Richard (Rick) Willson, a leading transportation planning expert and educator who inspired and guided generations of students toward rewarding work in the planning profession, passed away on December 6, 2022.
Rick Willson joined the College of Environmental Design (ENV)in 1986 as faculty in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (URP), where he served three terms as its chair (1994-2000, 2004-08 and 2012-16). He created the department’s first endowment and organized the Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning, recognizing scholars and practitioners in emerging trends.
Willson’s planning practice influenced his approach to teaching and scholarship, and he was known for his work that reformed transportation and land use for livability, environmental sustainability, and social equity in communities across the United States.
To honor Willson’s academic and professional contribution, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning is fundraising to enable the University Library to cover the costs of converting his book “Guide for the Idealist” to open access, a project he was pursuing at the time of his death. Current, past and future students in urban planning and related fields at Cal Poly Pomona and beyond will benefit by learning how to make good choices, practice effectively, and find meaning in their work.
If funding received exceeds the amount needed for the open access project, the department will continue fundraising to establish an endowment of at least $50,000 to support interdisciplinary programming to facilitate dialogue and interaction among various disciplines with interests in urbanism. In the event that $50,000 is not raised by 2026 December, the amount raised will not be endowed but instead spent on the similar programs.
