New university professorship will support design excellence and the public good through landscape architecture
At the Dec. 5, 2025, meeting of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, members approved the establishment of a new academic position: Kinder Foundation Distinguished Scholar of Landscape Architecture. The new University of Virginia professorship enables the School of Architecture to recruit and retain leading scholars in the field of landscape architecture, with financial support from the endowment also establishing a named Chair for the Department of Landscape Architecture in the future.
The professorship is made possible by a $5 million commitment from Kinder Foundation, a family philanthropic foundation established in 1997 by Rich and Nancy Kinder of Houston, Texas.
“By funding this university professorship, Kinder Foundation is investing in the many essential ways that landscape design education can create measurable social benefit,” said Dean Malo A. Hutson. “I am incredibly grateful for their generous gift and commitment to design for the public good.”
Since its establishment, Kinder Foundation has focused its giving on projects and programs that enhance urban green space, education, and quality of life, particularly in the Houston area where the Kinders reside. The foundation has provided catalytic support for greenspace projects in Houston such as Buffalo Bayou East, Memorial Park, Bayou Greenways, MacGregor Park and more.
“Through the projects we support, we have seen how deep expertise in landscape design can strengthen an initiative and extend its benefits beyond the physical site,” said Nancy Kinder, president and CEO, Kinder Foundation. “The University of Virginia’s strong focus on educating future leaders in the field makes it a natural partner for this investment, which reflects our belief in education as a catalyst for meaningful, community-wide impact.”
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| Led by internationally recognized and deeply engaged faculty, the program fosters expansive ways of thinking and making. Landscape Architecture students encounter diverse ways of understanding socio-ecological systems, innovation and tradition, interspecies relationships, material and artistic expression, and the realities of living in a rapidly changing world. (Photos: Tom Daly) | |
The University of Virginia’s Department of Landscape Architecture offers a professional graduate degree in landscape architecture and a minor which is open to undergraduate students in any major across Grounds. “We are deeply grateful for this gift. Our department is nationally recognized for the excellence of its faculty and alumni, the talent of its students, and a shared commitment to advancing landscape architecture as a civic and cultural practice,” said Associate Professor and Department Chair Leena Cho. “Kinder Foundation’s transformative gift affirms the field’s vital role in shaping resilient and inspiring public spaces and communities, and will amplify our capacity for exceptional teaching, design, research and mentorship for generations to come here at UVA.”
Contact:
Sneha Patel, Executive Director of Communications, UVA School of Architecture
snehapatel@virginia.edu