University Of Pennsylvania Prof. Ian McHarg Dies

PHILADELPHIA Ian L. McHarg, 80, an Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, died Monday, March 5 of pulmonary disease at Chester County Hospital.

Born in Scotland on November 20, 1920, Prof. McHarg was a U.S. citizen and lived in Unionville, Pa. He was the founder of the Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department at Penn and was perhaps best known for introducing environmental concerns in landscape architecture.

Prof. McHarg received the Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award and 15 medals, including the National Medal of Art and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture. He was also instrumental in founding the original Earth Week and he took his environmental cause to Washington, participating in conferences and task forces in the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Carter administrations.

Last year, he was awarded the Japan Prize in city planning. The Japan Prize is presented annually to scientists and researchers who have made a substantial contribution to the advancement of science and technology.

In 1997, Prof. McHarg received the Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Certified Planners.

He earned his bachelor and master degrees from Harvard University.

In 1984, Connoisseur magazine named him as one of 131 "American Living Monuments." His "Man and Environment" class at Penn spanned 20 years.

He has also been in the national spotlight as host of the CBS series "The House We Live In" and in his film "Multiply  and Subdue the Earth." His publications include Design With Nature, A Quest for Life, The Once and Future Forest and To Heal the Earth.