Dean Robert Shibley Elected to AICP College of Fellows

Dean Robert G. Shibley has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Nominated by the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association, Shibley is recognized for his planning leadership and community service over the past four decades, and for his role in advancing, championing and quietly leading the revitalization of Buffalo and Western New York.

Election to the College of Fellows is one of the highest honors bestowed by the AICP. Shibley's election is made with particular acknowledgement of his leadership and advocacy of planning in service to the public. Fellows are elevated before the public and the profession as model planners who have made significant contributions to planning and society.

Describing Shibley as an "insistent advocate for excellence and inclusiveness in urban planning and design," Katie Evans, president of the New York Upstate APA, reflects on Shibley's legacy in the nomination's narrative: "Bob’s greatest achievement is that he has instilled in each of us the belief that change is possible, planning matters and that as planners we should strive to help others achieve their goals."

“The significant changes in Buffalo are the direct result of Bob’s perseverance in ensuring everyone has a say in the future of their community,” she continues.  

In 1990, Shibley founded the Urban Design Project (UDP), which developed the international award-winning Queen City series of plans for the City of Buffalo’s downtown, waterfront and Olmsted park system, as well as a city-wide comprehensive plan. Rooted in conversations with 6,000 city residents, the work has laid the foundation for Buffalo’s current renaissance, spurring new investment and elevating public expectations for design and planning.

UDP has since merged with the UB Regional Institute, together serving as an award-winning planning policy and research center. Among its current efforts is planning and research in support of Regional Economic Development Councils in Western New York and now Upstate New York. The strategic plan developed by the WNYREDC with UBRI inspired Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” pledge, which is now driving a burst of private investment in Western New York. Shibley and UBRI are also at the helm of “One Region Forward,” a broad-based community effort in sustainable development planning that involved over 5,000 citizens and more than 700 organizations across Erie and Niagara Counties. The three-year effort has been honored by the APA with the 2016 National Planning Achievement Award for Public Outreach. Among the effort's engagement innovations is an ongoing Citizen Planning School to train citizens as change-agents in micro sustainable development.

Shibley will be formally inducted into the College of Fellows at the National APA Conference next month in Phoenix.

Shibley has received 13 lifetime achievement awards from national, regional and local institutions, including the American Institute of Architects' 2014 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. Shibley, an architect, planner and urban designer, is also a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.