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Marble Fund Seed Grant Award for Computational Geography

Deadline for 2027 award: October 15, 2026, midnight Eastern Time

The biennial Marble Fund Seed Grant Award for Computational Geography provides seed grants to US-based early career faculty* seeking external funding in computational geography. Computational geographic research is done across many fields, including geography, computer science, statistics, mathematics, engineering, and more. Seed grants of up to $8,500 are available to researchers at US institutions who are eligible to serve as a PI on national or private grant applications. The award is one of the activities of the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science, which also includes the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award, the Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master’s Research in Quantitative Geography, and the biennial William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography.

The Marble Fund is positioned to support up to 2 proposals in a single award period.

A seed grant is intended to allow the researcher to develop a proof-of-concept and perhaps early-stage research that will lead to a fundable proposal. In the seed-grant application, we are looking for innovation, new ideas, advancing the theory, tools, techniques, and methods associated with computational geography.

*Early career faculty are individuals who have earned their PhD within 10 years of the application deadline.

What does the funding support?

Seed grants from Marble Fund can be used for any of the following:

  • Course/teaching release. Some researchers need time off from teaching to prepare a proposal.
  • Travel. Funds may be used to pay for travel necessary for the development of a research proposal.
  • Student workers. Support for student workers, either graduate or undergraduate, will be in the form of hourly student-worker wages.
  • Software and data relevant to the proposal.
  • Collection of preliminary data, including surveys, in-depth interviews, or workshops.

The Marble Seed Grant does not fund:

  • Venture capital
  • Humanitarian activities
  • Construction, lobbying, personal loans, endowments, capital equipment
  • Publication fees are not supported.
  • Conference travel to present research findings

Budgets

Applicants should provide a detailed budget based on the linked template.

  • Up to $8500
  • Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs (indirect costs): limited to 5% of direct costs

Eligibility

Early career scholars at a US institution who are eligible to apply for a grant or contract from agencies for support of research (external to their own institution) are eligible to apply for the Marble Fund Seed Grant award.

Criteria

  1. Title of the seed grant proposal, name of Principal Investigator (PI), and contact information
  2. A summary of the work to be done (up to 1500 words), including a specific description of how the seed grant work will lead to a research proposal
  3. Bibliography
  4. Budget, with justification (must include any university financial commitments)
  5. The PI’s current CV, which includes the most relevant publications (5-page limit)
  6. A specific description of at least one funding agency where the researcher will submit a proposal. For agencies that allow contact with program officers, the proposer must include (1) the name and (2) email address or phone number of a program officer, and a summary of the discussion had with that program officer. For agencies that require letters of intent, include a copy of that letter and any response from the agency.

Required Deliverable(s) for Awardees

  • The deliverable for the Marble Fund Seed Grant is a proposal, submitted to an external granting or contract agency within the project timeline.
  • Scientific/technical and budget report after 24 months
    • When and where was the proposal submitted, including confirmation of receipt by the funding agency
    • How was the funding used
  • Awardees will be invited and encouraged to attend the AAG annual award ceremony where seed grant winners will be recognized. Travel grants of $1000 will be provided for awardees who attend in person.

Applications

All nomination materials must be in English, and submitted in electronic form.

A complete application must be received no later than the close of business on the deadline (Eastern Time).

APPLY

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

Reports and Acknowledgment:

The winner should acknowledge the award from the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science in subsequent presentations and publications arising from the proposal or research.

Trustees of the Marble Fund for Geographic Science

Dr. Jay Sandhu, ESRI
Dr. Donna Peuquet, Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Elizabeth Wentz, Temple University

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AAG Honors

Deadline for 2027 awards: September 30, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

AAG Honors are offered annually to recognize outstanding accomplishments by members in research and scholarship, teaching, education, service to the discipline, public service outside academe and for lifetime achievement. As a scholarly association committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, we strongly encourage nominations from and of people underrepresented in the discipline of geography, including women and persons who are trans/non-binary and/or underrepresented minority groups. AAG Honors have been awarded since 1951 (see below for complete list).

Categories of AAG Honors

We invite nominations reflecting the breadth of the discipline from individual AAG members, specialty groups, affinity groups, departments from all types of institutions, and other interested parties. Please scroll down on this page to the bullets providing more detail on the broad and inclusive criteria we encourage nominators to consider for AAG Honors. Currently, honors are awarded in several categories, including:

This AAG Honors category celebrates a career-long, distinguished track record of high-quality research in geography which has moved the discipline forward. Candidates may be recognized for transformative scholarship in any sub-discipline of geography, an extensive and impressive record of funding from foundations or government agencies, and/or setting standards of exemplary behavior in scholarly practice. A significant and impactful publication record is also an important factor for recognition under this category of AAG Honors.

This category of AAG Honors recognizes exceptional Geography teachers who have demonstrated a sustained track record of innovative, creative, and effective ways to convey geographical concepts and topics to their students (at any degree level). It may also recognize candidates who have developed new curricula, certifications, or degree-paths. Candidate impact is measured in the sustained quality of their courses over time, whether their students continue pursuing the discipline (majors, alumni career paths, etc.), and teaching and mentoring style.

This category of AAG Honors celebrates geographers who have promoted the discipline in the public, private, or non-profit sectors either through their own work or impactful collaborations with others. Examples of such success may include developing pioneering applications to support more transparent and effective governance, promoting the use of geographical concepts and applications in addressing key societal and/or natural challenges.

This category of AAG Honors celebrates service to the Association and the community of AAG members. Examples of such service include but are not limited to: the launch of a successful new AAG Specialty Group to fill a significant gap in the Association’s sub-disciplinary offerings, improving the AAG’s profile and increasing its visibility, contributing significantly to special AAG initiatives or member-focused efforts, and/or sustaining a career-long arc of service and leadership on AAG committees, task forces, Specialty/Affinity Groups, and in AAG governance.

This AAG Honors category recognizes geographers who have significantly advanced geographic education. Examples include preservice training, professional development, and/or related support for educators. Candidates may be recognized for having developed state/local/national academic standards, serving as editors on key geography education journals, or for supporting development of geography teacher resources and peer-reviewed research. Successful candidates demonstrate a positive influence on contemporary geographic education.

This AAG Honors category celebrates those geographers who have had a unique and path-breaking impact on the discipline through a combination of research and public engagement, perhaps as leaders in academia or other sectors where they have championed the discipline, in their publication record, and in their service to the discipline. Recipients of the AAG Lifetime Achievement Honors demonstrate excellence across the range of honor categories and in the significance of their contributions.

The American Association of Geographers recognizes Public and Engaged Scholarship (PES) as an important form of geographic scholarship.

PES encompasses the processes, products, and outcomes of knowledge production in collaboration with a variety of actors, including communities, policymakers, and non-profit organizations.  PES typically integrates and builds upon research, teaching, and service in different configurations depending on the goals of any given collaboration.  A central principle of PES is that it is conducted in collaboration with community members to address a community-identified question and/or need, with the goal of producing knowledge in ways that are not extractive.  A PES approach to scholarship is built upon a foundation of trust-building and accountability, investing in long-term personal and professional relationships with actual community members.

Within PES, ‘community’ is a malleable concept defined by individuals involved that can refer to a specific organization, geographic area, or collection of individuals or grassroots groups with a common goal, working at local, regional, national or even international scales.  PES can mobilize a range of methodologies and approaches, some based on academic approaches, others based on community traditions.  PES scholarship innately values the collaborative labor that makes partnerships possible because it requires significant reciprocal long-term relationship-building with external partners to maximize its quality and impact.

The AAG Media Achievement Award and the AAG Publication Award are also selected by the AAG Honors Committee.

Citations for awardees providing an overview of the scope of the awards are published in the website Resource Hub and in the AAG Newsletter.

