Congratulations to Dr. Annie Pearce, MLSoC Faculty and member of the Radford City Planning Commission, and to MLSoC Affiliates, Sonia Hirt, Associate Dean of Architecture and member of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, and Melissa Jones, Research Associate Virginia Center for Housing Research and member of the Town of Blacksburg Planning Commission on completion and certification from the Virginia Certified Planning Commissioner's Program.
The Certified Planning Commissioner's Program (CPC) of Virginia Tech's Land Use Education Program (LUEP) is a 10-week long educational program designed to prepare citizen-planners for their duties. The CPC curriculum covers the law and best-practices of community planning. Graduates of the program have a better understanding of both "why" and "how" to properly handle the various matters that come before a planning commission.
The course is led by Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus, Dr. Mike Chandler. Dr. Chandler serves as LUEP's Director of Education. To earn certification as a planning commissioner, each person must complete 24 hours of classroom instruction, read 4 books, and complete 10 units of home study as well as 3 assigned essays. Program participants are also required to attend and critique a planning commission meeting outside their home jurisdiction. "It takes a special person, one who is committed to the concept of public service, to go through a 10-week program that involves a great deal of evening and weekend study," Chandler stated.
