Margaret FitzSimmons Ph.D. ’83

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After a nationwide search, Margaret FitzSimmons was chosen to redesign and strengthen a vital area of concentration within the Urban Planning Program: Environmental Analysis and Policy. She has exceeded all expectations in carrying out this challenging task, developing eleven stimulating new courses and integrating the program with the urban planning curriculum as a whole.

In addition to her talents in curriculum development, FitzSimmons has built a reputation for her ability to teach theory to practitioners in such a way that they will find it interesting and useful. She excels not only as classroom lecturer, but as seminar leader, stimulator of ideas, committee member, adviser and mentor, praised for her clarity of thought and her openness to new ideas and contemporary themes.

Colleagues are impressed by Margaret’s willingness and desire to be accessible to students and to guide them, both in and out of the classroom. And her overwhelming support for minority students is legendary. Her devotion to teaching is especially noteworthy considering the challenging workload placed upon assistant professors.

Margaret FitzSimmons is an exceptional teacher in the fullest sense of the word, using her broad intellectual reach to present thoroughly enriching class sessions. For all her dedication and sincere interest in the progress of her students, Margaret is a fitting recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.