Browse Awardee Citations

Nomination Guidelines

Nomination dossiers must have at least 3 and not more than 5 letters of support documenting the nominee’s contributions to and impact on geography in the specific Honors category for which they are being nominated, and must also include the candidate’s CV. Efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the discipline need to be addressed in the nomination letters. Self-nominations are allowed but must include the required letters of support.

Nominations should be submitted by the deadline by completing the online application form.

The nominations are reviewed by the AAG Honors Committee, comprised of at least two members who have previously received AAG Honors. A final slate of nominees is presented to the AAG Council at its annual Fall meeting. The names put forward to the Council are accompanied by an award citation indicating the contribution which forms the basis of the proposed award. The final decision for awarding AAG Honors rests with the Council.

Nominations for these awards are solicited in late spring and announcements are published in the AAG Newsletter and on the AAG’s social media platforms, along with electronic distribution to specialty and affinity groups, department chairs, all AAG members, and other interested parties.

In addition, AAG Councilors and members of the AAG Honors Committee may also share the call for nominations and encourage submissions to the AAG Honors program. AAG Honors Committee members are not allowed to submit nominations for AAG Honors and must recuse themselves from deliberations on a candidate they may have close and active professional or personal ties to (some examples: departmental colleague; research, fieldwork or grants collaborator; mentor/mentee; supervisor or supervisee; spouse or domestic partner, etc.).

In making a nomination, please be aware that under current guidelines:

  • No more than eight individuals may be awarded AAG Honors in a single year. However, depending on the pool of nominees, fewer than eight awards are sometimes made.
  • Normally only one award is made annually in each category, although more than one is permitted. However, there is no requirement to make an award in every category if there are insufficient nominations.
  • Nominees must be AAG members if they are residents of the United States; if they reside elsewhere, the membership requirement is waived. In some cases, professionals from other disciplines or professions are eligible for consideration.
  • Nominations of a group of individuals for an AAG Honors are allowed if the achievements of the group clearly demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in one of the following areas: research & scholarship, teaching, education, service to the discipline, public service outside academe. All individuals in the group being nominated must be eligible under these eligibility criteria. Groups of individuals are not eligible for the AAG Lifetime Achievement Honors.
  • Previous AAG honorees (see list below) may be nominated for a second AAG honor in the same category but, if nominated again, the nomination must be for distinction achieved since their first award.
  • The contributions of some nominees may span two or more of the award categories. In this situation, nominators may suggest more than one category for the award. The final decision of award category rests, however, with the AAG Council.
  • No more than one AAG Honors can be awarded posthumously in any given year in any Honors category, while still not exceeding the total maximum of eight Honors per year.
  • Nomination dossiers will be automatically carried forward for two years after the initial nomination, unless the nominee or the nominator withdraws the nominee from consideration, or unless the nomination is judged not to meet the minimum requirements for AAG Honors.
  • The AAG strongly encourages nominators and the Honors Committee to consider broad and inclusive criteria for AAG Honors nominations and selections. Such criteria can include (but are not limited to): race, age, religion, creed, color, ancestry, citizenship, national or ethnic origin, disability, military or veteran status, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, but also institutional diversity (i.e., teaching institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, tribal institutions, research institutions, Associates’ degree-granting programs, private or public sector organizations, non-profit organizations, etc.).
  • As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the nominee being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be revoked, and the AAG Honor may also be revoked for any candidate or AAG Honoree who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

Honors Committee

The AAG Honors Committee is elected by the AAG Membership. The committee for the 2027 AAG Honors is comprised of:

  • Michaela Buenemann, New Mexico State University (Chair; member)
  • Joseph Oppong, University of North Texas (member – honoree)
  • Dawna Cerney, Youngstown State University (member)
  • Cindi Katz, The City University of New York (member – honoree)
  • Chandana Mitra, Auburn University (member)
  • Joann Mossa, University of Florida (member)
  • Daniel D. Arreola, Arizona State University (member – awardee);
  • José Díaz-Garayúa, California State University, Stanislaus (member)
  • V. Kelly Turner, University of California, Los Angeles (member)

AAG Honors Recipients

2026
Mark D. Schwartz, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Seth Appiah-Opoku, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Derek Alderman, AAG Gilbert F. White Distinguished Public Service Award; Nina Lam and Paul Robbins, Lifetime Achievement Honors; He Yin and the Geography, Life + Data (GLaD) Podcast by Rachel Franklin, Daniel Arribas-Bel, and Levi Wolf, AAG Media Achievement Award; Karen Barton, Public and Engaged Scholarship Honors

2025
Jiquan Chen and Xinyue Ye, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; J. Scott Greene, AAG Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Victoria Lawson and Rickie Sanders, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Cary Mock, AAG Media Achievement Award

2024
Jennifer Collins, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Patricia Lopez, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Rafael de Miguel Gonzalez, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Cindi Katz, Lifetime Achievement Honors

2023
Li An, Geraldine Pratt, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; John Strait and Ava Fujimoto-Strait, Distinguished Teaching Honors; David R. Butler, Mark Monmonier, Linda Peake, William Wyckoff, Lifetime Achievement Honors

2022
Doug Richardson, Clyde Woods, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Shaowen Wang, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Laura Pulido, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Craig Colten, Gilbert F. White Distinguished Public Service Honors; Jerry T. Mitchell, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education.

2021
Carol Harden, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Cindi Katz and James Tyner, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Joseph Oppong and Patricia Solis, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Timothy Trainor, Gilbert White Distinguished Public Servic Honors; Barbara Buttenfield, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Richard Campanella, Media Achievement Award.

2020
Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Michael Watts, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Jamie Peck and Qihao Weng, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; William Solecki, Gilbert White Distinguished Public Service Honors; Robert Lake, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Keith Debbage, Media Achievement Award.

2019
Joe T. Darden and Thomas J. Baerwald, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Alexander Stewart Fotheringham and Helga Leitner, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; LaToya Eaves, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Rebecca Torres, Gilbert White Distinguished Public Service Honors.

2018
William Clark and Richard Peet, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Katherine Gibson and Henry Yeung, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Iain Hay and Michal LeVasseur, Gilbert Grosvenor Geographic Education Honors.

2017
Ruth Fincher and David Robinson, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Patrick Bartlein and Michael Storper, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Julie Winkler and Kent Mathewson, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Michael Pretes, Distinguished Teaching Honors

2016
Susan Christopherson and George Malanson, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Linda Mearns, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Carrie Stokes and Aaron Wolf, Gilbert F. White Public Service Honors; Kavita Pandit, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Ibipo Johnston-Anumonwo, Distinguished Teaching Honors; William R. Strong, Gilbert Grosvenor Geographic Education Honors

2015
John Paul Jones, III and Bobby Wilson, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Anthony Bebbington and Ruth DeFries, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Elizabeth Oglesby, Gilbert White Public Service Honors; John Frazier and Rita Gardner, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Michael Solem, Gilbert Grosvenor Geographic Education Honors

2014
Anne Buttimer and Alexander Murphy, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Meric Gertler and Amy Glasmeier, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; James W. Harrington and Wei Li, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Darrel Hess, Gilbert Grosvenor Geographic Education Honors Eve Gruntfest, Gilbert White Public Service Honors;

2013
Edward Soja and Sallie Marston, Lifetime Achievement Honors; John O’Loughlin and Judy Carney, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Gwenda Rice, Gilbert Grosvenor Geographic Education Honors; Ruth Shirey, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Thelma Glass, Gilbert White Public Service Honors; Dawn Wright, Distinguished Teaching Honors.

2012
Kevin Cox and James C. Knox, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Richard Walker, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Robert Morrill, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; David Unwin, Distinguished Service Honors; Briavel Holcomb, Distinguished Teaching Honors. 

2011
Susan Cutter, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Diana Liverman and Mei-Po Kwan, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Joseph Stoltman, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education; Ros Whitehead, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Philip Pryde, Gilbert F. White Distinguished Public Service Honors.

