May 9, 2008

Champaign Planning Director Is APA President-Elect

CHICAGO — Champaign, Illinois, Planning Director Bruce Knight, FAICP, has been elected to serve as president-elect of the American Planning Association (APA), a 44,000-member organization committed to promoting better communities through good planning.

Knight will take office on Wednesday, June 11, and will begin his two-year term as president next April at APA's National Planning Conference in Minneapolis, Knight's home town. He will be responsible for leading the 13-member APA board of directors in setting organizational policies and strategic goals. This is a volunteer position.

Knight has more than 30 years of planning experience working for municipalities in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. He has served as Champaign's planning director for 20 years, overseeing the development of multiple long range plans, rewriting of all of the city's development codes and ordinances, the rebirth of Downtown Champaign as an urban center, and actively promoting improvements to quality of life throughout the community. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Knight is a certified planner and a Fellow of APA's professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners.

A long-standing leader with APA, Knight has been active within the organization for more than 20 years. He has served as a board member for eight years, being elected twice to four year terms by members in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He also is chair of APA's membership committee. Knight previously served as chair of APA's National Planning Awards for five years, as chair of the Great Places in America Task Force, and as the APA Illinois Chapter president for two terms.

Knight has a bachelor's degree in urban planning from Iowa State University and a master's degree in public affairs from the University of Iowa.

City of Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart congratulated Knight on his election: "Bruce brings the same high level of dedication and leadership to his job as planning director in Champaign as he has to his profession. His success in one role contributes to his success in the other. He has our full support as he undertakes these new responsibilities."

Contacts
Roberta Rewers, APA, 312-786-6395; rrewers@planning.org