Abstract
There are few who have the opportunity to participate in the development of an academic discipline at the precise moment in history when the professional field becomes an accepted member of the academy. For this, I am grateful and humbled.
The above quote from David Prosperi is from his last editorial note as JPER editor in 1987. Professor Prosperi, who was founding co-editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER), passed away August 4, 2014, at the age of sixty-five.
The planning academy owes a great debt to David for his extraordinary efforts, along with those of his colleague and then dean, Jay Chatterjee, to establish our journal of record at a time when there was substantial skepticism about the viability of another planning journal. In his reflections about starting the journal on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, Chatterjee noted that the journal received no budgetary support in its first two years and he “had to depend on local support and a lot of hard work by David Prosperi, my former colleague and co-editor, to pull it together.”
Besides his service to the academy in establishing JPER, David remained an active contributor to the work of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning throughout his career. In his teaching and research, David was particularly interested in the use of systems and critical methods to understand, evaluate, model, create, and plan emerging urban regions.
Joining Florida Atlantic University in 1989, David became a “builder.” First, he led the faculty through the initial accreditation of the graduate planning program. Subsequently, he developed the professional Architecture program and served as the inaugural director of the School of Architecture. Then he developed the Bachelors of Community and Regional Planning and served for several years as associate dean of the College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs. In 2003, he developed FAU’s “Planning Abroad” program to expose students to planning in Europe and later South America. Finally, from 2007 until 2014, he was the Henry D. Epstein Distinguished Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning.
David was passionate about planning, planning education, his colleagues, and his students. He was not only a mentor to his colleagues and students at Florida Atlantic University, but to junior faculty from around the globe. Although David’s methods could be considered unorthodox, he was the ultimate teacher to his students. He challenged students to their limits, but would consequently provide them with opportunities to present their work at international conferences or help them publish their work.
David held a PhD in economic geography from Indiana University, a master’s degree in geography from Temple University in geography, and a BA in geography from Villanova. After positions at the University of Florida, University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois, University of Southern California, University of California at Irvine, Indiana University, and Villanova University, he spent the remainder of his career at Florida Atlantic University.