2010
Ronald J. Johnston, Lifetime Achievement Honors; James S. Duncan and Daniel A. Griffith, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; David A. Lanegran, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education

2009
John R. Jensen and Audrey Kobayashi, Lifetime Achievement Honors; David F. Ley, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Donald G. Janelle and Laurence J.C. Ma, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Donald J. Zeigler, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education.

2008
Lawrence A Brown, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Paul L. Knox, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Richard D. Wright, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Barbara Hildebrant and Alexander B. Murphy, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Michael O. Sutcliffe, Gilbert F. White Distinguished Public Service Honors.

2007
Reginald Golledge and Peirce Lewis, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Nigel Thrift, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Darrell Napton, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Sarah Witham Bednarz, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education.

2006
Christopher “Kit” Salter and H. Jesse Walker, Lifetime Achievement Honors; John Agnew and William E. Doolittle, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Susan Hardwick and Charles F. “Fritz” Gritzner, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education.

2005
Joan Clemons and Kenneth E. Foote, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education; Joni K. Seager, Media Achievement Award; Jennifer Wolch, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Mark D. Schwartz, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; John Fraser Hart and Allan R. Pred, Lifetime Achievement Honors.

2004
Osa Brand, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education; Charles F. (Fritz) Gritzner) , Distinguished Teaching Honors; Edward J. Malecki, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Gordon Matzke, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Philip W. Porter, Lifetime Achievement Honors.

2003
J. Ronald Eastman, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Susan Hanson, Lifetime Achievement Honors; James F. Marran, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education; Richard A. Marston, Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors; Peter J. Taylor, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; John Western, Distinguished Teaching Honors

2002
Richard G. Boehm, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Malcolm L. Comeaux; Distinguished Teaching Honors; Arthur Getis, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Janet Kodras, Distinguished Service Honors; Rickie Sanders, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Gilbert F. White, Lifetime Achievement Honors

2001
Ronald E. Beiswanger, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Mildred Berman, Distinguished Service Honors (posthumous); Gary L. Gaile, Distinguished Service Honors; M. Duane Nellis, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Stephen J. Walsh, Distinguished Scholarship Honors

2000
George O. Carney, Distinguished Teaching Honors; Philip J. Gersmehl, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Sidney R. Jumper, Distinguished Service Honors; Janice J. Monk, Lifetime Achievement Honors;Neil Smith, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Cort Willmott, Distinguished Scholarship Honors

1999
Michael P. Conzen, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; John E. Estes, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Neal Lineback, Distinguished Service Honors; Salvatore J. Natoli, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Eric S. Sheppard, Distinguished Scholarship Honors

1998
Roger M. Downs, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; John R. Mather, Lifetime Achievement Honors; Robert W. Marx, Distinguished Service Honors; Gerard Rushton, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Joseph P. Stoltman, Distinguished Teaching Honors; and Norman J.W. Thrower, Lifetime Achievement Honors

1997
Thomas J. Baerwald, Distinguished Service Honors; James M. Blaut, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Michael R. Greenberg, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Melvin G. Marcus, Lifetime Achievement Honors; and Edward T. Price, Distinguished Teaching Honors

1996
Anthony R. de Souza, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Maynard Weston Dow, Distinguished Service Honors; Michael F. Goodchild, Distinguished Scholarship Honors; Maynard and Joan Miller, Distinguished Teaching; and Harold M. Rose, Lifetime Career Honors

 

Between 1976 and 1995, all awards were “AAG Honors.”  These awards were made for accomplishments in scholarship, teaching, education, and service, but were not labeled by category as they are now (1996 to the present).  The first named category “Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education,” was introduced in 1995.

1995
Ronald F. Abler and Alice C. Andrews, Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education; Michael J. Dear, Fred E. Lukermann, Marvin W. Mikesell, and Billie Lee Turner, II

1994
Stanley D. Brunn, Donald R. Deskins Jr., Robert David Sack, Werner H. Terjung, and Michael J. Watts

1993
Barry C. Bishop, Susan Hanson, Robert G. Jensen, Duane F. Marble, and Norbert P. Psuty

1992
Athol D. Abrahams, A. David Hill, Robert E. Huke, Janice Jones Monk, and Thomas T. Veblen

1991
Denys Brunsden, Harm de Blij, Ronald Johnston, and Roger Kasperson

1990
William L. Graf, James C. Knox, E. Willard Miller, Judy M. Olson, and John N. Rayner

1989
Samuel Newton Dicken, Ronald Leslie Heathcote, Allen G. Noble, James O. Wheeler, and Harold A. Winters

1988
John S. Adams, Daniel J. Boorstin, William P. Cumming, and Philip L. Wagner

1987
William A. V. Clark, William Denevan, John Brinckerhoff Jackson, Allen J. Scott, and Alan G. Wilson

1986
Roger G. Barry, Anne Buttimer, Owen Lattimore, and Thomas J. Wilbanks

1985
Larry S. Bourne, Kevin R. Cox, Raymond E. Crist, George Hoffman, and David Ward

1984
Jacqueline Beaujeu-Garnier, Emilio Casetti, John M. Hunter, Gunnar Olsson, and Joseph E. Schwartzberg

1983
Lawrence A. Brown, Geoffrey J. Martin, Risa Ileen Palm, James .T. Parsons, and Ake Sundborg

1982
James R. Anderson, Roland J. Fuchs, Walter Isard, Terry G. Jordan, Shannon McCune, and Edward .T. Taaffe

1981
Lewis M. Alexander, Richard Chorley, and Reginald G. Golledge

1980
Lewis Mumford, George R. Stewart, David W. Harvey, Harold M. Mayer, and Rhoads Murphey

1979
Saul Bernard Cohen, E. Estyn Evans, Preston E. James, Robert W. Kates, George Kish, Clyde F. Kohn, T. Warren Nystrom, Jarnes E. Vance Jr. and Julian Wolpert

1978
Fred B. Kniffen, A. William Kuchler, and Allan Pred

1977
H. Clifford Darby, John B. Leighly, Peirce F. Lewis, and H. Jesse Walker

1976
John R. Borchert, Chauncy D. Harris, and Leslie J. King

 

Between 1951 and 1975, awards were made in the categories of “Meritorious Contributions” and “Outstanding Achievement.”

1975
Meritorious Contributions: Louis DeVorsey Jr., George H. Dury, and Peter R. Gould Outstanding Achievement: Glenn T. Trewartha

1974
Meritorious Contributions: Kenneth J. Bertrand, Meredith F. Burrill, David S. Simonett, and Paul Wheatley Outstanding Achievement: Gilbert F. White Special Award: Carl O. Sauer

1973
Meritorious Contributions: Peter Haggett, John C. Sherman, and Yi-Fu Tuan Outstanding Achievement: Robert C. West

1972
Meritorious Contributions: H. Homer Aschmann, Evelyn L. Pruitt, and M. Gordon Wolman Outstanding Achievement: Robert E. Dickinson

1971
Meritorious Contributions: Michael F. Dacey, Richard L. Morrill, and Waldo R. Tobler Outstanding Achievement: Reino Ajo

1970
Meritorious Contributions: none Outstanding Achievement: none

1969
Meritorious Contributions: John Fraser Hart, Theodore Shabad, and Leslie Curry Outstanding Achievement: Arch C. Gerlach

1968
Meritorious Contributions: Brian J.L. Berry, Karl W. Butzer, Clarence J. Glacken, and Edwin H. Hammond Outstanding Achievement: Torsten Hagerstrand and Joseph E. Spencer

1967
Meritorious Achievement: Richard E. Harrison, Joseph R. Schwendeman, and Leonard S. Wilson Outstanding Achievement: none

1966
Meritorious Contributions: J. Lewis Robinson, William Von Royen, and Wilbur Zelinsky Outstanding Achievement: Paul A. Siple

