Alon Kvashny, a landscape architect whose career spanned continents and whose teaching shaped generations of designers, died last month in Lubbock, Texas. He was 85.
Kvashny is remembered not only for his professional accomplishments, but for his steady optimism and his belief that education – like landscape architecture itself – was ultimately about shaping environments.
Professor Emeritus in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Texas Tech, Kvashny joined the faculty of the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources in 2000 and served as department chair for 13 years. A registered landscape architect in both Israel and Texas, he was widely respected for blending global professional experience with a human approach to education.
Born and raised in Israel, Kvashny began his life of service in the Israeli Army. After completing his military service, he traveled to the United States to pursue landscape architecture, earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. He later returned to Israel, where he served as senior landscape architect for the city of Jerusalem during a period of intense growth and transformation.
“That was an exciting time because it was a few years after the Six-Day War, and the whole city was annexed,” he recalled in a 2011 interview with The Agriculturist, the Davis College magazine. With limited time and vast responsibility, he oversaw scores of projects while managing a workforce of roughly 300 people. “We did a lot of projects,” he said, “even if I didn’t always have the chance to do the real drawings.”
In 1972, Kvashny returned permanently to the United States, where his focus turned increasingly to teaching. He taught at West Virginia University and earned a doctorate in engineering education and curriculum instruction, a decision he once explained with characteristic humility: “I figured if I was teaching, I might as well learn a little more about what teaching is all about.”
His classrooms reflected that philosophy. Drawing on his military background, professional practice, and academic training, Kvashny developed a teaching style that emphasized discipline, collaboration, and character alongside technical skill. Students were expected to work independently and as part of a team, preparing them for both professional practice and civic life.
When he arrived at Texas Tech in 2000 as chair of the Landscape Architecture program, he brought renewed energy and optimism to the department. Even late in his tenure, he remained confident about the profession’s future, despite long-standing concerns that landscape architects often worked in the background of the design process.
“The view isn’t all negative,” he said in a 2012 Davis College news release, pointing to growing public concern for environmental quality and quality of life. Under his leadership, the program emphasized sustainability in arid and semi-arid environments, community planning, computer-aided design, and landscape construction – areas he believed would define the field’s relevance.
A Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Kvashny also believed strongly in learning beyond the classroom. In 2010, he led dozens of Texas Tech students to Wellman, Texas, to design and install drought-tolerant and recreational landscapes for a family selected for the television program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. More than 80 student volunteers participated, transforming the project into a lesson in service and real-world teamwork.
Kvashny is remembered not only for his professional accomplishments, but for his steady optimism, his commitment to service, and his belief that education – like landscape architecture itself – was ultimately about shaping environments in which people could thrive.
Among his lasting contributions to the university was the establishment of the Alon & Susan Kvashny Scholarship Endowment in 2010, created in memory of his wife, Susan. The scholarship continues to support students majoring in landscape architecture, extending his influence well beyond his years of teaching.
CONTACT: Leehu Loon, Professor and Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, Texas Tech University at {806} 834-5215 or Leehu.Loon@ttu.edu
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