Nancy Pollock-Ellwand

Nancy Pollock-Ellwand PhD proudly serves as the dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona. She has a broad background in design with degrees in landscape architecture, architecture and planning. She is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Prior to joining CAPLA, she served as dean of the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, Canada, and head and chair at the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

With a background in cultural landscape practice and scholarship, Pollock-Ellwand’s research focus centers on the history of landscapes, as they are manifest in urban reform, landscape design and heritage conservation. This expertise comes together in an online course on cultural landscape conservation she developed for the college’s Graduate Certificate in Heritage Conservation. On a local basis she lends her expertise as a board member to the Patronato San Xavier, dedicated to the conservation, preservation and maintenance of Mission San Xavier del Bac. 

Pollock-Ellwand’s particular international focus in the past years has been in World Heritage protection. She has been involved with UNESCO’s cultural agency, ICOMOS, across a number of roles. She served as co-chair of the ICOMOS evaluation panels for new World Heritage nominations, and has participated in advisory missions to state parties considering new nominations. This work involves providing input to international policy on cultural landscape protection, as well as reviews for the World Monuments Fund, and now as a volunteer on the Advisory Committee to the ICOMOS Board. This work takes her occasionally to fascinating locations around the world, ranging from the sacred mountainous landscapes of Bhutan and the ancient reindeer hunting grounds of the Sami people of Norway, to medieval mining sites in the Czech Republic and the once-secret sites of clandestine religious observance along the southwestern coastline of Japan. She has also been elected to the Board of Trustees of World Heritage USA, which supports the work of the U.S. National Committee of ICOMOS.