Stuckeman School Strategic Plan
Stuckeman School Strategic Plan
2025–2030
Strategic Plan
Who We Are
The Stuckeman School is home to three departments—Architecture, Graphic Design, Landscape Architecture—and three research centers: the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing (SCDC), Hamer Center for Community Design, and Center for Ecology plus Design (E+D). Through shared critical design thinking, visual communication, and collaborative processes across disciplines, we not only sustain and advance disciplinary excellence but also cultivate transdisciplinary collaboration and learning experience, incubate innovative and integrative design research and teaching, strengthen professional practice and community service, and amplify our contribution to the land-grant mission serving Pennsylvania communities with broader impacts to society nationally and globally.
Vision Statement
By 2030, the Stuckeman School will enhance its recognition as a national and global collaborator in transdisciplinary design education, research, and innovation, driving transformative solutions to complex societal challenges and creating generational positive impact in communities locally and globally.
Mission Statement
The Stuckeman School inspires and empowers designers, thinkers, and leaders to tackle complex challenges through creative, critical, and collaborative design. Grounded in ethics, equity, and diverse perspectives, we cultivate innovation that enriches lives, strengthens communities, and shapes a better world.
Goal 1
Position the Stuckeman School as a nationally and globally recognized collaborator in transdisciplinary design innovation
Goal 2
Foster an inclusive, diverse, and collaborative culture grounded in equity, well-being, and transdisciplinary engagement
Goal 3
Strengthen research capacity, infrastructure, and support systems to drive innovation
Goal 4
Cultivate future-ready designers for purposeful impact
Department of Architecture
Vision Statement
Penn State Architecture prepares holistic, critical thinkers and resilient designers who engage their communities and shape the built environment through design excellence, fairness, innovation, and the integration of research and education.
Mission Statement
Penn State Architecture unites design excellence, socio-cultural engagement, and technological innovation to shape a just, resilient, and inspiring built environment. We lead through an integrated research and design curriculum and amplify our impact through our people, facilities, tools, and partnerships that advance architectural discourse locally and globally.
Goal 1
Strengthen our curricular identity
Goal 2
Integrate research, teaching, and creative practice
Goal 3
Build upon our internal culture and external reputation
Department of Graphic Design
Vision Statement
Penn State Graphic Design challenges designers to actively shape the world we live in. We anticipate an evolving context for professional practice through innovative problem-solving at different scales—from objects to systems to communities—engaging with people-centered research and theory, ethical practices, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Mission Statement
Penn State Graphic Design prepares curious, creative designers to be visionary leaders who practice design thinking, visual communication, and experiential engagement to build sustainable relationships among people, places, services, and communities.
Goal 1
Academic excellence and curriculum innovation
Goal 2
Faculty development and wellbeing
Goal 3
Student success and career preparation
Department of Landscape Architecture
Vision Statement
Creatively address social and environmental problems through the art and science of landscape design.
Mission Statement
Education and research committed to environmental and social good.
Goal 1
Professional Leadership: Evolve our programs to prepare students for a changing profession
Goal 2
Innovation in Research and Creative Practice: Support faculty and student research to address environmental and social challenges
Goal 3
Access and Equity: Reduce barriers to the profession through a welcoming, supportive community
Goal 4
Global Issues / Local Communities: Prepare students for global citizenship while learning with local communities
Stuckeman Center for Design Computing
Vision Statement
To be a national and international reference for design computing research that strategically leverages technology to address societal and environmental challenges.
Mission Statement
The Stuckeman Center for Design Computing (SCDC) advances the integration of computation in design education and practice, fostering innovation that serves social and environmental good. As a hub for research, the Center empowers future architects, landscape architects, and designers with cutting-edge computational tools and actively contributes to the development of such tools and methods. Through transdisciplinary collaborations, the SCDC contributes to research aiming at creating context-sensitive, high-performance built environments and delivering solutions aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, shaping a more sustainable and equitable world.
Goal 1
Advance research excellence in design computing
Goal 2
Integrate computational thinking, methods, and tools into design education
Goal 3
Promote social and environmental impact through computational research
Goal 4
Strengthen global visibility and leadership
Hamer Center for Community Design
Vision Statement
To lead visionary community-engaged design research where challenges and solutions are shaped with the communities we serve, fostering an action-oriented shared learning culture that challenges assumptions, expands understanding, creates reciprocity, and strengthens justice-driven collaborations.
Mission Statement
The Hamer Center for Community Design (Hamer Center) is an endowed center that seeks to utilize the expertise of faculty and students in the Stuckeman School to address a range of issues impacting the quality of communities, with a focus on relevance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Hamer Center activities entail two distinct but related types of undertakings: 1) applied research; and 2) theoretical investigations on issues related to community design and planning. The Hamer Center’s work addresses community-engaged design in the public interest including, but not limited to, affordable housing, energy and community resilience, and healthful and sustainable environments.
Goal 1
Position the Hamer Center for Community Design as a leader in transdisciplinary design research
Goal 2
Increase capacity for project-based learning and support curricular efforts in urban/community design and planning
Goal 3
Measure and communicate the Impact of community-engaged design research and education in sustainability, resilience and community well-being.
Center for Ecology plus Design
Vision Statement
We will be an international center of research, outreach, and education in ecological design.
Mission Statement
The Center for Ecology plus Design's mission is research-activated ecological design, research-informed ecological design education, and outreach that work to improve the ecological health of the built and natural environment.
Goal 1
Increase ecological design research through grants, contracts, and endowments
Goal 2
Increase collaboration in research, education, and outreach
Goal 3
Develop a more cohesive E+D management structure
Goal 4
Continue to develop E+D facility within Stuckeman