1965
Meritorious Contributions: Otto E. Guthe, Leslie Hewes, Donald W. Meinig, and Kirk H. Stone Outstanding Achievement: Herman R. Friis and Harold H. McCarty

1964
Meritorious Contributions: Wilma Fairchild, J. Ross Mackay, and Robert C. West Outstanding Achievement: Walter Christaller

1963
Meritorious Contributions: John B. Jackson, Merle C. Prunty, and Dan Stanislawski Outstanding Achievement: Gilbert H. Grosvenor

1962
Meritorious Contributions: Jean Gottmann, George H.T. Kimble, and Walter M. Kollmorgen Outstanding Achievement: none

1961
Meritorious Contributions: Edward B. Espenshade Jr., F. Kenneth Hare, and William L. Thomas Outstanding Achievement: Charles B. Hitchcock

1960
Meritorious Contributions: William L. Garrison and David Lowenthal Outstanding Achievement: Richard Hartshorne and Richard J. Russell

1959
Meritorious Contributions: William Applebaum, Carleton P. Barnes, Clarence E. Batschelet, and Norton S. Ginsburg Outstanding Achievement: Stephen B. Visher

1958
Meritorious Contributions: George F. Carter, Hildegard B. Johnson, and Edward L. Ullman Outstanding Achievement: Rafael Pico

1957
Meritorious Contributions: none Outstanding Achievement: none

1956
Meritorious Contributions: Victor Roterus and Robert Burnett Hall Outstanding Achievement: John K. Wright

1955
Meritorious Contributions: Henry M. Kendall, Erwin Raisz, and John C. Weaver Outstanding Achievement: Gilbert F. White

1954
Meritorious Contributions: Francis J. Marschner, Raymond E. Murphy, and James Wreford Watson Outstanding Achievement: Homer Leroy Shantz

1953
Meritorious Contributions: Wallace W. Atwood, Jr., Walter M. Kollmorgen, Jacques M. May, and Arthur H. Robinson Outstanding Achievement: Warren C. Thornthwaite

1952
Meritorious Contributions: Edward A. Ackerman, Lloyd D. Black, George F. Jenks, and Clara E. LeGear Outstanding Achievement: none

1951
The first individual recognized by the Association was Gladys M. Wrigley, who received a Distinguished Achievement Award in 1951.

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Visiting Geographical Scientist Program

We are not currently accepting requests to this program.

Funded by a grant from Gamma Theta Upsilon and Managed by the American Association of Geographers

The Visiting Geographical Scientist Program (VGSP) welcomes applications for the current academic year. Funded by Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), the International Geographical Honor Society, and managed by the AAG, the VGSP sponsors visits by prominent geographers to colleges and universities across the country. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in geography, especially in small departments that do not have the resources to bring in well-known speakers. Participating institutions select and make arrangements with the visiting geographer. The VGSP covers travel costs and provides a small honorarium; host institutions provide meals and housing.

The Program is Targeted for

  • Students – to acquaint them with subfields that may not be available in course offerings at their institution, stimulate their interest in geographic research, and familiarize them with career opportunities available to geographers.
  • Faculty members – to encourage geographers in their own subfields of geography, to enrich their knowledge of other subfields, to provide counsel on research and curriculum problems, and to inform non-geographers about current developments in the discipline.
  • Administrative officers – to acquaint them more fully with the nature, content and purpose of geography, assist them in understanding the unique spatial point of view that geography contributes to a liberal education, and provide counsel on the development of staff and curricula.

Program Conditions

To qualify for the program, at least one-half of the institutions hosting a visiting scientist during the academic year must have active chapters of Gamma Theta Upsilon (an active chapter is one that has reported initiates in the past two years). Institutions without a GTU chapter may host a visiting scholar only once. Thereafter, they must have a Gamma Theta Upsilon chapter to be eligible. Two-year colleges which offer a degree or a certificate program in Geography are eligible to form GTU chapters.

The VGSP requires one scientist to visit two or more institutions over a one to three-day period. A single contact at the primary sponsoring institution will coordinate the visits. This contact will work with the visiting scientist, the representatives of the other institution(s), and the VGSP Coordinator in the AAG Office. Participating institutions need to directly contact and schedule visiting scientists, but are welcome to contact the AAG for advice. Speakers for the VGSP are subject to GTU/AAG approval, unless selected from the current VGSP Speakers List.

Each host institution is responsible for providing the visitor with meals and lodging. GTU will pay an honorarium of $100 per institutional visit to each visiting scientist and will reimburse the visitor up to $600 for travel costs to and from the area of the institutions visited. Visitors will receive their checks from the AAG. Additional travel costs (above the $600 allowance) must be absorbed by the institutions.

Past experience has demonstrated that the most successful visits have resulted from careful planning of the visitor’s agenda without over-scheduling the visitor’s time. Institutions should plan to keep formal presentations to a minimum and provide a maximum of opportunities for informal discussions with students and faculty.

As with all other AAG programs, eligibility also rests on the person being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and participation in the program may also be revoked for any person who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

Application Instructions

  • Download application form and view the speakers list.
  • Organize prospective visit with at least one other institution (arrange tentative dates/times/venues).
  • Contact prospective speaker from VGSP speaker list, or obtain AAG/GTU approval for a speaker not on the list (in this case, submit curriculum vitae of speaker to be approved and ensure they are a GTU member), and fix dates.
  • If the proposed speaker is not a GTU member, please submit their CV along with a written statement to explain how they can promote geography AND GTU to a range of audiences (administrators, faculty, students, and the public). AAG/GTU will review and if accepted, the prospective speaker will be invited to become a GTU member before VGSP application is approved.
  • Prepare a schedule of speaker activities while on campus (e.g., featured talk, meeting with student groups/related organizations; meeting with administration)
  • Write a cover letter to address purpose of the talk and its benefit(s) to students and the department; topic(s) speaker will address; description of the student body and department; and how the speaker will be promoted on campus/community.
  • Complete the VGSP application form, a schedule of speaker tour, and a cover letter for submission to the AAG.
    Please email your complete application to the attention of Mark Revell. Upon approval of application, confirm all arrangements with speaker and co-sponsor(s), including meals and accommodations.  Please allow two weeks from date of application for notification of acceptance.
View past VGSP events
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William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

The 2028 Garrison Award application will open in 2027.

Deadline for 2028 award: October 15, 2027, midnight Eastern Time

The biennial William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography supports innovative research into the computational aspects of geographic science. The award is intended to arouse a more general and deeper understanding of the important role that advanced computation can play in resolving the complex problems of space–time analysis that are at the core of geographic science. The award is one of the activities of the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science, which also includes the Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Award, the Marble Fund Award for Innovative Master’s Research in Quantitative Geography, and the biennial Marble Fund Seed Grant Award for Computational Geography.

The Garrison award consists of a cash prize in the amount of $4,000 and a formal certificate of merit. Additionally, a $1,000 travel grant will be provided to recipients who attend the AAG Annual Meeting in person. The formal presentation of the Garrison Award will take place at the annual meeting of the AAG following the announcement of the award. If they so choose, the Trustees of the Marble Fund may elect to award one or more additional certificates of merit to non-awardee finalists whose work is, in their judgment, of exceptional merit.

Eligibility

There is no restriction placed upon the formal disciplinary area of the research so long as it is directly related to advanced computational approaches to the spatial-temporal problems addressed by geographic science. The award is open to candidates associated with any institution of higher education, anywhere in the world, that is authorized to award the doctorate.

Dissertations completed in the two-year period beginning on September 1st of 2025 and terminating on August 31st of 2027 will be eligible for nomination. In the context of this award, a dissertation is considered to be completed when the final version of the document is deposited with and has been accepted by the institution of higher education awarding the degree.

