The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Chip Sullivan as the 2016 recipient of the Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal for significant and sustained excellence in landscape architecture education. Selected by ASLA’s Board of Trustees, the honor represents the highest awards ASLA presents each year.

In his nearly three decade-long career at the College of Environmental Design, Professor Sullivan has inspired thousands of students with his informative and comical illustrations, exceptional instruction methods and his belief in the power of landscape architecture to create positivity and change in the world. Perhaps best known for his distinguished graphic ability, he has authored many books, most notably as the author of Drawing the Landscape, a popular textbook used in landscape architecture courses on drawing.

Professor Sullivan has also been a longtime supporter of student projects and initiatives, dedicating his career to his students’ personal and professional development. In addition to his responsibilities on the Undergraduate Affairs Committee, he also offers informal and optional modules in graphics and drawing to students who want to improve their skills but don’t have room to take on a full course. His influence on his students is apparent in the way they praise his creative and unique approach to problem solving and thinking outside the box.

“Chip Sullivan is more than a teacher, and more than a mentor - he is an inspiration,” said Darryl Stuart Jones (MLA ‘11), a former student of Professor Sullivan.” He lives and breathes what he loves, and that comes through in his teaching which ultimately shows students (like he showed me) that learning and exploring are more than just a scholastic endeavor, they are a journey into the soul and into the heart. He supports and nurtures the successes of his students beyond the classroom and beyond their careers. I have often said he is a guru, for he embodies the life lived in pursuit of truth and happiness through art.”

Professor, colleague and Chair of the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design Department Louise Mozingo was one of many professionals in the field who wrote nomination letters in praise of Professor Sullivan for the Carpenter Teaching Medal. She noted his dedication to teaching and intense attention to individual students as a key factor in her nomination: “Chip is one of the members of the department that is always willing to step up, to support with enthusiasm and spirit the ever more complicated enterprise of public higher education. I am happy every time Chip walks into my office because he is there to make things better for his students, the department and landscape architecture education.”