School of Planning, Design and Construction

The School of Planning, Design and Construction’s Landscape Architecture Program is pleased to announce the addition of its newest faculty member, Karen Russcher. Russcher has been practicing Landscape Architecture and master planning for over 20 years in North Carolina and California. She received her Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1992 and her Bachelor of Science from University of Kentucky in 1990.

Russcher has extensive experience in large-scale master planning, including educational, recreation and corporate campuses, as well as in streetscape and mixed-use design projects. While in North Carolina, she was a principal with LandDesign and participated in many large-scale master planning projects in Charlotte, as well as surrounding states.

Her love of the natural environment brought her to California, where she focused on sustainable design practices, carefully incorporating best management practices that connect the built environment with the natural environment. Russcher is an avid hiker and leads hiking groups teaching people about local natural systems, flora and fauna.

Her passion for teaching design, and her appreciation for our natural resources have helped to define creative solutions that integrate with the environment.