The Weitzman School’s Allison Lassiter, James Billingsley, and Natalie Kuenzi have been honored with G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2022-2023.

The award is presented annually to three members of the Weitzman faculty, based on nominations by Weitzman students, to recognize distinguished teaching and innovation in the classroom, seminar, or studio. This year’s honorees were widely praised by students for deepening their understanding of their profession and practice and for creating a welcoming and encouraging culture in which students thrived.

Allison Lassiter is an assistant professor in the department of city & regional planning who teaches courses on sustainable cities, smart cities, and water policy. According to one student who nominated her, “she is not only deeply knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter she teaches (smart cities, water policy) but also teaches with a very clear thesis each class period and ties it to compelling real-world examples.”

Dr. Lassiter examines opportunities to use landscape infrastructure and emerging technologies to build resilience and increase adaptive capacity in cities. Her research focuses on urban water management, and she is currently working on evidence-based green infrastructure policy; adapting municipal water to rising seas; and smart water.

Additional quotes from her students: “I cannot overstate how much I absorb through Allison’s teaching style and how motivated I feel to apply what I learn in any future job.”  “Allison is incredibly passionate about her work. She can explain complex concepts so simply and elegantly. She makes every class fascinating and exciting. Her research and work are in the most cutting-edge and timely areas of planning.”

James Billingsley, MArch’20/MLA’20, is a lecturer in the department of landscape architecture who teaches the course topics in digital media landscape existentialism, co-teaches a third-year option studio, and assists in teaching theory II. Students nominating Mr. Billingsley commented on his deep intellect and thoughtfulness. One of the students who nominated him said, “The studio has expanded my understanding of the potential of landscape architecture, and I will carry the experience with me for the rest of my career.”

Mr. Billingsley is the co-founder and editor of Cline, an independent journal for emerging writers in landscape architecture and allied disciplines.

Additional quotes from his students: “James is singular in his ability to share his deep intellect with thoughtful and tender regard to both subject and student.” “He would write long, engaged responses to each individual student encountering landscape architecture theory for the first time, making them feel inspired to engage more deeply in the material.” “James’s ideas and approach to teaching present a range of possibilities for the field of landscape architectures and extend the conventions of what practice might look like.” “Every student produced exciting, unique, and personal projects that simply would not have occurred under anyone else’s guidance. The design work was grounded in our own theoretical arguments that James helped us to develop through an intensive theory seminar series at the beginning to the semester. We each developed our own experimental processes for design inquiry.”

Natalie Kuenzi is a lecturer in the department of fine arts who taught the introduction to clay course this year. One student wrote, “She has been a big advocate for everyone in the classroom and has created a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their skill level.”

Ms. Kuenzi is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores traditions of craft and art making that celebrate the artist and viewer as agents of change. She is interested in transforming how humans make and consume through reclamation, material innovation, and the power of the imagination. Her work has been exhibited nationally and she is a member of Vox Populi, an artist-run space in Philadelphia.

Additional quotes from her students: “Natalie has shown true care and consideration for all of her students, giving them a space to explore their own artistic identity.” “I know that she has sparked a life-long interest in the medium for me. She deserves endless recognition for the effort she puts into creating an engaging class.”

The G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Teaching Award is named in honor of the late G. Holmes Perkins, who served as dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts, as the Weitzman School was then known, from 1951 to 1971.