Kaley Bangston has been named as this year's recipient of the Jim Harris Memorial Scholarship Award. The scholarship was established in 2002 to honor the memory of our School’s first Chair, Jim Harris. The scholarship recognizes an Urban and Regional Planning student who best exemplifies Jim’s commitment to community service.

Each year the award is made to a student who best demonstrates excellence in community service.  Kaley was selected because of her outstanding service to the School of Urban and Regional Planning.  Last year she played a key role in organizing two major events:  1) two student forums organized around Community Planning Month and 2) Bike to Campus day during Earth Month in April 2012. 

This year, Kaley played a very important role in organizing student responses to the accreditation site visit.  And in Spring 2013, she organized an outstanding student study trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The study trip, lasting March 13-15, included a day and one-half of some of the most interesting and enjoyable presentations, tours, and conversations that our director has ever witnessed in his 32 years of teaching.  Having been on many, many urban planning field trips, including many that he organized himself, Chuck can easily say that the trip Kaley organized was the best he's ever been on.  Everything about the trip went well.  All the events were interesting and none were too short or too long.  Participants had the opportunity to learn much without ever being rushed or feeling that they could not stand to listen any more to another speaker. Coming as it did, just before the end of the year home stretch, the trip was a welcome “shot in the arm” that stimulated everyone to appreciate what a terrific field urban and regional planning is. 

The trip to Milwaukee, as well as Kaley's other work, is truly a gift to us all, for which we are very thankful. Congratulations to Kaley on receiving this award.