Dennis P. and Barbara J. Livrone
 

After 35 years as an environmental planner, adjunct faculty member Dennis Livrone knows all too well the multitude of needs and challenges that cities, towns, counties and regions, even nations, face when it comes to community development -- changing climate, increasing population density, strain on water and energy resources, and disparate economic capital.

That’s why as an adjunct professor in Tyler’s community development and planning programs, he encourages his undergraduate students to pursue an advanced degree and his graduate students to consider specializing in environmental planning.

It is also why he and his wife, Barbara, recently established a scholarship fund for students pursuing a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning at Tyler. Livrone said he was largely prompted after discovering that a colleague who recently passed away had created a similar fund at another area university.

The Dennis P. and Barbara J. Livrone City and Regional Planning Scholarship will provide $2,500 annually for a graduate student with financial need who is pursuing a master’s degree in the program. Eligible students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

“Over my years as an adjunct in Tyler’s City and Regional Planning Program, I have seen many students challenged by the high cost of continuing and completing their master’s degree program. Being able to help even one student each year with a scholarship makes me feel like I am giving back to the Temple student community in a small way that hopefully gets that student on the path to a career in planning,” said Livrone.

He said that the planning profession necessarily attracts people from many different and varied backgrounds, and for that reason “undergraduate students who may or may not be sure of their next career move should seriously consider applying their undergraduate education to help meet the vast spectrum of planning needs and challenges.”

“Similarly, most, but not all, graduate students starting out in Tyler’s CTRP master’s program have chosen a planning specialty, including environmental planning, and can look forward to a myriad of employment opportunities,” he added.

Livrone, who received his BS and MEPC at Pennsylvania State University, retired from the Bucks County Planning Commission. For over 35 years, he represented county government on federal, state, regional, county and municipal planning committees, as well as authored and co-authored numerous planning and educational publications. He currently serves as a Doylestown Borough Councilman and was previously the chairperson of Doylestown Borough Park and Recreation Board.