Ambler Campus, Temple University

The name may have changed, but the mission remains the same — student-centered learning and respect for the environment.

Temple University’s Board of Trustees has authorized the renaming of Ambler College as the School of Environmental Design. The school has become part of Temple’s College of Liberal Arts (CLA) and will remain based at the Temple University Ambler.

“The new name fittingly encapsulates the essence and identity of the academic disciplines within the former Ambler College. This merger affords many marvelous new possibilities for intellectually invigorating collaborations and for future growth for the School of Environmental Design,” said Dr. James W. Hilty, Dean of Temple University Ambler. “Dean Teresa (Scott) Soufas and her College of Liberal Arts colleagues have graciously received the new school and offered full support in furthering its mission and securing its future. In return, we welcome Dean Soufas and the College of Liberal Arts as partners in carrying out exciting plans for re-visioning Ambler Campus and in achieving its full potential as a splendid, invaluable asset of Temple University.”

University Trustees have authorized administratively relocating the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Department of Community and Regional Planning from Ambler College to the School of Environmental Design, transferring faculty tenure to the School of Environmental Design in the College of Liberal Arts. The current personnel and governing procedures of Ambler College have been carried forward and incorporated into the School of Environmental Design, according to Dr. Hilty.

In addition to the Department of Community and Regional Planning and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, the School of Environmental Design is comprised of the Center for Sustainable Communities.

“Having a closer relationship with CLA bodes well for the Ambler Campus, strengthening the already strong presence of the college on the campus. Liberal Arts already offers a wide array of courses and majors at Ambler,” said Dean Hilty. “In the months and years ahead we look forward to working with Dean Soufas and her staff to make the Ambler Campus and the School of Environmental Design an even better educational experience for our students.”

The alliance between CLA and the School of Environmental Design “gives us new opportunities for strengthening our academic resources and exploring mutual goals through cooperative research and scholarship on both campuses,” said Dean Soufas.

“I am truly excited by our new partnership and look forward to working together to envision the future and achieve our shared goals,” she said.

The creation of the School of Environmental Design provides an opportunity to “more clearly articulate our disciplinary and historic focus on the environment,” said Dr. Deborah Howe, Chair of the Department of Community and Regional Planning.

“The School’s placement within the College of Liberal Arts has given us hundreds of new colleagues from a wide variety of disciplines, which is especially important for a field such as Community and Regional Planning,” she said. “We see enormous opportunities for collaboration in research, teaching, and service that will strengthen and deepen our work in environmental stewardship and sustainability to the benefit of students, faculty, and the University as a whole.”

Dr. Mary Myers, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, agreed.

“This transition has presented a great opportunity to collaborate with departments in the College of Liberal Arts — Psychology, Environmental Studies, Geography and Urban Studies, Sociology — who may have shared interests or would like to develop interdisciplinary research opportunities,” she said. “With an additional office location available for our department and faculty to use at the Main Campus, we are able to interact and really be a part of CLA.”

Being part of the School of Environmental Design will provide the Center for Sustainable Communities more direct opportunities for multi-disciplinary research projects “as well as more exposure throughout the University to continue practicing what we preach,” said Susan Spinella, Assistant Director for the Center for Sustainable Communities.

“Through the School of Environmental Design, the Center will have greater resources to help promote and encourage our research capabilities,” she said.

A search is planned for a permanent senior associate dean for the School of Environmental Design, who will report to the dean of CLA. Dr. Hilty remains as interim dean of the Ambler Campus.

The Board of Visitors and the Alumni Association Board that have served Ambler College will continue to work with the School of Environmental Design. The Advisory Council of the Arboretum will likewise continue in its support and advisory capacity.

The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University and all current Ambler Campus and Fort Washington academic and administrative support services and personnel continue to be administered by the dean of Temple University Ambler Campus.

Ambler College's Board of Visitors has been renamed the Board of Visitors for the School of Environmental Design. Ambler College’s Alumni Association continues as the Alumni Association of the School of Environmental Design, within the College of Liberal Arts.

According to Dr. Hilty, reorganization of Ambler College will not affect current and future academic courses and programs offered at Ambler and Fort Washington by other schools and colleges, all of which will continue uninterrupted.

“The futures of the School of Environmental Design and the Ambler Campus are filled with wonderfully positive prospects and opportunities,” he said. “As we work through the transition period and continue through the academic year, I ask for your continued support and cooperation as we move forward with implementing this incredibly positive change.”