{"197491":{"#nid":"197491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumnus Gift Establishes Frederick Law Olmsted Chair","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is generally regarded as the father of American landscape architecture. Among his works in twenty-four U.S. states and Washington, D.C., is the iconic design of Central Park in New York City. In Atlanta, his legacy is seen in the Druid Hills neighborhood near Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOlmsted has served as an inspiration to generations of landscape designers and civil engineers. One of those who has been deeply inspired by Olmsted\u2019s work is Georgia Tech alumnus Michael G. Messner. Messner and his wife Jenny recently established a planned gift that will create the Frederick Law Olmsted Chair in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMessner is a longtime admirer of Olmsted\u2019s work. \u201cMy wife Jenny and I, through our family foundation, The Speedwell Foundation, funded a documentary on Olmsted in conjunction with the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/casestudy\/blight-beauty-red-fields-green-fields-plans-reveal\u0022\u003ERedfields to Greenfields research led by the Georgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d said Messner. \u201cThe gift is a thank you to Georgia Tech for both a great education and the transformational \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rftgf.org\u0022\u003ERedfields to Greenfields\u003C\/a\u003E research the Institute led.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA self-trained engineer, Olmsted ensured that engineering projects\u2014such as fresh water for New York City or flood control for Boston\u2014included social benefits as well, especially using green space,\u201d said Messner. \u201cAs a result, New York has Central Park and Boston has its Emerald Necklace. Atlanta has the Druid Hills neighborhood, and many other cities are much more livable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is fitting to name an endowed faculty chair in Olmsted\u2019s memory, Messner says, because his works are as important today as they were when they were created.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOlmsted thought of his efforts as furthering the democratic civilization and improving the urban environment,\u201d said Messner. \u201cHis life and work can be a great example to young engineers to help them understand fully what it means to be a true \u2018civil\u2019 and \u2018environmental\u2019 engineer\u2014it\u2019s about our society and our environment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Frederick Law Olmsted Chair has tremendous potential, now more than ever,\u201d said Reginald DesRoches, the Karen and John Huff School Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering. \u201cA critical issue we are facing as a nation is the maintenance and rebuilding of our aging infrastructure to ensure the quality of life for future generations of Americans. Our hope is that the holder of the Olmsted Chair will prompt our students and alumni who are engaged in this process to think creatively about how our cities and suburbs can be made more livable in the process of updating our infrastructure. Mike and Jenny Messner are exceptionally thoughtful and civic-minded people who have given us a unique opportunity to imagine and build a better future. We are very grateful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E(\u003Cstrong\u003ENote\u003C\/strong\u003E: This story was originally published in the Winter 2013 issue of Campaign Quarterly)\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlumnus Michael G. Messner and his wife Jenny recently established a planned gift that will create the Frederick Law Olmsted Chair in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Honoring the father of American landscape architecture"}],"uid":"27299","created_gmt":"2013-03-06 16:59:41","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:48","author":"Michael Hagearty","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"197501":{"id":"197501","type":"image","title":"Frederick Law Olmsted","body":null,"created":"1449179918","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:38","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Frederick Law Olmsted","file":{"fid":"196461","name":"frederick-law-olmsted.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/frederick-law-olmsted_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/frederick-law-olmsted_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":990288,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/frederick-law-olmsted_0.jpg?itok=TSxdQ1t4"}},"197511":{"id":"197511","type":"image","title":"Olmsted Park","body":null,"created":"1449179918","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:38","changed":"1475894848","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:28","alt":"Olmsted Park","file":{"fid":"196462","name":"olpa_deepdene5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/olpa_deepdene5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/olpa_deepdene5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1461954,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/olpa_deepdene5_0.jpg?itok=PmMR_kMd"}}},"media_ids":["197501","197511"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Civil and Environmental Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1897","name":"Civil Engineering"},{"id":"351","name":"development"},{"id":"3343","name":"Endowed Chair"},{"id":"60541","name":"frederick law olmsted"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"60551","name":"planned gift"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kathleen.moore@ce.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKathleen Moore\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Civil \u0026amp; Environmental Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.385.3171\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}