 

Criteria

Proposals should demonstrate high standards of scholarship. The selection committee will observe the general purposes noted above when evaluating proposals. It should be noted that the emphasis of the Garrison Award is upon innovative computational approaches and award applications based upon the routine application of standard software packages are not encouraged. All nominations will be carefully reviewed and those determined to be within the stated goals of the competition will be invited to make a full submission for consideration.

Initial Nominations

Dissertations to be considered for this award may be placed in nomination by either the candidate’s doctoral advisor or by a member of the Dissertation Committee.

The nomination documents must consist of:

  • A signed letter of nomination, prepared on institutional letterhead, that clearly sets forth the reasons for nominating the dissertation. The letter must also provide an objective assessment of the candidate’s future research potential,
  • A current and complete vita of the candidate, and
  • An extended abstract of the dissertation, including its full title, that addresses the selection of the research problem, the research methodology adopted (explicitly addressing the nature of the computational approach employed), and the anticipated contribution of the research results. The abstract is limited to 1500 words, exclusive of references.
  • As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

A complete application must be received no later than the close of business on the deadline (Eastern Time).

IMPORTANT: The initial nominating documentation is limited to these three items. Copies of the dissertation are not to be included.

APPLY

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

Finalists

Those nominees who have been selected by the Review Committee for final consideration must, when requested, submit the following materials:

  • A complete English language copy of the dissertation. If the dissertation was prepared in a language other than English then the submission must consist of a copy of the original document and a complete translation of the original document into English done by a professional translator. The submission must consist of an electronic copy (in PDF format) of the document.
  • A signed statement, on institutional letterhead, prepared by the relevant institutional representative, certifying that the final copy of the dissertation has been deposited and that the doctoral degree will be awarded. The document must explicitly certify that the date of deposit of the dissertation falls within the relevant award period. This statement must either be in English or accompanied by a certified professional translation into English. Transmission must consist of an electronic copy (in PDF format) of this document.
  • A statement, signed by the nominee, agreeing to participate in the AAG award ceremony. This will involve registration and attendance at the AAG meeting in the year of the award as well as preparation and presentation of the required research paper. Subsequent failure to satisfy this obligation will result in forfeiture of the award and its public withdrawal.

Application Instructions

All nomination materials must be in English, and submitted in electronic form. In addition, the originals of all signed materials and, for the selected nominees, a physical copy of the complete dissertation, must be made available upon request.

Reports and Acknowledgment

The recipient of the award is required to participate in the AAG meetings by presenting, as a part of a Marble Fund Session, a paper summarizing the research making up their dissertation. The winner should acknowledge the award from the AAG Marble Fund for Geographic Science in subsequent presentations and publications arising from the dissertation.

Dr. William L. Garrison

This award was created to honor the outstanding research and educational activities of Dr. William L. Garrison who, following service in World War II, received his Ph.D. in Geography from Northwestern University in 1950. While a young faculty member at the University of Washington, Garrison became one of the leaders of the resurgence of geographic science and many of his doctoral students (including Duane Marble, Brian J. L. Berry, John Nystuen, Arthur Getis, Richard Morrill, and William Bunge) were subsequently instrumental in the evolution of geographic science and geographic information systems. Bill Garrison was also one of the first geographers to make use of computational approaches to the solution of geographic problems. The early work at the University of Washington of Garrison and his students involved such historic computing systems as the IBM 604 and IBM 650. Garrison was Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Emeritus Research Engineer in the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley.

Trustees of the Marble Fund for Geographic Science

Dr. Jay Sandhu, ESRI
Dr. Donna Peuquet, Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Elizabeth Wentz, Temple University

AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography Recipients

2026

Jielu Zhang

2026 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Jielu Zhang

2026 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Jielu Zhang, Postdoctoral Researcher at Harvard University’s Center for Geographic Analysis

Ph.D. Geography from the University of Georgia (Dissertation: Using Geospatial Analysis and Explainable Machine Learning to Examine Risk Factors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Outcome)

2026

Alexander Michels

2026 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Alexander Michels

2026 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Alexander Michels, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas (School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences)

Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Dissertation: Integrating CyberGIS and Big Data for Scalable Spatial Accessibility Analysis)

2024

Jinmeng Rao

2024 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Jinmeng Rao

2024 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Jinmeng Rao, University of Wisconsin-Madison is awarded the prized for his thesis, Trajectory Privacy Protection with Geospatial Artificial Intelligence

2024

Honorable Mention: Yue Lin

2024 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Honorable Mention: Yue Lin

2024 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Yue Lin, Ohio State University, is recognized for Privacy and Utility of Geographic Data: Revealing, Evaluating, and Mitigating the Externalities of Geographic Privacy Protection

2022

Gengchen Mai

2022 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Gengchen Mai

2022 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Gengchen Mai, University of California Santa Barbara, Geographic Question Answering with Spatially-Explicit Machine Learning Models

2020

Taylor Anderson

2020 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Taylor Anderson

2020 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Taylor Anderson, Simon Fraser University, “Towards the Integration of Complex Systems Theory, Geographic Information Science, and Network Science for Modelling Geospatial Phenomena”

2018

Stephen Strader

2018 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Stephen Strader

2018 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Stephen Strader, Northern Illinois University, “Changes in the U.S. Tornado Disaster Landscape”

2016

Ying Song

2016 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Ying Song

2016 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Ying Song, The Ohio State University, “Green Accessibility: Estimating the Environmental Costs of Space-time Prisms for Sustainable Transportation Planning”

2014

Eric Shook

2014 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Eric Shook

2014 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Eric Shook, Kent State Univeristy, “A Computational Approach to Understanding Spatial and Temporal Granularities in Agent-Based Modeling,” University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2014

Yiyi Wang

2014 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Yiyi Wang

2014 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Yiyi Wang, Montana State University, “A New Spatial Model for Predicting Multivariate Counts: Anticipating Pedestrian Crashes across Neighborhoods & Firm Births across Counties,” University of Texas at Austin

2010

Dr. Mehdi Mekni

2010 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Mehdi Mekni

2010 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Mehdi Mekni, Sherbrooke University, “Automated Generation of Geometrically-Precise and Semantically-Informed Virtual Geographic Environments Populated with Spatially-Reasoning Agents”

2006

Dr. Stephane Joost

2006 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Stephane Joost

2006 AAG William L. Garrison Award for Best Dissertation in Computational Geography

Dr. Stephane Joost, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, “The Geographical Dimension of Genetic Diversity: A GIScience Contribution for the Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources”

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AAG Glenda Laws Award

Deadline for the 2027 awards: September 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

Photo of Glenda Laws courtesy Stephen MatthewsThe Glenda Laws Award is administered by the American Association of Geographers and endorsed by members of the Institute of Australian Geographers, the Canadian Association of Geographers, and the Institute of British Geographers. The annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to geographic research on social issues. This award is named in memory of Glenda Laws—a geographer who brought energy and enthusiasm to her work on issues of social justice and social policy. All early to mid-career scholars involved in geographic research on one or more social issues will be eligible for this award. Nominations should include two letters of recommendation from scholars or members of community organizations familiar with the research upon which the nomination is based, a curriculum vitae, and a scholarly paper based on original research.

The award is presented at the Awards Ceremony at the AAG Annual Meeting. In addition, the Awardee(s) will be invited to contribute a publication to Social & Cultural Geography that uses their scholarship and experiences to offer perspectives on advancing geographic research on social issues, social justice, and social policy.

Applications

Complete nominations must be received by the deadline (Eastern Standard Time).  Nominations will consist of:

  • The nominee’s current CV that identifies at least one scholarly paper based on original research;
  • A cover letter detailing outstanding contributions to geographic research on social issues application; and
  • Two letters of recommendation.  Letters of recommendation are directly requested in the application portal.

APPLY

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

As with all AAG awards, the JEDI Committee may decline to make an award in any given year.

