September 21, 2009
 To say that Arthur F. Loeben is a world traveler is akin to saying there is a lot of water in the ocean — it’s not wrong, but it doesn’t do his travels justice.
From Japan to India, Australia to South America, Loeben has visited more than 55 countries, several more than once, and walked on almost every continent (Antarctica was just a bit too chilly). Yet even with such wanderlust, Loeben’s heart remains close to home, as does his dedication to a profession he devoted most of his life to — planning.
In an effort to support future planners, Loeben generously endowed the Arthur F. Loeben Scholarship in Community and Regional Planning for undergraduate students in the School of Environmental Design’s Department of Community and Regional Planning (CRP). It was the first scholarship created specifically for the CRP program. Since the creation of the scholarship, Loeben has remained one of the programs strongest supporters and a member of the School of Environmental Design’s Board of Visitors since 2005.
In September, the globetrotting Loeben, a Gwynedd Township resident who spent 38 years as Director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, traveled back to the Ambler Campus to celebrate another of his life’s many milestones — he turned 90 years young.
“I am blessed, and life is good, believe me. Life is very good,” said Loeben during a special surprise reception hosted in the Formal Perennial Gardens by Temple University Ambler and the Montgomery County Lands Trust attended by dozens of friends, family, and colleagues, many of whom Loeben said he “hired right out of school.”
During the celebration, Temple University Ambler and the Montgomery County Lands Trusts presented a commemorative crystal to Loeben while Pennsylvania State Representative Kate Harper, who serves on the Montgomery County Lands Trust with Loeben, presented him with a Citation from the State House of Representatives for his years of dedication and service.
“Arthur Loeben’s 38 years of service to Montgomery County as Director of the Planning Commission left an indelible mark on the County. His foresight and has ability to work with diverse groups to achieve real, concrete change arguably did more than any other planner in this region or any other public servant in Montgomery County,” said Temple University Ambler Dean Dr. James W. Hilty. “The cross-county expressway (the Blue Route) and the county open space program are just two of his important contributions. Moreover, Arthur has been instrumental in the training of hundreds of planners and public officials.”
 Dr. Hilty said Loeben’s support of Temple’s Community and Regional Planning Program and his instrumental role in the creation of the Center for Sustainable Communities “are lasting legacies that every day pay dividends for Temple students.”
“Arthur Loeben was the consummate planner,” he said. “He not only left an impressive personal record of achievement but through his generosity to Temple University he has provided resources to train the next generation of planners.”
Dr. Deborah Howe, Chair of the Department of Community and Regional Planning called Loeben “the patron saint of the Department of Community and Regional Planning.”
“His endowed scholarship provides a substantial amount of financial support for planning students, and it will be available in perpetuity,” she said. “The funds will be used for scholarships, awards, emergencies, travel to professional conferences, field trips and student research.”
The endowment, Dr. Howe said, she said, “is highly unusual for a program that did not begin until 2002.”
“No one actually asked Mr. Loeben for the funds. He saw the need,” she said. “He has had a lifelong commitment to students and young planners and has taken a great deal of pride in watching their professional development over the years. His endowment is an extraordinary investment in the future and ensures that his influence will continue to be a force for generations to come.”
In establishing the scholarship, Loeben said his hope was that it would help produce professionals “that are able to advance and promote sensible planning.”
“We used to have to hire three to four new planners on average every year; we were always recruiting,” he said. “Often we had to hire ‘related professionals’ and train them ourselves,” he said. “It is extremely important for universities to produce good planners who know how to write and speak effectively.”
Dr. Jeff Featherstone‚ a research professor in the Department of Community and Regional Planning in addition to being former chair of the department and former director of the Center for Sustainable Communities, said Loeben was one of the first people he met when he moved from Minnesota to Trenton, NJ. Dr. Featherstone is former deputy executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission.
“Everyone told me if you want to do anything in Pennsylvania, you need to talk to Art. Serving as executive director of a prominent planning commission for 38 years is incredible,” said Dr. Featherstone of his mentor. “Besides being a real smart guy, Art is one of the most politically adept people I’ve ever met. He was a major player in getting Route 476 built; he successfully built coalitions to move planning projects along. DVRPC (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commissions) staff always appreciated his ability to get the other board members to come to agreement on various transportation projects in the region. He simply was the best at what he did.”
 Loeben’s own experience with planning dates back to his Air Force days in World War II, in which he served with the occupation forces in Japan. Upon returning to the States, he attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a degree in economic geography.
“I became Associate Director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission in 1957 fully intending to write my dissertation for my Ph.D. and go back into academia,” Loeben said. “But in 1962, there was a political revolution in Montgomery County, a new breed of leaders that wanted to do a lot of new things. I was asked to be Director of the planning commission and I said okay.”
Loeben served as the Director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission until his retirement in 1995 at the age of 76.
“There were so many significant changes during that time,” he said. “We successfully built the Blue Route, (Route 476 south of the Mid-County interchange) which took years of bitter battles that went all the way up to the Supreme Court. There actually were plans for a green and yellow route, but the Blue Route was selected.”
Loeben said preservation of open space was always one of his top priorities. Even in retirement he serves on the Montgomery County Lands Trust and remains heavily involved with the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association, which he helped to found.
“We started an open space grant program in the 1960s and started open space preservation in earnest in the late 1980s with a bigger program and the appointment of an open space committee,” he said. “In the early 90s, that led to a $100 million open space program, which helped a lot of townships, boroughs, and the county to buy and preserve farmland and protect significant areas in the Wissahickon, Pennypack, and Perkiomen watersheds. We were also able to develop Evansburg State Park — 3,300 acres preserved.”
Loeben said after meetings with Dr. Featherstone and then Temple University Ambler Dean Dr. Sophia Wisniewska during the early planning stages of the Community and Regional Planning program, he became very excited about its potential.
“I was there very early in the game and I was happy to see what was coming. I’ve always been supportive of academics; I started two scholarships in the arts at Montgomery County Community College,” he said. “I had a marvelous job and enjoyed it immensely. I’d like to see this generation have that opportunity.”
CONTACT: James Duffy, 267-468-8108, duffyj@temple.edu, release available by e-mail
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