Mission

The John M. DeGrove Eminent Scholar Chair in Growth Management and Development was established in 2000 at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs (CAUPA).  The Chair is funded through Eminent Scholar Funds, matched by the State of Florida, and used to support the work of the Eminent Scholar (ES) and other tasks directly related to that work.  The purpose of the Chair is to advance knowledge and scholarship in growth management and development and to promote the planning and implementation of smart growth initiatives.  

Scope

The current focus of the DeGrove Chair is on interdisciplinary urban-regional research. The interdisciplinary purpose lies in promoting research with emphasis on architecture, design, planning, policy, intergovernmental administration, criminology, criminal justice, social welfare, and human services.  The urban-regional purpose lies in promoting research with emphasis on growth management, sustainable development, and smart growth, especially in emerging urban-regions like South Florida.  The advancement of interdisciplinary urban-regional research is central to the mission of the CAUPA.  The College and the South Florida region thus serve as ideal home for the DeGrove Eminent Scholar Chair.  The Chair promotes research via the ES work and its related activities, including specific activities to enhance junior faculty research. 

Origin

The essence of these programs lies in Dr. DeGrove’s own work.  A leading authority in planning and public administration, DeGrove directed the FAU/FIU Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems from 1971 to 1998 with vision and passion.  He saw the Center as an applied research and public service unit that “reach out to other state universities and, through my involvement in efforts to manage growth and change around the nation and beyond, draw ideas from national and international growth strategies.”  He further summed up the task commenting on the new Eminent Scholar Chair which he held for one year upon his retirement in 2000:  "Whether it's called smart growth, building sustainable urban and rural communities, or managing growth and change, the heart of the challenge is to plan carefully for the growth that has and will continue to come in Florida.”  The Chair was established in honor of Dr. DeGrove who led growth management in Florida and the United States for decades.  The original donation from an anonymous source was combined with other donations and the Florida Legislature's matching gift program.

John M. DeGrove
John M. DeGrove was promoted to lieutenant via a battlefield commission and was awarded a Silver Star in WW II.  He received his B.A. in History from Rollins College, M.A. in Political Science from Emory University, and Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina.  After teaching at the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina, he joined FAU’s Department of Political Science and later served as Dean of the College of Social Sciences.  From 1971 to 1998, DeGrove headed the FAU/FIU Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems.  For over three decades he led growth management in Florida and the United States, served on state and national commissions, authored numerous books and articles, and was known as a national authority in planning and public administration.  His memberships include the National Academy of Public Administration, American Planning Association, American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and Fellow in AICP.  During his tenure as Secretary of Florida Department of Community Affairs, DeGrove served as a key player in passing the historic 1985 Growth Management Act and State Comprehensive Plan.  He was a founding member and president of 1000 Friends of Florida, the state’s growth management watchdog group.  In 2000, he retired from FAU as Eminent Scholar Emeritus in Growth Management and Development in the CAUPA.  In 2005, DeGrove returned from the trenches of growth politics with Planning Policy and Politics: Smart Growth and the States.  A sequel to his 1992 Land, Growth and Politics and 1984 The New Frontier for Land Policy, this recent book is the definitive study on smart growth in the states at the beginning of the twenty-first century.    Information.  Information on John M. DeGrove and his legacy is available through his numerous publications and public roles and appearances	John M. Degrove

Contact Information

For more specific information contact Dr. Jaap Vos, Director, School of Urban and Regional Planning.  Dr. Vos is available at: jvos@fau.edu, phone 954-762-5653. 

Information on the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at FAU, formerly FAU/FIU Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems, is available at http://www.cuesfau.org/, phone 954-762-5255.

Information on the College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs at FAU is available at http://www.fau.edu/caupa/, phone 954-762-5660. 

The address for all contacts above is Florida Atlantic University, 111 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301.