Planning for Their Future

By Mike Porter

On a recent Wednesday in a basement classroom at Cabell Library, Jordan Snelling took a deep breath and launched into a nearly 30-minute PowerPoint presentation, explaining her vision for improving the business district in a small town in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.

It was a final chance for Snelling and 21 other graduate students from the Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program in Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs to practice their “Studio II” presentations and get feedback from student peers and faculty mentors. Students will make changes and deliver their final presentations to clients and community members the first week of May.

Studio II projects are developed by second-year graduate students to address actual planning issues or opportunities. The Studio II course (URSP 762) is worth six credits, twice as many as an average graduate course.

“Studio II is the culmination, or capstone, of the Master in Urban and Regional Program, equivalent to a thesis in other graduate programs” said John Accordino, Ph.D., professor of planning. “The students are developing a professional quality plan for a real-world client to address a current planning issue.”

Over the years, students have worked in communities across Virginia, other U.S. states and even Italy. Among the projects this year, a water management plan for VCU, a farmers’ markets plan for Newport News, a storm water management plan for Broad Bay Island in Virginia Beach, a sustainable neighborhood plan for Charlottesville’s Rose Hill neighborhood and Snelling’s commercial revitalization plan for Matamoras, Pa. 

“We really have an excellent collection of plans this year and I’m really proud of the students,” Accordino said.

And the students are proud to be part of the program. Tyler Klein, author of the Rose Hill plan, will receive his degree in May. 

Klein made the most of his time at VCU, serving as president of the Urban and Regional Planning Student Association in 2010, selected as Virginia Planning Association’s Outstanding Student and receiving the Wilder Graduate Scholars Fellowship where he served with the Virginia Department of General Services. Klein said the Master in Urban and Regional Planning has given him the perfect blend of theory, technical training, real world experience and networking to prepare him for a career in planning.

“I’m certainly leaving VCU with no lack of experience,” Klein said. “The way the classes are structured, the focus on writing, the connections you build with professionals in Richmond and across the state sets our program apart.”

And graduates appreciate that the program makes them desirable for potential employers.

Klein entertained three job offers before accepting a position with the Front Royal-based Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission. He starts the new job on May 9.

“And when I was interviewing for the job, they said ‘you are replacing a VCU graduate so we know you have real world experience, you have analytical skills, you understand deadlines and know how to work with government and the public,’” Klein said.

Accordino said Klein’s career success is reflective of a program heavily focused on student success.

“Our people graduate ‘work ready’ and that makes us proud,” Accordino said. “Our placement rate is well over 90 percent.”

Members of the VCU Community and residents of the communities for which plans have been developed are invited to attend the Studio II presentations, which take place from 12:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on May 2,3,4 and 5 in classroom B-35 in Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. Refreshments will be provided. A complete list of projects, specific times and more information may be found at http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/gov/pdfs/2011_murp_studio.pdf.