ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VHB MillerSellen announces today that the firm is underwriting the first scholarship endowment for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Urban & Regional Planning Master of Science degree. The announcement was made at a reception highlighting the significance of the program as the first of its kind in the central Florida region.
“Central Florida is the ideal crucible for advancing the best practices for urban and regional planning, and the students in this UCF program will no doubt graduate with exceptional, first-hand experience in the field,” said Jim Sellen, Principal in VHB MillerSellen and an urban planner in Central Florida for more than 30 years. “Our firm is proud to provide support to the top prospective students for this degree year after year.” Central Florida has been among the fastest growing regions in the nation over the past half century and at the center of some of the nation’s most progressing planning initiatives and projects designed to manage growth and natural resources.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer spoke at the reception and has been leading the effort to bring passenger rail to the region and to use transit infrastructure as the framework for the next generation of urban and regional planning. "I applaud VHB MillerSellen for their generous commitment to the UCF Masters in Urban and Regional Planning program,” said Orlando Mayor Dyer. “The City of Orlando is a great planning laboratory with opportunities for study and learning everywhere you turn. As Mayor, I understand the critical importance of the planning profession and why planners are so greatly needed, especially in a fast-growing and fast-changing city such as ours. I would also like to congratulate and recognize UCF for expanding the University to include a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning.”
“Almost every national firm in planning has a presence in Orlando,” Mary Ann Feldheim, chair of the Department of Public Administration said. “The planning community has made a strong commitment to supporting the new program through its willingness to offer internships, mentorships and studio experiences.” Thirty students began their studies last semester, and the program’s enrollment is expected to increase to 80 students by fall 2012.
As the Florida operation of VHB (www.vhb.com), a national integrated planning, design and engineering consulting firm, VHB MillerSellen has been at the forefront of many of Florida’s ground-breaking planning initiatives for 30 years.
“VHB MillerSellen is happy to invest in UCF and the future planners of tomorrow,” said Michael J. Carragher, VHB Southeast Regional Manager. “We continue to invest in Orlando and the vibrant institutions where we work, knowing that universities are focused on a sustainable future for our communities.”
ABOUT VHB MILLERSELLEN: VHB MillerSellen planning services include a focus on urban design and redevelopment, land use planning, sustainable master planning, community and institutional master planning, transportation planning and landscape design. The firm is recognized for its mega scale long-range vision and master planning projects which served as the foundation for Florida’s groundbreaking Sector Planning process to induce smart growth (Horizons West, The North Jacksonville Vision and Master Plan, Taylor County Vision, Bay County Sector Plan and Nassau County Vision Plan as examples); community planning (City of Ocala, Seminole County 17-92 CRA, Baldwin Park, City of Boynton Beach); transit-oriented design (Orlando’s Creative Village and the USF Polytechnic High Speed Rail Station, Treasure Coast Transit-Oriented Development Plan); sustainability master planning (The Northeast Florida Regional Airport Sustainability Plan and the University of South Florida Tampa Campus) and transportation planning (Osceola County Long Range Transit Plan, Woodville Highway Master Plan and I-75 Master Plan Study). VHB employs more than 850 employees in 18 offices throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Florida. For more information, www.vhbmillersellen.com.