Rodney Swink Named Distinguished Alumnus

D I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N U S

College of Design names Rodney Swink as 2004 Distinguished Alumnus

The North Carolina State University College of Design has named Rodney Swink of Raleigh, N.C., as its 2004 Distinguished Alumnus. The award was presented at a special event hosted by the NC State Alumni Association held November 5, 2004, at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

After completing his bachelor of arts in economics from NC State in 1973, Swink returned to NC State to earn his master’s in landscape architecture with a concentration in community planning and urban economics from the College of Design in 1977.

A registered landscape architect, Swink is director of the North Carolina Office of Urban Development, which is responsible for leading downtown revitalization and development efforts statewide. Prior to working for the state in the Department of Commerce, Swink served in various roles within the Division of Forest Resources as a landscape designer, landscape architect and administrative officer.

Swink has been a visiting lecturer in the landscape architecture program at the College of Design throughout his career. Rodney Swink, FASLA, (MLAR 1977)

Dean Marvin Malecha praises Swink as “an individual who has taken his design education and put it to use as a public servant working for the people of North Carolina in projects as significant as the Main Street program. He has built on his education by serving as a leader in the field of landscape architecture nationally and has devoted his time to the future by accepting teaching assignments here at the College of Design. It is easy to characterize Rodney as an exemplary public servant, leader in the design profession and as a caring teacher.” Swink volunteers extensively in the community and is a guiding force for the landscape architecture department as both a lecturer and a member of its advisory board. He served as chair of the spring 2005 college conference “Designing Communities for Healthy Living.” Swink’s leadership earned him the prestigious Robert E. Stipe Professional Award from Preservation North Carolina citing that, “perhaps no other individual in this state has been called upon by so many communities with an urgent cry to assist in saving that community’s historic fabric.” He has also received the Frank B. Turner Award from the State Construction Office and the NC Partners of the Americas Bramham/Marcus Humanitarian Award.

He is a fellow and national past president of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Locally, Swink chaired the Raleigh Appearance Commission, was a founding member of Scenic North Carolina and served on the boards of Preservation North Carolina and the NC State Friends of the Gallery. Internationally, he has lent his expertise in revitalization to the people of Bolivia through his leadership of North Carolina Partners of the Americas.