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Born and raised in Newton, Kansas, H. Stewart Mann graduated from Kansas State University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree. Immediately after graduation, Mann accepted a position with Nason Wherman Knight and Chapman, a Minneapolis, Minnesota, consulting firm of planners, landscape architects and civil engineers involved in many land and community planning projects. In 1971, he moved to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board where he was part of a planning staff who annually designed $3.5 to $4 million in park improvements. During this early period in his career, Mann produced work that received several design awards from the state chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which he served as chapter president.

Mann returned to south central Kansas in 1978, first accepting a position with Oblinger Smith Corporation in Wichita, and then within three years beginning his own landscape architecture firm. During its 12-year history, Site Planning Associates, Inc., was involved in such notable projects as highway beautification at Kellogg and Ridge Road in Wichita, and Streetscapes for Great Bend and downtown Wichita. Mann's work won several design awards from the Prairie Gateway Chapter of the ASLA, which he served as chapter president. The National Swimming Pool Institute also recognized, with presentation of national awards, several of his swimming pool designs.

In 1993, Site Planning Associates merged with another Wichita design firm to form Wilson Darnell Mann, PA, where Mann currently serves as marketing director. With a staff of 27 architects, landscape architects and interior designers, Wilson Darnell Mann is one of the largest multi-disciplinary design firms in Kansas, enjoying a growing regional reputation for such award-winning projects as the Downtown Transit Center, the Bradley Fair Shopping Center, the renovation of the U.S. Courthouse in Wichita, and the Sedgwick County Zoo Chimpanzee and Orangutan Exhibit.

While a busy practicing professional, Mann has always found the time, energy and desire to serve his profession, Kansas State University, and the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design. He has represented the professional design community as a member of several College search committees and as a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Department of Landscape Architecture. A frequent guest lecturer in landscape architecture classes, Mann has returned to campus many times as a visiting professional critic for student design projects. He serves as mentor for many students and recent graduates, participating in mock interview activities and hiring many K-State alumni from several disciplines to staff his office. Realizing the importance of an active network of informed, dedicated alumni, Mann initiated and organized the first-ever 20-year reunion for his classmates. Mann, who is also a member of the KSU President's Club, is an avid Wildcat fan, often travelling to Manhattan to attend and support athletic events.

Mann and his wife Judy have three children, two of whom are also KSU alumni. Their youngest son is still in high school and is an accomplished golfer.

His tireless devotion and myriad contributions are exemplary samples of the support we need and have come to expect from our alumni. We are privileged to count H. Stewart Mann among the alumni of our College of Architecture, Planning, and Design, and are proud to nominate him to receive a Kansas State University Distinguished Service Award.