UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Thousands of Penn State students will learn about the history of landscape architecture from E. Lynn Miller, who created "Landscape Architecture 60: Landscape Architecture History" and made the course popular through his storytelling-style of lecturing. Fifty years after he gave his first Penn State lecture, the Department of Landscape Architecture and its alumni have invited Miller back for an “encore” presentation, open to the public, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, in the Palmer Lipcon Auditorium, Palmer Museum of Art, on the University Park campus.
“Professor Miller is a master storyteller -- literally bringing history to life -- but he is also always on top of the latest issues and weaves that information into his talks. He both enchants and challenges his listeners,” said Kelleann Foster, interim head of the Department of Landscape Architecture.
Miller retired as professor emeritus in 1990. Since then, he has co-authored "Classic McHarg: An Interview," a book about renowned landscape architect Ian McHarg. He also has served as interim department chair and visiting professor at several universities, including the University of Arkansas and the University of Texas at Austin. In 1994, he founded the Centre County Farmland Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving rich, productive farmland in Central Pennsylvania.
Miller was part of one of the five teams selected as finalists in the National Park Service’s design competition for the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset, Pa. He currently is serving on the board of Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT), a non-profit dedicated to preserving native vegetation and wildlife in the vanishing Sonoran Desert surrounding the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Ariz.
“Lynn has lost none of his wit and charm -- this is sure to be a memorable lecture,” said Foster.