Personal Statement

Reuben Rainey has taught in the School of Architecture for 33 years and served as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture for 5 years. His courses focus on the history of landscape architecture and the design of "healing" environments for a wide range of health care facilities. He has also taught in the Vicenza, Italy, summer program for 11 years. His academic background includes work on comparative religion and psychology of religion, which he taught at Columbia University and Middlebury College before entering the field of landscape architecture in mid-career. His research and publications cover a broad range of topics, including 19th and 20th century park design, historic preservation, Italian Renaissance villas, the work of major 20th century landscape architects, and the design of spaces in medical facilities. His articles have been translated into French, German, Swedish, Japanese, and Italian. He makes documentary videos on a wide range of subjects, including Italian Renaissance villas and healing gardens. He also supervised the creation of an electronic slide archive of major works in the history of landscape architecture, which is used extensively in his courses and in other classes as well. He co-authored a book on the garden of the Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer that received an American Society of Landscape Architects honor award. He is co-producer of the ten-part PBS documentary "GardenStory" and co-director of the Center for Design and Health. He has received various teaching awards, including Teacher of the Year in the School of Architecture, an all-University teaching award, a University of Virginia Harrison Award for teaching innovation, and the Distinguished Educator Award of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.