This year's recipients of honorary degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology include Victoria Post Ranney, the noted scholar on Frederick Law Olmsted, the American landscape architect responsible for the designs of New York’s Central Park, Riverside (Chicago's earliest planned railroad suburb) and Chicago’s Washington and Jackson Parks, as well as elements of World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Ranney authored "Olmsted in Chicago" and served as Associate Editor of "The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted."
In 1975, Ranney co-founded Friends of the Parks, the nonprofit group dedicated to preserving, protecting, improving, and promoting the use of parks and open spaces in Chicago for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors, and later served as its president.
In 1990, she and her husband George A. Ranney, Jr., co-developed Prairie Crossing, one of the nation’s first green communities. Situated on 677 acres in Grayslake, Illinois at the confluence of two rail lines, Prairie Crossing has become a national model for responsible development of transit-oriented suburban communities. Prairie Crossing contains nearly 400 energy-efficient single family homes and condominiums, surrounded by prairie and wetlands, as well as the Prairie Crossing Charter School, whose curriculum is centered around the environment.
The incorporated Prairie Crossing Farm supplies organic produce, meat and eggs to direct subscribers and several farmers’ markets, and also offers training to farmers and students alike. A restored 1885 dairy barn serves as the Prairie Crossing Community Center.
Ranney will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, honoris causa, for her outstanding contributions to Chicago’s built environment.