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MEDIA CONTACT: Terry Gearing
561-799-8026, gearing@fau.edu
FAU Administrator Awarded Knight Fellowship In Community Building
JUPITER, FL (May 9, 2003) – Marie York, associate director of Florida Atlantic University’s Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, has been selected as one of twelve Knight Fellows in Community Building by the University of Miami's School of Architecture. Over the next year the Knight Fellows will take part in a prestigious mid-career educational program that brings together community leaders, policymakers, architects, urban planners, environmentalists, journalists and transportation experts from across the nation for seminars and workshops on the techniques of building and rebuilding communities.
“Nominees were selected because of their accomplishments and their clear vision for advancing community-building efforts in their hometowns and careers,” said Chuck Bohl, director of the Knight Program.
The mission of FAU’s Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (formerly the FAU/FIU Joint Center) is to support communities in resolving urban and environmental issues through research, education, and partnerships. York directs the center’s Jupiter office, which is host to the Florida Public Officials Design Institute at Abacoa. The Design Institute is dedicated to improving the quality of Florida’s towns and cities by offering locally elected officials the hands-on, problem-specific tools they need to improve the design of their communities.
Under York’s leadership eight public officials in Southeast Florida have participated in the program thus far. Through their experience with the Florida Public Officials Design Institute at Abacoa they have a greater appreciation of urban design and how it can lead to better decision-making and more vibrant communities.
“If we can influence the design of eight communities per year, or even half of that, we will have made a substantial contribution to creating places that people love,” said York.
Through her Knight Fellowship, York intends to produce a stylebook or manual so that other regions and states can replicate the program she helped to create in Southeast Florida.-
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