Thomas, Mark Wesley III
A native of Texas, Mark has lived in New Orleans since 1970, and considers it as home. Mark graduated from LSU in 1982 with a professional degree in Landscape Architecture (BLA), with a specialization in Urban Design and Historic Preservation. He then worked for the New Orleans City Planning Commission for several years, followed by more than a decade of private professional practice. He became licensed as a registered landscape architect in 1986. The focus of professional work has been small-scale residential and commercial projects, particularly in an historic context.
He has participated in a number of organizations, such as the Preservation Resource Center - Operation Comeback Steering Committee, landscape advisor for the New Orleans Arts Council, and several neighborhood organizations. He has been a member of numerous environmental conservation and historic preservation related organizations as well.
In 1998, Mark decided to seek a Master’s degree in Preservation Studies (MPS) at Tulane University under the direction of Dr. Eugene. D. Cizek, and was accepted into the program as well as offered a position teaching landscape architecture at the School of Architecture. After completing the master’s degree, his teaching duties were expanded to include the summer school program in Havana through Tulane’s Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute, as well as studio classes in the Master in Preservation Studies Program.
In 2003, he was a participant on a Fulbright-Hayes research project in the former Panama Canal Zone, with research concentrating on conservation of early 20th century Zonian architecture and cultural landscapes, as well as the development of field studies programs for preservation students. He is currently seeking an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Historic Preservation at Tulane, on a part-time basis. In 2004 he was appointed as visiting assistant professor, with additional teaching and program development responsibilities. Such projects have included developing and expanding field studies trips for students and sponsors in Latin America - Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
Mark’s personal and professional interests are highly intertwined, with a strong emphasis on the historic fabric and cultural landscapes of the Gulf Coast / Caribbean region. He is dedicated to the continued success and expansion of Tulane School of Architecture’s MPS program, as well as field studies programs.
Contact Information:
3700 North Rampart Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70117
