Esteemed Planning graduate returns to inspire current students

Published On Thu 16 Jan 2014 by Grant Hill

Photo opportunity: 1.50pm on Friday, 17th January at Matthew Building Room 5016.

Planning students from the University of Dundee will tomorrow learn more about current practice when an esteemed graduate of the University returns to help prepare the current crop for work in the field.

Gerry Carpenter graduated with a degree in Town & Regional Planning from the University in 1979 and is currently employed as a Senior Planning Manager within the Department of Communities and Local Government, having worked at a senior level in central and local government for most of his career.

As such, he has extensive experience which current students can benefit from, and he will be imparting this during a talk entitled 'Development plans and housing delivery - a brief history and experiences from south of the border' on Friday, 17th January.

The Class of '79 are meeting up for a reunion in Dundee this weekend, and Gerry wrote to Graham Hutton, Head of Architecture & Planning at the University, to see if he could use the occasion to give something back to his alma mater by talking to today's students about the challenges currently facing planners and practitioners as well as the real difference they can make to communities and individuals.

Gerry said, 'The course at Dundee was very practically based and provided me with an excellent grounding for employment and, as such, I would like to give something back. I have a wide range of planning experience having been employed at a senior level in central and local Government for 28 of my 33 years at work and have also been involved in the implementation of major multi-million pound regeneration initiatives in former coalfield areas.

'In addition, having spent 11 years working in central Government, I have been heavily involved in the formulation of national planning policies and have worked closely with politicians, particularly on planning casework.'

Gerry will be speaking to undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University's Town & Regional Planning programme between 2-3.30pm in the Matthew Building Room 5016 on Friday, 17th January.

Town & Regional Planning is part of the School of the Environment, an integrated cross-disciplinary School that also includes Architecture, Geography, and Environmental Science and, as such, is able to offer an innovative suit of research and teaching programmes that aim to create solutions to some of society's most pressing issues.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of planning education at Dundee and a number of events to celebrate this milestone will take place throughout 2014. 

Graduates from the past five decades have also been asked to help mark the anniversary by sending in 'postcards' describing where they are in the world and what they have been up to since leaving University. 

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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