RDG Planning & Design Invests in Student Softskills Development

The nationally recognized firm RDG Planning & Design is leading an endowed initiative to expand soft skills development programs at the University of Nebraska College of Architecture. Their gifts and professional involvement are helping to transform student experiences and career preparedness from excellent to extraordinary. They have endowed two programs, the RDG Planning & Design Excellence Fund in Support of Student Development and the John Birge / RDG “Create Meaning Together” Fellows Program. This fall, RDG and the college are piloting two initiatives with this support: The Create Meaning Together Fellows Program is supporting professional development utilizing CliftonStrengths Assessments in the fourth-year Collaborate Studio, and the Student Development fund is supporting development of professional etiquette through a business dinner format.

The CliftonStrengths program is being offered through the multi-disciplinary collaborative studio, taught by Interior Design Associate Professor Nathan Bicak and Architecture Associate Professor Steven Hardy. Students began the semester by taking the CliftonStrengths Assessment to identify their 34 unique strengths and the interdisciplinary student-teams are receiving individual and team strengths coaching from RDG Principal and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach Catrina Cook and Lori Stohs, founder of Lori Stohs Consulting Group, throughout the semester. This coaching will help students understand their assessment results and leverage these to become better leaders, collaborators, co-workers and designers. The program includes four CliftonStrengths training sessions, starting with the introduction, followed by the personal assessment, a mid-term progress review and a final reflection on outcomes and discussion of future directions. The program was previously offered through one of the college’s professional practice courses but is now being integrated into design studios for enriched team dynamics.

The RDG Create Meaning Together program focuses on professional etiquette, culminating in a business dinner that occurred on October 7. The program, organized by Stephanie Kuenning, director of the College of Architecture Student Success Office, invited a diverse range of students from the college, including first-generation, historically underserved, military and leaders of our many student organizations. During the dinner, staff from the College of Business Career Center presented on dining etiquette for professional and networking settings, covering essential topics such as table manners, host and guest responsibilities, complex table settings and appropriate dinner conversation. To enhance the experience, several design professionals from RDG dined with the students, provided real-time mentoring through modeled behavior and helped students practice their networking skills in a supportive environment.

"We believe that a well-rounded education should be attainable for all who seek it. That's why we've partnered with the College of Architecture to create these soft skills programs," said John Sova, AIA, managing principal at RDG. "These funds will develop programming for a supportive, healthy, diverse and inclusive learning environment that identifies and fosters each student’s greatest potential. As an employer, we recognize the existing skills gap, which disadvantages students and young professionals. If education is the equalizer, we want to ensure every student’s dreams are realized, creating a more prosperous, equitable and healthy workforce."

“These resources will help students grow in ways that traditional academic classes typically do not,” said Kevin G. Van Den Wymelenberg, dean of the College of Architecture. "This gift supports one of our 2025 strategic plan initiatives to integrate programming that emphasizes student wellness, professionalism and 21st-century responsibilities." Van Den Wymelenberg said, “Addressing education from a more holistic perspective is essential. Simply developing disciplinary knowledge and skills is not sufficient to succeed in our professions today. Our students aspire to more, and we aim to help them achieve their dreams.” To carry this vision forward, RDG and the College of Architecture intend to offer the soft skills and professional etiquette programs regularly in the future.