Since 2018, Dr. Li has served as director of and professor within the Michigan State University School of Planning, Design, and Construction. As director, he oversees four professional programs (construction management, interior design, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning); a Ph.D. program in planning, design, and construction; and the National Charrette Institute.
Dr. Li’s administrative responsibilities encompass the overall teaching, research, and outreach missions of the school, including fiscal resources, personnel, infrastructure, program accreditation, fundraising and development, and stakeholder relations. He represents the school’s interests on campus and with key external stakeholders, including alumni, donors, and industry partners. Among his many accomplishments as school director, he led and completed the school’s 2020-2024 strategic plan, which helped establish a unified school identity and implemented key tactics to execute the plan.
Prior to joining Michigan State, Dr. Li served as an assistant professor, associate professor, and professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning within the Texas A&M University College of Architecture from 2003-2017, as well as a research engineer and research assistant with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute from 1996-2017. He also served as a fellow of Texas A&M’s Center for Health Systems and Design in the College of Architecture from 2014-2020.
His research experience and background cover stormwater management, low-impact development, watershed planning and management, green infrastructure, and roadside vegetation management. His teaching has focused on sustainable water management, low-impact development, and landscape architecture construction.
Dr. Li has served as president and vice president for research on the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, receiving the Outstanding Administrator Award this year and was bestowed a fellowship in 2017. He was also named a fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2019 and was a member of the landscape and environmental design committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural engineering from National Taiwan University, a Master of Science in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Landscape Architecture and Doctor of Philosophy in urban and regional science from Texas A&M University. A copy of Dr. Li’s CV is available online.
I am sincerely thankful for the hard work of the 13-member search committee, chaired by Harry Dombroski, dean of the College of Business and UTA alumnus. The committee’s wide range of perspectives and representation of CAPPA’s core disciplines were essential throughout this very competitive selection process.
I also want to express my appreciation to Dr. Maria Martinez-Cosio for her committed service to the University and dedicated leadership of CAPPA as interim dean since March 2021. Under her guidance, she has led a significant elevation of CAPPA’s profile and increased the impact the college makes in our communities.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Li back to the University of Texas family when he joins the UTA team on Aug. 1. I look forward to his guiding CAPPA to achieving greater success and making an even more profound impact in the student success, teaching excellence, and multi-disciplinary research that have become hallmarks of CAPPA’s well-earned reputation.
