Dear Urban Planning Alumni:

Our connection with UP alumni remains a consistent source of support and encouragement, and we are grateful to everyone in the alumni community. Many in the second-year class have signed up for our very active mentorship program, and over 50 alumni have participated in the Career Fair held recently and attended the student/alumni mixer. The program’s alumni continue to be leaders in the planning field and we follow your successes with pride.

To help us stay connected, please complete this form by March 31 to share updates and any news you would like to feature in the Spring Semester-in-Review newsletter and also to let us know if you are interested in participating in our Spring mixer and Fall 2025 programming.

This Spring’s alumni/student mixer will be held on Friday, April 25, from 7pm to 10pm at Row House, 2128 Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 115 Street right across Morningside Park from campus. We had our largest contingent of alumni from many different classes for the Fall mixer, and we would love to see you at this semester’s.

Also, thank you to the alumni who represented their firms at the annual GSAPP Career Fair at Faculty House in February. Please let us know if you would like to represent your employer at next year’s event.

Coming Soon! The National Conference of the American Planning Association is scheduled for Denver, March 29–April 1 at the Colorado Convention Center and online April 23-25. Program areas this year include Climate Change, Energy and the Environment, Economic Trends, Evolving Technology, Inclusive Planning, Housing Challenges, and Transportation and Infrastructure, among others. The conference always offers an informative and wide-ranging look at trends in planning. The UP Program will again be hosting our annual alumni reception at the conference on the evening of Saturday, March 29. We look forward to meeting many of you there and reconnecting. You can register here for the reception. The location, EDGE restaurant, is about an eight-minute walk from the conference center.

The APA is also conducting a comprehensive salary and benefits survey for the planning profession. The previous salary survey in 2018 was the last extensive report on planner salaries. We encourage you to participate so the information can be updated as accurately as possible. You can report your salary regardless of whether or not you are an APA member. The survey link is here. The responses are completely anonymous and will be used only for aggregate analysis.

The time and effort you devote to keeping your connection to the program strong is a positive influence on the careers of the young planners you are the models for and who you help in so many ways by staying in touch.

We hope to see you in Denver in March, and it is always a pleasure to meet in person whenever you are back on campus.

Best regards,
Douglas

Douglas Woodward
Associate Director for Professional Development & Practice
Urban Planning Program