AAG Glenda Laws Award Recipients

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2026

Rachel Goffe 

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2026 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Rachel Goffe 

2026 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Dr. Rachel Goffe is a human geographer whose work sits at the intersection of social reproduction, carceral geographies, Caribbean Studies and Black Geographies. In a time when these issues are absolutely vital, Dr. Goffe is concerned with the state regulation of dispossession from life and land. While her work is situated in her native Jamaica, the work applies to us all, particularly via the global ramifications of considering racial capitalism, gentrification, placemaking, boundary writing, and how policy and the state help shape claims to the idea of home. Dr. Goffe also has a strong record of community engagement and service both in and out of the academy, including organizing writing circles for graduate students from conflict zones and supporting grassroots organizations that fight for Justice in Jamaica.  As someone emphasizing the effects of today’s inequities and fighting to lessen them, Dr. Rachel Goffe should be recognized for continuing the legacy of Dr. Glenda Laws and her exemplary commitment to social justice and social policy.

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2026

Xiao Huang

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2026 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Xiao Huang

2026 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Dr. Xiao Huang is a data and environmental scientist who combines these two interests into work on disaster mitigation, human-environment interactions, disaster remote sensing, urban studies, and other areas. Rather than study data for data’s sake, he wants to put data to work studying and solving human problems. He shows that research, public service, and community engagement are not mutually exclusive endeavors. His research dossier advocates that “computational urban science needs to go beyond computational”: he considers how human mobility affects people’s lives how we can map floods in real time with social media, heat risk assessment in urban areas, and much more. His work has been featured in the popular media, showing the public how important geography is for solving social problems. Dr. Huang also has an extensive record of leadership in and service to the discipline. A true public scholar, Dr. Xiao Huang should be recognized for continuing the legacy of Dr. Glenda Laws’s exemplary commitment to social justice and social policy.

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2025

Lisa Bhungalia

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2025 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Lisa Bhungalia

2025 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Dr. Lisa Bhungalia has developed a socially engaged research agenda that bridges empirical observations on justice issues with innovative theory. This award recognizes Dr. Bhungalia for research that is at the forefront of what it means to blend theory and practice in pursuit of justice, and the forging of a critical lens through which to examine and better understand social issues in the discipline of geography and global studies. Her book, Elastic Empire: Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2023), is an excellent example of bridging theoretical frameworks to practice. It has earned prestigious honors, including the 2024 Albert Hourani Book Award and the Palestine Book Awards. Like Glenda Laws, for whom this award is named, Dr. Bhungalia brings intellectual care, curiosity, enthusiasm, and empathy to a research project that centers those in the constant struggle for social justice and human rights across Palestine and beyond.

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2025

Pablo Mansilla Quiñones

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2025 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Pablo Mansilla Quiñones

2025 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Dr. Pablo Mansilla Quiñones is a decolonial scholar who works closely with Indigenous social, territorial, and environmental struggles throughout South America. He uses a combination of participatory methods (through research) and transdisciplinary engagement approaches in the support of grassroots organizing (through activism) across his projects. These practices (including mapping, geohumanities, and creative geographies) have contributed to successful struggles against mega-dam construction in Mapuche territory and to Wayuú, Añú, and Barí struggles against extractivism in their territories. He leads the Territorios Alternativos Research Group (www.territoriosalternativos.cl) and the Climate Pluriverses project (www.pluriversosclimaticos.cl), which brings together researchers and social movement leaders from across the world to engage in a process of building different socio-environmental possibilities from the creative knowledges and grounds of involved groups. Dr. Mansilla Quiñones also contributes to decolonial knowledge production by co-authoring articles with his research collaborators across  a career of productivity that merits distinction. For these reasons, Dr. Mansilla Quiñones should be recognized for continuing the legacy of Dr. Glenda Laws and her exemplary commitment to social justice and social policy.

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2024

Mohammed Rafi Arefin

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2024 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Mohammed Rafi Arefin

2024 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Mohammed Rafi Arefin, assistant professor of geography at the University of British Columbia, is recognized both for his outstanding research on political ecologies of urban waste in the global North and South and for his unwavering commitment to environmental and climate justice. Dr. Arefin embodies the spirit of the Glenda Laws Award in his efforts to help establish a Centre for Climate Justice (CCJ) at UBC that connects the university with communities on the front lines of climate disruption. In addition to putting the university’s resources in service of diverse communities in British Columbia, the CCJ provides an activist network to advocate for substantive policy changes around issues of housing, sovereignty, and political freedoms. Dr. Arefin must also be recognized for his tireless efforts to bring international attention to the incarceration of political activists in Egypt ahead of the UN’s COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

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2023

Shiloh Krupar

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2023 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Shiloh Krupar

2023 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Shiloh Krupar’s work combines scholarship on nuclear politics and policy with performance-based community activism.  Her creativity and her commitment to public scholarship are remarkable.  Among her many noteworthy projects are the National Toxic Land/Labor Conservation Service, a faux government agency that enlists artists-activists to propose projects focused on the environmental legacies of American militarism to actual government agencies. In addition, her A People’s Atlas of Nuclear Colorado invites the public to learn about, and to engage with, the history of the Cold War and nuclear landscapes in Colorado. This interactive digital atlas, which tackles Colorado’s nuclear military-industrial complex, represents stunningly innovative, interdisciplinary, collaborative and public facing scholarship that stretches the political and social scope of what it is that an atlas can do. In receiving this award, Dr. Krupar wishes to acknowledge her long-term collaborator on these projects, Sarah Kanouse.  She is affiliated with Georgetown University.

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2023

Willie J. Wright

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2023 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Willie J. Wright

2023 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Willie J. Wright has made his mark in the discipline with his scholarship on Black geographies and urban studies.  He is committed to social justice and to community engagement while also embarking on creative partnerships with cultural institutions.  His current project (with Dr. Sage Ponder) on the Jackson People’s School, funded by the Antipode Foundation, and his year-long Galveston Artist Residency are all worthy of note and praise. He is deeply committed to advancing the fight and struggle for justice in communities long written out of mainstream geographic scholarship. Dr. Wright is also a board member of the Cooperative Community of New West Jackson, Mississippi, a grassroots resident-led community development organization.

As an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, Dr. Wright has made vital contributions to social justice teaching, including a dedicated course on Social Justice in the City and a graduate course on Black Geographies. He is committed to community-oriented scholarship and bridging the gap between the academy and knowledge that exists within communities. This is crucial because knowledge creation is not a one-way street but is reflected in the intersection between the ‘Ivory Tower’ and community activists and organizers working to transform communities.

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2022

Rebecca Torres

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2022 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Rebecca Torres

2022 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Rebecca Torres, University of Texas at Austin for her steadfast advancement of social justice through scholarship and community bridge building.

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2021

Jen (Jack) Gieseking

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2021 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Jen (Jack) Gieseking

2021 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2021 Jen (Jack) Gieseking, University of Kentucky, for scholarship that combines critical urban theory, GIS, and digital humanities to study queer, feminist, and trans geographies

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2021

Pavithra Vasudevan

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2021 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Pavithra Vasudevan

2021 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2021 Pavithra Vasudevan, University of Texas at Austin for her feminist-inspired, participatory action research calling attention to environmental racism, and also for her inspirational pedagogy.

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2020

Martina Angela Caretta

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2020 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Martina Angela Caretta

2020 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2020 Martina Angela Caretta, Lund University,  works on the human-environment interactions of women and water, but that does not adequately describe the depth, breadth or impact of her work. She has been asked to serve as a Coordinating Lead Author of the 6th UN Intergovernmental Panel on the Climate Change Assessment Report. Caretta is as dynamic a teacher as she is a researcher.

