Richard T. Anderson to Chair AICP College of Fellows

Election to the College of Fellows is the highest honor that AICP can bestow upon its members. The honor recognizes the achievements of the planner as an individual; elevating the Fellow before the public and peers as a model planner who has made significant contributions to the profession and to society.

The College of Fellows is primarily concerned with leadership in the advancement of the planning profession. As Chairman of the College, Anderson will help foster a host of mentoring and professional development programs and assist in efforts to establish an AICP Fellows Endowment. “We are pleased to welcome Richard Anderson, whose career has been devoted to leadership of the planning profession,” said Paul Farmer, Executive Director of the APA and AICP. “We are confident that he and his colleagues at the College of Fellows will be able to find new and innovative ways to share their knowledge, insight, and experience with the planners of tomorrow.”

Anderson, who was inducted into the College of Fellows in 2000, served as the first elected president of the American Planning Association in 1980, after the consolidation of two predecessor organizations. “ This is an exciting time to be involved in the planning profession. In New York City and elsewhere, there is renewed focus on urban planning and its impact on community revitalization and economic growth,” said Anderson. “Part of our mission at the College of Fellows is to harness this heightened public interest in planning and the built environment and use it as a means of recruiting the next generation of visionaries.”

The American Planning Association is a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional, and rural planning.APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, advance the art and science of planning to meet the needs of people and society.