The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) has recognized June Manning Thomas, Centennial Professor Emerita of urban and regional planning and Mary Frances Berry Distinguished University Professor of urban planning, with a Distinguished Educator Award. The ACSP Distinguished Educator Award is presented in appreciation of significant contributions to the planning field. Thomas served as president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning from 2013 to 2015 as well as immediate past president for the following two years.
“The Distinguished Educator Award is ACSP’s highest honor, and we are thrilled that our professional organization has chosen to recognize June in this way,” said Jonathon Levine, professor of urban and regional planning.
Thomas writes about the diversification of the planning profession, planning history, and social equity in neighborhoods and urban revitalization. She received the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning’s 1999 Paul Davidoff Award for her book “Redevelopment and Race.” Her most recent research explores the relationship between the concept of social equity and the civil rights movement and examines the land-use reactions of community organizations to vacant land in Detroit. Her latest book, “Struggling to Learn: An Intimate History of School Desegregation in South Carolina,” highlights the educational gains made by Black South Carolinians during the Jim Crow and civil rights eras and present-day Black education.
