Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center Unveiled
On April 26, 2019, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the grand opening of the new facilities of the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture: the new Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center, located in the LSU Design Building. In attendance were Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, LSU President F. King Alexander, Provost Stacie Haynie, LSU Foundation President and CEO Bryan Benchoff, and other honored guests in the LSU community.
The generous donation of Jeffrey Carbo (BLA 1985) and his wife Wendy (HS&E ’88) made possible the renovation of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture (RRSLA) main office, transforming it to become the Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center: an innovative, modern space that will enhance recruitment efforts and recognize fellow alumni’s and professors’ outstanding contributions to the field of landscape architecture.
“Students today think very differently than I did 35 years ago. They think like my son – he’s very observant,” Mr. Carbo said. “If you say that you’re a number one program but you don’t look like you’re the best, they’re questioning you.”
The RRSLA main office was renovated with this goal in mind: to attract the best candidates in the world with top-notch facilities that reflect the high caliber of the program. The newly refurbished spaces are sleek and modern, with an elegant design aesthetic. A documentary film was commissioned to play on the television monitors, telling the story of “Doc” Robert Reich, founder of the LSU school of landscape architecture, and educating prospective students about the profession and program.
“The idea is to use the space to recruit and develop the very best students, and educate them about the legacy of the excellence in the program,” Carbo said. “Look up the most successful landscape architects in the world, and most are LSU graduates. It’s pretty amazing!”
RRSLA is ranked the #1 landscape architecture program in the country this year, and has been consistently ranked in the top first undergraduate programs in the field in the past decade, along with Harvard, Cornell, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania.
“We’re attracting and retaining the very brightest individuals in Louisiana,” Governor Edwards said at the event.
“The new facilities are now a physical reflection of the high caliber of the school,” said Mark Boyer, Director of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. “This space reflects the stature of the program, and the legacy the Doc Reich built for landscape architecture at LSU.”
“I chose the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture because it’s the best program in the country,” MLA candidate Mai Nguyen-Thibodeaux said. “Once I visited and talked to faculty, it just solidified the decision to come to this really beautiful, welcoming place.”
“The ribbon-cutting was a wonderful celebration of the opening of these top-notch new facilities within the College of Art & Design,” said Dean Alkis Tsolakis, College of Art & Design.