Vern Budge

Biography

Vern received his Associate of Science from Snow College in 1959, his BLA from Utah State in 1965, and his MLA from the University of Illinios in 1967. He is a charter member of Sigma Lambda Alpha, the national honor society for Landscape Architecture. Vern was a full time faculty member in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from 1967 to 2003 and was one of the major participants in building the Department’s national reputation for quality education.

Vern’s teaching focus included advanced design studios, landscape construction, and a variety of courses in site design and planning. He received the Department’s Teacher of the Year Award four times and Advisor of the Year Award once. Much of his success in the classroom came from his belief that practical application of classroom information is the best teacher, and there are a number of landscape projects throughout the community and the University that are the result of his efforts in this area.

Vern served on a number of university and college committees during his time at USU, including the Faculty Senate, Physical Facilities Planning Committee, General Education and the Utah State University Research and Technology Park Board. He is also a member of the Landscape Architects Board: Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for the State of Utah. He is licensed to practice landscape architecture in the State of Utah.

Throughout his tenure at USU, Vern was actively engaged in the private and public practice of landscape architecture. Taking advantage of the summer months, he worked for the firms of Land-Plan Associates Calgary, Canada; Design Exchange, Seattle, Washington; Bio-West, Logan, and several public agencies, namely the Edmonton City Parks Department, Edmonton, Canada; the US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition he has been a private design consultant for numerous residential landscapes and several parks and recreation designs for the City of Idaho Falls and the Southeast Idaho Council of Governments. Several of the projects in which he has been a major contributor have received regional and national recognition for excellence in design and planning by professional associations such as AILA and APA.