students for professional practice.
K-State's programs in landscape architecture and interior architecture/design have continually ranked in the top eight of the survey and this is the ninth time the K-State architecture program has been in the ranking.
K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design is currently nearing the end of a multiple-year transition from five-year professional bachelor's degrees to offering only five-year professional master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture and product design and landscape architecture. The transition has resulted in the ranking of both the former undergraduate and the new graduate programs in the three disciplines.
Also for survey purposes, K-State's bachelor's programs in interior architecture and product design and interior design -- the latter offered by K-State's College of Human Ecology -- are combined.
"Being recognized by employers as being one of the best at preparing students for their profession is indeed a distinction," said Virginia Moxley, dean of the College of Human Ecology. "We are honored to contribute to K-State's excellence in the design disciplines."
The 2010 study also asked about the preparedness of recent graduates in a range of skills. K-State's interior architecture/design programs were ranked third in communication, and the landscape architecture program was ranked second in computer applications, fourth in design and fifth in communication.
Deans and department heads from 166 academic programs also identified the programs they most admired. K-State's undergraduate programs in interior architecture/design and landscape architecture were ranked third in that category.
For the fourth time the survey also listed Dennis Law, professor of landscape architecture and former dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, as one of 25 educators and administrators who exemplify excellence in design education leadership.
According to the survey sponsors, the rankings provide feedback on where quality education is being delivered, valued and communicated. The results can be used, along with other considerations, to help current and future students plan their educational paths. The U.S. has approximately 148 accredited interior architecture/interior design programs, 151 accredited architecture programs, and 63 accredited landscape architecture programs.
K-STATE'S CHRISTER AAKEROY NAMED TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC DATA CENTRE
K-State chemistry professor Christer Aakeroy is serving on the board of a prestigious international center that promotes the advancement of the science of chemistry and crystallography for public benefit.
Aakeroy was recently appointed to a four-year term on the board of governors of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. The center is a nonprofit, charitable institution based at the University of Cambridge in England. It is best known as the provider of the Cambridge Crystallographic Database, the world's foremost repository of molecular crystallographic data with nearly 500,000 crystal structures on file.
Aakeroy is one of eight distinguished scientists on the board and is the only member from North America.
"I am very pleased about this appointment as it provides me with unique opportunities to help shape the future of this tremendously useful research and educational resource, which is employed by scientists across the world," Aakeroy said.
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre also sponsors many awards for young scientists worldwide in cooperation with various professional societies, with the board of governors acting as trustee of the center's charitable efforts.
Aakeroy received a master's degree from Uppsala University and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Sussex. He joined K-State in 1996 and was promoted to professor in 2006. He serves as the regional editor for the Americas for the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal CrystEngComm. He twice has been a visiting professor at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France.
Aakeroy teaches Honors Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2 at K-State. Along with crystal engineering, his research interests also include supramolecular and structural chemistry, intermolecular forces and host-guest chemistry.
BARNABY WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN EXTENSION
G.A. "Art" Barnaby Jr., professor of agricultural economics and K-State Extension specialist, received the 2009 National Award for Excellence in Extension at the 122nd annual meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities in Washington, D.C., Nov 15-17.
The National Award for Excellence in Extension is presented each year to an individual who has demonstrated high-impact programming, visionary leadership and who has anticipated emerging issues for clientele and the system. The recipient is also committed to diversity and integration of programs in partnerships with university colleagues outside clientele.
Barnaby has served as an Extension specialist and instructor of agricultural economics at K-State for more than 28 years and is recognized globally for developing practical risk management strategies. One such project was the development of the Crop Revenue Coverage Insurance program, which provides greater availability of risk management tools to local farmers. Since its inception, the insurance product has provided more than $100 billion of protection to farmers.
Barnaby continues to conduct statewide Extension education programs on financial planning, risk, government commodity programs and crop insurance. He has also led several research projects that cover alternative crop insurance designs and their impacts on farmers and he is an author of the K-State Risk Management Web site.
A three-time winner of the American Agricultural Economics Association Distinguished Extension Program Award, he has also received the National Association of Wheat Growers’ Excellence in Extension Award; the K-State Extension Team Award for the Management, Analysis and Strategic Thinking program; and the Association of Continuing Higher Education Outstanding Program Award Honorable Mention.