Susannah Abbey Accepts Tenure-Track Position with SUNY Syracuse
July 28, 2026
After teaching for four years at The University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture + Planning, landscape architecture adjunct faculty member Susannah Abbey will join the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse this fall as an assistant professor.
Abbey works at the intersection of art, agroecology, and design justice. At UNM, she was highly influenced by her studies with the artist Basia Irland and Dr. David Henkel, professor emeritus and former chair of SA+P’s Community and Regional Planning Department. She is interested in how the design professions can foster ecological thinking by revealing hidden connections between people and the more-than-human world, and she tries to bring a sense of responsibility and care ethics into her teaching.
Her research explores how landscape architecture is formed by, and can inform, ecological systems, cultural practices, and shared responsibility. Her writing has been published in Landscape Journal and Hyperallergic. Her book, Seed Saving and Sharing in the Southwest: Elemental Wisdom from Pre-Contact to Today, will be published by UNM Press in March 2027.
While faculty and staff will miss her, they celebrate Abbey’s appointment and value her contributions to the school and UNM. “We will miss Susannah, but we are all so excited that she’s making the transition to a full-time tenure track position. SUNY has a wonderful department and will provide a great place for her research to flourish. She has laid a solid foundation for publishing and creative work at UNM, in addition to teaching in our indigenous design studio and the community engaged Design and Planning Assistance Center studio. I can’t wait to see her at conferences and find out what she is doing next!” said Catherine Page Harris, Landscape Architecture Department chair.
Abbey holds a master's degree in English and philosophy from the University of Texas. She worked as a journalist, poet, and web designer before finding her way to landscape architecture.
