Knox Wins International Teaching Award

The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) recently named Emily Knox, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, the recipient of the 2023 CELA Excellence in Design Studio Teaching Award—Junior Level.

The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture is the premier international organization for educators in landscape architecture and is comprised of more than 120 institutions and individuals who have an interest in the preparation of landscape architects for global practice. The juried panel who reviewed submissions for the award recognized Knox for her “really beautiful and consistent work” and called her an “impressive junior faculty.” They also praised Knox’s strong student work and testimonials included with her submission.

“It’s always so wonderful to be recognized for your teaching since it is arguably the most important part of this job,” Knox said. “In putting together the materials for the submission, I was able to spend some time reflecting on the last several years—of not only the student’s growth, but also my own. We’ve had some lovely students over the last five years. It felt great to put those years of hard work together (theirs and mine) and then have it recognized.”

Knox joined the landscape architecture faculty at Auburn as a Visiting Assistant Professor in 2018. She teaches within the studio and representation sequences. She said even as an undergraduate student herself, she felt a call to the classroom instead of a career in industry.

“I knew that a traditional path into practice was just not right for me. I learned so much about the world from being a landscape architecture student—it’s shaped my perspective in so many unique ways. The idea of helping to deliver that to others was really exciting to me. In academia, both students and faculty are constantly learning, and that has been a thrill.”

Knox shared that her teaching philosophy is not complicated. “Because I teach primarily in the beginning course sequences, it has far more to do with building ethos—of our program and within individual students—than it does with building technical skills.”

Knox received her bachelor’s in city and regional planning and her master’s in landscape architecture, both from The Ohio State University.