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2019

Farhana Sultana

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2019 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Farhana Sultana

2019 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Farhana Sultana, Maxwell School, Syracuse University for her work as a courageous scholar/activist and public intellectual

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2018

Sharlene Mollett

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2018 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Sharlene Mollett

2018 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2018 Sharlene Mollett from the University of Toronto Scarborough is recognized for her outstanding work as a critical social geographer, who has made a significant impact on feminist political ecologies. She has been influential in establishing the study of postcolonial intersectionality through her work on Latin America. Dr. Mollett intends to inspire justice-orienhted debates in geography and contribute to on-the-ground change in development practice.

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2017

Sarah Hunt 

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2017 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Sarah Hunt 

2017 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2017 Sarah Hunt from the University of British Columbia is recognized for her committment to knowledge mobiliztion, social justice, and super scholarship.  She explores geographies of resistance  and resurgence in the intimate, everyday relations of indigenous people and communities. Dr. Hunt’s writing has been published in numerous books and scjholarly jourbals, as well as in popular media outlets such as mediaINDIGENA, decolonization.org, and Op Eds for The Globe and Mail and CBC Aboriginal.

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2015

Joshua Inwood

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2015 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Joshua Inwood

2015 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2015 Joshua Inwood from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville for signifiicantly advancing the ideas of social justice, anti-racism, and peace from a geographic perspective in his article, “Critical pedagogy and the fierce urgency of now: opening up space for critical reflections on the U.S. civil rights movement.”

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2014

Juanita Sundberg

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2014 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Juanita Sundberg

2014 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2014 Juanita Sundberg from the University of British Columbia for her commitment to social justice, which is deeply embedded in both her teaching and scholarship.

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2012

Minelle Mahtani

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2012 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Minelle Mahtani

2012 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2012 Minelle Mahtani, University of Toronto for her outstanding research in the area of minority representation in geography, her contributions to the Geography Faculty Development Alliance and her use of multimedia to enhance diversity initiatives, demonstrating her oustanding efforts to encourage a more diverse discipline. Dr. Mahtani initiated a tradition, together with the editors of Social & Cultural Geography for an article celebrating the AAG Glenda Laws Awardee.  Her inaugural article citation is: Minelle Mahtani (2014) Toxic geographies: absences in critical race thought and practice in social and cultural geography, Social & Cultural Geography, 15:4, 359-367, DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2014.888297

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2010

Nik Heynen

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2010 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Nik Heynen

2010 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2010 Nik Heynen, University of Georgia for his work which has helped to define and advance the academic agenda in geography and cognate disciplines in a number of areas, particularly related to hunger, environmental justice, globalization, and emancipatory social struggles.

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2007

James Tyner

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2007 AAG Glenda Laws Award

James Tyner

2007 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2007 James Tyner, Kent State University for his “long-standing and steadfast commitment in research and teaching to social justice,” including work on the geographies of race, religion, economics and labor, geopolitics and the morality of war

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2006

Michael Brown

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2006 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Michael Brown

2006 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2006 Michael Brown, University of Washington for his research focusing on the intersection of political, cultural, urban and health geographies, and particularly for his leadership in geographies of sexuality and the body.

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2005

Karen Bakker

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2005 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Karen Bakker

2005 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2005 Karen Bakker, University of British Columbia for her uncompromising commitment to advance understandings of the nature of governance, the significance of natural resources, and the importance of distributive justice in contemporary societies.

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2004

Vincent Del Casino Jr.

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2004 AAG Glenda Laws Award

Vincent Del Casino Jr.

2004 AAG Glenda Laws Award

2004 Vincent Del Casino Jr., California State University, Long Beach,  for his passionate commitment to ease the suffering of people with AIDS and HIV and to help in the prevention of these diseases, especially in marginalized and vulnerable communities.

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AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Deadline for the 2027 awards: September 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

This annual award recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching undergraduate Geography including the use of innovative teaching methods. The recipients are instructors for whom undergraduate teaching is a primary responsibility.  The award consists of $2,500 in prize money and an additional $500 in travel expenses to attend the AAG Annual Meeting, where the award will be conveyed. This award is generously funded by John Wiley & Sons in memory of their long-standing collaboration with the late Harm de Blij on his seminal Geography textbooks.

Donate to the Harm J. de Blij Fund

Eligibility

Individual faculty or instructors for whom teaching Geography is a primary responsibility are eligible. The recipient(s) must be a current member of the AAG. Nominations from a wide spectrum of junior and senior colleagues in the geography community are encouraged.

Criteria

The award will be presented to those faculty or instructors who have demonstrated excellence in the teaching of Geography at the undergraduate level. This may be based on original curriculum design, the use of innovative or new teaching methods, demonstrating the applicability of geographic and geospatial concepts to other subject areas, and more. Nominees will be persons who have a demonstrated record of excellence in teaching Geography.

Nominations

Nominations must be received by the deadline (Eastern Time). Current AAG members may submit nominations for the Harm de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching.  Nominations will include:

  • the nominee’s curriculum vitae;
  • a concise (500 words maximum) yet specific description of the accomplishments that warrant selection according to the above criteria; and
  • at least 2, but no more than 3, letters of recommendation

The AAG Harm de Blij Award Committee will review all eligible nominations received from current AAG members and will select a recipient from among them. Nomination files will be kept for five years and can be considered in future award cycles. Previous awardees are not eligible to receive this Award again.

As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

APPLY

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching Recipients

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2024

Karen Barton

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2024 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Karen Barton

2024 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Dr. Karen Barton, professor in the Department of Geography, GIS, & Sustainability at the University of Northern Colorado, is this year’s recipient of the the Harm de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching. The selection committee felt that all applicants were outstanding, however, Dr. Barton’s unparalleled commitment to international field education stood out as exemplary. She has led field courses to Nepal, Iceland, Guyana, Nicaragua, Peru, Kenya, and Norway in addition to points within the United States. She includes service learning in her field excursions that help students understand their place in the world, and most impressively, Dr. Barton has assembled funds for these courses from a broad range of sources, allowing a diverse group of students to participate in these impactful trips. Dr. Barton has been recognized with four awards for her teaching excellence on campus. Her peer recommendations indicate a sustained commitment to undergraduate education and experiential learning over her career as a geographer.

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2023

Gabriela Hamerlinck

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2023 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Gabriela Hamerlinck

2023 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Gabriela Hamerlinck (Gaby), an instructional faculty at the University of Florida, is an exceptional geography teacher. Her innovative and rigorous courses focus her students on applied activities and real-world examples such as designing a global pandemic response plan, critiquing how disease is portrayed in popular culture, or creating a zombie movie! She requires students to write, provides detailed feedback, and promotes constructive peer review between students.

Hamerlinck incorporates participatory approaches to teach culturally diverse topics. Examples of her creativity include low technology ‘nanobugs’ as an example ‘game’ on how diseases spread; and social media ‘campaigns’ for effective educational programs. She created multiple new courses, including a required UF Quest course “The Next Pandemic” which she was teaching when COVID hit. Gaby also developed Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) for Geography. This CURE platform increases undergraduate research in the geography department and serves as a pedagogical tool shown to increase learning gains and retention for all students, especially those who have been historically excluded from higher education.

Hamerlinck is also a highly trained PhD in mathematical biology and offers her students a fresh perspective on those tools in geography. In each semester she teaches, more students find geography, and many pursue the discipline as a major. Hamerlinck has also taken several of her courses through the University of Florida’s rigorous processes for confirming access for all.

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2022

Andrew Jolly-Ballantine

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2022 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Andrew Jolly-Ballantine

2022 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Andrew Jolly-Ballantine is a highly innovative teacher who developed the University of Connecticut’s Sustainable Community Food Systems program and minor, helped faculty understand and better address the range of disabilities students may face in their studies, and developed a long-standing undergraduate service-learning partnership.

