Landscape architecture professor strives to build minds, not just spaces
While standing in northwest Wyoming, Sadık Artunç took in the sweeping view of Yellowstone National Park. Having visited nearly 80% of the country’s National Parks, he finds himself wondering the same thing each time.
“Two thousand years ago, people stood here and thought the same things I was thinking about these views,” he said. “I like to think that 2,000 years from now, people will still think it’s beautiful and be in awe.”
For Artunç, a Turkish-born landscape architect and former Mississippi State department head, nature is more than just scenery; it was his calling from the start.
In 1970s Turkey, landscape architecture was virtually unknown. Only two universities offered a single course in the field. Artunç took it and fell in love. But with no full program available, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forest engineering at the University of Istanbul instead.
Shortly after graduation, he joined Turkey’s National Park Service as planning director of Uludağ—the country’s largest national park at the time—and his landscape architect career began.
“I implemented the master plan and observed construction, growth and development of the park, while protecting the environment from hunting and poaching,” he said.
Although Artunç enjoyed his role with the Turkish National Park Service, he was driven by a desire to deepen his knowledge and make a greater impact. This commitment to learning led him to move to the United States to pursue a degree in landscape architecture.
“People thought I was stupid to leave that job and start over,” he recalled. “But I wanted to learn.”
He moved to the Great Lakes State and earned a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Michigan. He then taught at Louisiana State for 25 years, helping thousands of students find their passion and path in the field. In 2007, he moved to Starkville to become the head of the MSU Landscape Architecture department.
“The United States gave me many, many opportunities and I always tell people: America is still the land of gold and opportunities if you put the work in,” the professor said. “I have no regrets choosing this profession and staying here. If I could do it all again, I would still be here in Starkville.”
For Artunç, every decision along the way led him to a patio chair in the courtyard between the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design buildings. When he first arrived at MSU, the same courtyard was little more than an underutilized patch of grass. Today, it’s a sustainable oasis—designed through faculty-student collaboration—featuring native, drought-resistant plantings and a system for capturing rainwater.
“I didn’t do it personally,” he said, “but as department head, I helped students generate the plans and got permissions. Today, when I get stressed, I just come out here. I sit in the shade and look around. I love this place.”
His commitment to sustainable, resilient design has helped define his legacy. Using native materials and plants that thrive with minimal irrigation, Artunç’s philosophy focuses on longterm ecological health.
“I like plants that can survive on their own with as little help from us as possible,” he said.
He intended to serve as department head for only a few years before returning to his true passion—teaching. But, from 2006 to 2023, he led the department through university budget cuts, hiring freezes and structural changes, all while keeping student success at the forefront. After stepping down as department head, he returned to the classroom, where he now focuses on helping students think about the world a little differently than they did before.
“That’s what I really love to do, and I’ll gladly make less money to teach,” Artunç said with a laugh. “That’s how much I love it.”
Artunç’s influence reaches far beyond the university. He’s led international workshops, mentored national park employees worldwide, and taught more than a dozen CEOs of major landscape architecture firms. He served as the president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, which is in the Academy of Landscape Architecture, and several of his former students also have served or are serving as leaders in the organization CELA.
“This profession is incredibly important because we have the opportunity to make a huge difference on this planet. Despite all the challenges we face, we can make this life better for all living things,” he said. “We’ve been here before, and I hope my determination is carried out with every student we graduate. I hope we continue to make this place better.”
As he nears retirement, Artunç said he finds joy in his classroom, his makeshift outdoor office in the courtyard and as a local Rotarian. He’s found his niche here in Starkville. He’s even found unexpected friendships at local restaurant Harvey’s, where he and a group of once-strangers now meet for lunch nearly every day.
“They are very dear to my heart. If I don’t show up for lunch, they send me a message,” he said. “I love it, and we go every day. When I retire, I’m going to hang around here, that’s how much I love Starkville.”
Until then, though, he remains committed to guiding and mentoring students, not just in design but also in thinking critically about the world around them. He hopes his students graduate with the same passion he has for creating spaces for all living things.
“We can build things, even the best examples of built work, but they will be replaced or modified within 15 years,” he said. “When you educate somebody, nobody can replace that. As long as I teach a student how to learn and ask questions—how to ask the right questions—that’s how we make a difference. We don’t teach for today. We teach for tomorrow.”
By Mary Pollitz, Photos by Emily Grace McCall
