The Master of Community Planning (MCP) degree program is one of four graduate programs within Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC).

In 1978, Darrell Meyer, FAICP [now] was recruited through a national search to develop a new Master of Regional Planning (MRP) degree program in the Department of Architecture, as [then] located within the School of Architecture and Fine Arts. The MRP degree program entered new students starting in the 1979 fall term. Two years later, in 1981, a joint degree program with the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) degree was developed. In the 1982 spring term, the MRP degree name was changed to Master of Community Planning (MCP) to better reflect the program’s primary focus on the planning of smaller towns and communities within Alabama. The first class of graduates with the Master of Community Planning (MCP) degree was in 1982.

The Graduate Program in Community Planning continued under Professor Meyer’s leadership as a degree program within the Department of Architecture through the mid-1990s. During this period, the department became the School of Architecture; and a joint degree program with the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree was initiated.

In 1995, the School of Architecture was administratively reconstituted as the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC); and a “new” School of Architecture was designated as a discrete component of the college, along with the Departments of Building Science and Industrial Design. The School of Architecture administrative structure remained with four academic degree programs: Architecture, Interior Architecture, Community Planning and Landscape Architecture.

After a national search, John J. Pittari, Jr., PhD was hired as a permanent, tenure-track Associate Professor starting in the 1996 fall term. One year later, in 1997, Darrell Meyer retired from the faculty and went into private practice, and Professor Pittari assumed the responsibilities of administrative leadership for the MCP degree program. During the next several years, the Community Planning program and the Landscape Architecture program (which had now become a graduate degree program) strengthened their cooperative relationship.

Starting in the 2002 fall semester, Sharon Gaber, PhD, AICP, joined the college as Associate Dean. With an academic background in planning, Professor Gaber assumed a part-time faculty role within the MCP degree program, and allowed the program to immediately offer a new course in Quantitative Methods. At the same time, John Gaber, PhD, AICP, was hired in a visiting appointment; and, after a national search, was retained as a full-time faculty member effective fall 2003. His addition significantly enhanced the program’s offerings in the areas of research methods and planning theory.

The program faculty also undertook several noteworthy academic enhancements during the 2002-2003 academic year. They designated two curricular tracks in urban design and community development; developed a graduate minor in community planning for Building Science (MBSC) and Landscape Architecture (MLA) students; and revitalized the joint degree program with the Master of Public Administration program. Effective June 2003, Associate Dean Sharon Gaber also assumed administrative leadership of the Community Planning program on an interim basis.

With the significant increase in program faculty size, student enrollment numbers also rose steadily over the next several years, as did the level of scholarship and external research funding. All of these positive changes culminated in the program receiving its initial accreditation in January 2005; and in July of that same year, John Gaber assumed the duties of the newly designated position of Program Chair. Soon thereafter, Michael Clay, PhD, was hired through a national search as a full-time faculty member effective in the 2005 fall semester, and notably allowed the program to expand its elective course offerings to include transportation planning. Professor Clay has also quickly become involved with research/outreach efforts with several regional municipalities.

After another national search, Rebecca Retzlaff, PhD, AICP, was hired as a full-time faculty member effective in the 2006 fall semester. Her addition to the faculty will allow the program to expand its offerings in historic preservation, and to provide significant new course offerings in the area of environmental planning. This hire is also noteworthy in that it brings the core program faculty to four full-time members and thus enables an increased level of academic autonomy and governance for the program within the School of Architecture.

Starting in June 2006, Associate Dean Sharon Gaber moved to the University Provost’s Office to become Associate Provost for Academic Administration. Professor Gaber has maintained her part-time appointment as a member of the program faculty, however, to advise students and serve on synthesis committees. Effective July 2006, John Gaber stepped down as Program Chair and John J. Pittari, Jr., who served previously as the program’s administrator for six years, assumed the duties of Program Chair.