Pioneer Information
Born in New York City in 1913, Reich’s early childhood gave him a sense of independence and appetite for learning that characterized his entire life. From Cornell University, he earned a B. S. in horticulture in 1934 and a PhD in 1941, studying education. Reich was hired to teach landscape architecture courses by the Dean of Agriculture at Louisiana State University, and spent his career there, founding an independent landscape architecture department in 1946 and shepherding it for more than 60 years. His courses, ranging from design theory to career planning, encouraged students to think creatively and pursue personal interests in the context of their professional studies. Reich’s design teaching followed Modernist principles, which he learned during a sabbatical year spent with Garrett Eckbo in the 1950s.
Throughout Reich’s career as an educator he also ran a professional practice; Reich and Associates was one such partnership between Reich and his son Bill, a landscape architect. The firm’s diverse work includes the Baton Rouge Riverside Centroplex, Lake Claiborne State Park, University Methodist Church Complex, and Mountain Lake Sanctuary in Lake Wales, Florida.
In 1992 Reich was awarded the ASLA Medal. He was again honored by the ASLA with the Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal in 2005. Reich passed away on July 31, 2010, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.