Sustainable Europe Summer Course

Follow our summer course in Switzerland via our student blog at: http://europestudies.wordpress.com/.  Students will update the blog daily (or depending on travel every other day). We have 12 students from UVA and 9 from VT, including 5 graduate MURP students. Thus, chances are that you may know one of the ‘bloggers’.

October 17: All ACC - VT Golf Challenge

October 17: All ACC - VT Golf Challenge | 11 AM | Evergreen Country Club (Haymarket, VA)

FORE! Golfers of all skill level are invited to join the National Capital Region Chapter for our annual HokieOpen Golf Tournament. 

This year’s event will take place at the premiere 18-hole course at Evergreen Country Club (evergreencc.org) in Haymarket, VA. Evergreen offers a challenging, highly acclaimed Algie Pulley layout, which features water on 6 of the 18 holes, dramatic elevation changes, excellent course conditions, and 7,096 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. 

Registration is open for the first 144 people. The $125 tournament fee includes practice time, golf cart, lunch, drinks on the course, a buffet dinner, and more! Prizes and awards (including a $10,000 Hole-in-One challenge) will be given away to our winners. A portion of the proceeds will benefit scholarships for students in the National Capital Region area. 

For more information, please visit http://hokieopen.org.

DC Area VT Alumni Association July 16: Family Summer Picnic

July 16: Family Summer Picnic | Time: 1 - 4 PM | Lake Fairfax Park - Home of the Water Mine (Reston, VA) | Contact: rob.bergeron@ncrhokies.org

Lake Fairfax Park is back by popular demand for this event. Many area Hokie alums have enjoyed our picnic here because it’s less than 20 miles from Arlington, Centreville, Bethesda, and DC. The 476-acre Lake Fairfax Park (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/lakefairfax) features an 18-acre lake, picnic areas, trails, and a playground. The park is also home to the Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/rec/watermine), with slides, flumes, sprays, showers, and floatables. These attractions are designed for elementary-aged children, but there is something for everyone. 

Here is what your alma mater will provide:

• A kid-friendly and dog-friendly event 
• All-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers
• Bottomless cold beverages (alcohol is strictly prohibited in the park)
• A wide variety of desserts for everybody
• Cold side dish contest (with special prizes for the winners)
• Games and activities for kids and adults (with special prizes for the winners)

If you are interested in entering the side dish contest, please contact Rob Bergeron at rob.bergeron@ncrhokies.org. 

For more information on the event and to register, visit www.ncrhokies.org/event/Virginia-Tech-Summer-Picnic.

You're Invited: FREE Lunchtime Workshop on Eco-City Alexandria on Thurs July 14

Alexandria Quality of Life Initiative
Lunchtime Workshop Series
Cosponsored by
ACT for Alexandria ■ City of Alexandria ■ Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria
■ Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy

The Alexandria Quality of Life (AQOL) Lunchtime Workshop Series bring people together around the key questions and challenges involved in further enhancing our great community.  How do we measure Alexandria’s Quality of Life?  How can agencies, nonprofits, businesses and community groups use this data to make our community an even better place to live, work and play?

In a conversational setting, we’ll discuss best practices and key insights about using community indicators to make meaningful community change, including ‘lessons learned’ from colleagues and peers. 

Join us for a stimulating discussion!  The workshops are free and open to the public; **FREE LUNCH** is provided for the July program courtesy of Virginia Tech.  For more information, contact Beth Offenbacker, Ph.D., Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy at boffen@vt.edu or 703 623 4811.

Case Study:

Eco-City Alexandria and Community Indicators

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Noon -1pm

Beginning in spring 2007, the City of Alexandria partnered with Virginia Tech’s Urban Affairs and Planning Program (UAP) to design and facilitate a new, strategic collaborative planning process, called Eco-City Alexandria, to create an Eco-City Charter and Environmental Action Plan to guide Alexandria toward sustainability. Eco-Cities are places where people can live healthier and economically productive lives while reducing their impact on the environment. They work to harmonize existing policies, regional realities, and economic and business markets with their natural resources and environmental assets. Eco-Cities strive to engage all citizens in collaborative and transparent decision making, while being mindful of social equity concerns. 

As part of this effort, the Eco-City Alexandria team conducted an inventory of existing City programs and plans and examined best practices from across the country and around the world to create a Compendium of Model Programs and Practices. Join us for an indepth conversation about the ‘lessons learned’ from creating these indicators and how they are being used to support the Alexandria Eco-City Charter.

Speakers include:

□        Bill Skrabak, Director, Office of Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, City of Alexandria

□        Joe Schilling, Professor of Practice, VT Urban Affairs and Planning Program and part of the Eco-City Project team

 

LOCATION: Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314

Street parking nearby and also accessible via Alexandria’s DASH bus service

No charge to attend.  Seating is limited; please RSVP by Wednesday, July 13 at http://tinyurl.com/43o282r

Upcoming Northern Virginia AICP CM Credit Programs

2011 Planning Law Review
APA Audio/Web Conference (1.5 CM Credits)
Wednesday June 29, 2011, 4:00 PM to 05:30 PM
1.5 CM Credits
Hosted by: Fairfax County Dept. of Planning & Zoning
Herrity Building, Room 106
12055 Government Center Pkwy.
Fairfax, VA 22035
RSVP: DPZTraining@fairfaxcounty.gov
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Land Use, Local Election and Citizen Participation Processes in the US and Russia
1.5 CM Credits
Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Arlington Central Library Auditorium
1015 North Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22201
RSVP: vapanova@gmail.com

Land use, local elections and citizen participation processes work differently in Russia than the US. While it is well known that Russia has an authoritarian and highly corrupt government, there is little public discussion in the US about how these problems affect local concerns, such as urban planning, the allocation of municipal property, and citizen participation processes. Robert Orttung will provide an overview of current practices in Russia as compared with the U.S. Robert Orttung is the assistant director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and a Research Associate Professor of International Affairs. He is the author or editor of several books on current affairs in Russia as well as commentary published in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
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APA Virginia Annual Conference – 2011
Wintergreen Resort
Wednesday July 20 through Friday, July 22, 2011
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WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLANS
3.0 AICP Credit Pending
Wednesday, July 27, 2011, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Reston, VA
Hosted by: Fairfax County Dept. of Planning & Zoning and Dept. of Public Works and Environmental Services
RSVP by July 21, 2011 at: DPZTraining@fairfaxcounty.gov

Fairfax County has completed Watershed Management Plans for all 30 watersheds in the County. The Plans assess the health of all watersheds and contain a 25-year list of stormwater management and environmental restoration capital improvement projects. A tour of local stormwater project sites will follow a presentation on the Watershed Management Plans and planning process.

William Preston Society Master’s Thesis Awards

The Graduate School announces a call for nominations for the William Preston society Master’s Thesis Awards. Three awards will be selected, one from each of the following categories:

· Life Sciences
· Social Sciences, Business and Education
· Innovation Application of Technology to Scholarship

Eligible students will have completed their master's thesis in Summer 2010, Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. Winners will be recognized at the William Preston Society Annual Meeting in September 2011 and be submitted as a nominee for the awards selected by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools.

For complete information about eligibility and nomination process, please see this link: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/honors_awards/graduate_awards/index.html

Deadline for submission of nominations is Friday July 29, 2011 at 5 pm

Job Oppty: Cumberland County Planning/Zoning

Cumberland County has a job available for a Planner I/Assistant Zoning Administrator.  It is an entry level planning job and the posting closes on July 1st.

Please click on this link for the ad, job description and an application.
http://www.cumberlandcounty.virginia.gov/humanresources/index.html