Michael Grassinger named CAPLA 2026 Alumnus of the Year 

Michael Grassinger MSUP ’78 and his connection to the University of Arizona has extended well beyond his years as a student. 

A longtime Tucson planner and former president and CEO of The Planning Center, Grassinger has spent much of his career helping communities, developers, neighborhoods and government agencies navigate complex decisions about growth and development. 

He also remained closely connected to the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA), sharing his professional experience with students and helping create pathways from the classroom into the planning profession. 

For his contributions to the profession, his longstanding commitment to the Tucson community and his support of CAPLA, Grassinger has been named CAPLA’s 2026 Alumnus of the Year.  

Connecting Students to the Profession 

Grassinger’s connection to the U of A continued well beyond his time as a student. For two years, Grassinger taught a land development course at CAPLA drawing on his experience in the public and private sectors to give students a firsthand look at the diverse perspectives involved in planning and development. 

Rather than relying solely on traditional lectures, Grassinger brought professionals from across the field into his classroom. His goal was to give students an opportunity to hear directly from people working in the field. 

“I brought in engineers, landscape architects, developers, city officials, county officials,” he said. “I mean, just everybody I had dealt with in my experience.”  

Grassinger's connection to CAPLA students continued through his work with The Planning Center. The firm became a participant in CAPLA's Job Interview Fair and provided internships and career opportunities for students. Grassinger recalled Linda Morales, who had recently graduated from the program as one of the first people he hired, and working with her on partnering with CAPLA to provide internships.  

Today, Morales serves as CEO of The Planning Center, where several CAPLA alumni work as planners and landscape architects.  

The connection between education and professional experience has always been important, Grassinger said. When asked what advice he would give to aspiring planners, he emphasized the value of understanding the profession from multiple perspectives. 

“I would say get exposed from the regulatory and from the development sides,” he said. 

A Career of Listening and Educating 

That perspective was shaped by Grassinger's own career. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he returned to Arizona and enrolled at the University of Arizona, using the GI Bill to pursue a master's degree in urban planning.  

“I saw urban planning and thought, you know, that would be an interesting field,” he said.  

He arrived in Tucson in 1975 and quickly became immersed in the program. As a graduate student, he served as a teaching assistant and worked with three fellow students on a general plan for the newly developing community of Oro Valley. The students held public meetings and worked with local officials and residents to develop a plan that the community ultimately adopted. 

The experience gave Grassinger an early introduction to the collaborative nature of planning, a lesson that would shape his career. 

“You work for a lot of different masters,” he said, describing the perspectives of city councils, city staff, developers and residents. “So it's a listening process.” 

After earning his degree, Grassinger began his professional career with the City of Tucson, where he advanced from an entry-level planner to principal planner. He later moved into the private sector, working with developers and gaining firsthand experience with the development process.  

That combination of public- and private-sector experience became a defining part of his career. In 1989, Grassinger joined The Planning Center, eventually taking over leadership of the firm's Arizona division before purchasing its Tucson office. 

Over the next several decades, he worked on projects throughout Southern Arizona, helping communities and developers navigate complicated planning and development issues. His work included master-planned communities as well as projects involving neighborhoods, transportation, economic development and the future of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 

His professional work was complemented by a longstanding commitment to civic service. Grassinger served for eight years on the City of Tucson’s Citizens Water Advisory Committee and for six years with the Metropolitan Pima Alliance. He also remained involved in his own community, serving for eight years on the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association and for 23 years on the Old Fort Lowell Estates Homeowners Association.

In many of those projects, Grassinger found himself serving as a bridge between groups with competing interests. 

“One of the other components of planning is you're an educator,” he said. “You're always explaining to somebody about how the system works and why we should be doing it this way rather than that way.” 

One example was his work surrounding Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 

Grassinger helped establish the Military Community Relations Committee, bringing together representatives from the Air Force, federal government, city and county governments, neighborhoods and private landowners. The group met monthly for approximately 15 years as stakeholders worked through issues related to military operations, development and aircraft overflights. 

The work required patience, compromise and a willingness to understand perspectives that did not always align. 

“Those were the best projects, the ones that everybody came together for,” Grassinger said. 

Grassinger will be recognized during the college’s Homecoming Alumni Garden Party on Friday, October 23 and at the university-wide Alumni of the Year Celebration on March 4, 2027.