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2021

Heather Bedi

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2021 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Heather Bedi

2021 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Heather Bedi, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Dickinson College, shows great passion for teaching and uses a dynamic approach in creating fresh ways for students to engage with course material in the classroom and opportunities for them to actively contribute to the local community. Her teaching and community outreach are well-informed by her research into relationships between civil society, socio-environmental movements, and natural resource and landscape modifications. She is already making a strong mark on the discipline and is poised to impact geography even more into the future.

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2020

Jennifer Collins

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2020 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Jennifer Collins

2020 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Jennifer Collins, a Professor of Geosciences at the University of South Florida, is described by her colleagues as a highly respected role model (especially for female students in STEM) and passionate about undergraduate education. Dr. Collins designs her courses to offer high impact learning experiences to her students. She has co-published with numerous undergraduate students, and routinely includes undergraduate mentoring and collaboration in her research grants. However, her impact goes far beyond her own students. Dr. Collins engages in numerous well-recognized community outreach projects herself, such as providing workshops for K-12 teachers and promoting geography in the media. One colleague described her as “… not only [having] impacted the field, students, and the community at large, but [she] is also a good steward of the environment, imparting those values onto others.” Similarly, another colleague describes her as a “true collaborator” with a strong “devotion to the university, our students, and her profession at large”. For all these reasons, we are pleased to recognize Dr. Jennifer Collins with the 2020 AAG Harm de Blij Award.

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2019

Alex Papadopoulos

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2019 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Alex Papadopoulos

2019 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Alex Papadopoulos, Professor of Geography at DePaul University, teaches a variety of undergraduate courses including Earth’s Cultural Landscape, Urban Geography, Geopolitics and Topics in Architecture and Urbanism. His teaching accomplishments include initiating DePaul’s first experiential learning geography class, leading multiple study abroad experiences in Europe and North Africa, and mentoring numerous colleagues in their teaching. He has already been recognized with DePaul’s Excellence in Teaching award and the Cortelyou-Lowery Award for Teaching, Service and Excellence. Students describe him as an instructor who is knowledgeable, inclusive, and caring. Multiple students stated that Dr. Papadopoulos helped spark their academic interests, which resulted in life-long learning for alumni. Dr. Papadopoulos is recognized as an extraordinary, and extraordinarily committed, teacher, who values teaching above all other academic responsibilities.

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2018

Fenda Akiwumi

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2018 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Fenda Akiwumi

2018 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Fenda Akiwumi, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of South Florida has already been recognized with an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award from USF and a  Higher Education Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education. Dr. Akiwumi, who has taken students to Ghana and Guyana, also teaches at USF’s Honors College, where she has directed a number of undergraduate theses. The Assistant Dean of the Honors College notes that Dr. Akiwumi is, “…the rare faculty member who views teaching, service, and research not as discrete categories, but as threads woven into a larger vocation.” Students have described Akiwumi as passionate, inspiring and relatable. One former student writes, “Professors like her open the door to knowledge and not simply information. I could not think of an educator more worthy of this award.”

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2017

Ronald (Ron) Kalafsky

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2017 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Ronald (Ron) Kalafsky

2017 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Ronald (Ron) Kalafsky, of the University of Tennessee, has established himself as an exceptionally effective teacher of geography. He has the distinction of being one of the most popular and effective instructors within the Department of Geography. His students praise his energy, enthusiasm and interactivity, as well as inquiry- and case-study based methodologies. Kalafsky regularly challenges his students to apply spatial reasoning to their daily lives, and emphasizes the important role of geography for understanding and addressing the contemporary issues and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

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2016

Donald J. Zeigler

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2016 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Donald J. Zeigler

2016 AAG Harm J. de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Geography Teaching

Donald J. Zeigler has taught geography to undergraduate students at Old Dominion University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, for the past 36 years. During that period, he has taught nearly 200 sections of geography courses representing more than 25 geographical topics. He attended to the ever changing student population and course dynamics by using a variety of pedagogical methods, beginning initially with chalk and talk in 1980 and employing video streaming and virtual reality in 2016. His teaching repertoire includes standard lecture classes (serving small to very large course sections), field-based and study abroad courses, problem based learning, and web-based and televised distance learning courses. Zeigler’s commitment to excellence in teaching has led him to design and teach courses fulfilling key university missions, including writing intensive and service learning courses, each with a geographical perspective.

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AAG Research Grants

Deadline: November 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

The AAG provides small grants to support research and fieldwork. Grants can be used only for direct expenses of research; salary and overhead costs are not allowed. The selection committee will not approve an award larger than $500 for any single recipient. The committee will not approve awards for masters or doctoral dissertation research. No awards are made if funds are insufficient or if proposals are not suitable.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you have been an AAG member for at least two years (not necessarily consecutive) at the time you submit your application.

Criteria

The selection committee will support proposals that in its judgment offer the prospect of obtaining substantial subsequent support from private foundations or federal agencies and that address questions of major import to the discipline. No awards will be made in years when funds are insufficient or if proposals are not suitable.

Application

Applications must be received by the deadline (Eastern Time). All applicants will be notified of the status of their submission within approximately 3 months after the deadline. Awardees may anticipate receiving their grants by late Spring.

As with all other AAG grants, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or grantee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

APPLY

About AAG Research Grants

These grants are supported by the AAG and also in part with the following funds:

  • Atwood Research Fund
  • Denoyer Geppert Fund
  • Geppert Fund
  • Gibson Fund

Reports and Acknowledgment

Please acknowledge AAG support in presentations and publications.

AAG Research Grants Recipients

2025

Jesse Andrews

2025 AAG Research Grants

Jesse Andrews

2025 AAG Research Grants

University Of Nebraska – Lincoln

2025

Jordan Blekking

2025 AAG Research Grants

Jordan Blekking

2025 AAG Research Grants

Cornell University

2025

Rebecca Clouser

2025 AAG Research Grants

Rebecca Clouser

2025 AAG Research Grants

Rose Hulman Institute Of Technology

2025

Tianyu Li

2025 AAG Research Grants

Tianyu Li

2025 AAG Research Grants

Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville

2025

Joseph Palis

2025 AAG Research Grants

Joseph Palis

2025 AAG Research Grants

University of the Philippines Diliman

2025

Alana Rader

2025 AAG Research Grants

Alana Rader

2025 AAG Research Grants

Lewis & Clark College

2024

Jiannan Cai

2024 AAG Research Grants

Jiannan Cai

2024 AAG Research Grants

Chinese University of Hong Kong

2024

Scott Warren

2024 AAG Research Grants

Scott Warren

2024 AAG Research Grants

University of Oregon

2024

Daniel Warshawsky

2024 AAG Research Grants

Daniel Warshawsky

2024 AAG Research Grants

Wright State University

2023

Joynal Abedin

2023 AAG Research Grants

Joynal Abedin

2023 AAG Research Grants

Joynal Abedin, Texas A&M University

2023

Michael Desjardins

2023 AAG Research Grants

Michael Desjardins

2023 AAG Research Grants

Michael Desjardins, Johns Hopkins University

2023

Emma Gaalaas Mullaney

2023 AAG Research Grants

Emma Gaalaas Mullaney

2023 AAG Research Grants

Emma Gaalaas Mullaney, Michigan State University

2022

Mary Biggs

2022 AAG Research Grants

Mary Biggs

2022 AAG Research Grants

Mary Biggs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2022

Matthew Pflaum

2022 AAG Research Grants

Matthew Pflaum

2022 AAG Research Grants

Matthew Pflaum, University of Florida

2022

Romao Oliveira Wellington

2022 AAG Research Grants

Romao Oliveira Wellington

2022 AAG Research Grants

Romao Oliveira Wellington, Federal University of Ceará

2022

Daniel Yonto

2022 AAG Research Grants

Daniel Yonto

2022 AAG Research Grants

Daniel Yonto, University of Alabama

2022

Zhengke Zhou

2022 AAG Research Grants

Zhengke Zhou

2022 AAG Research Grants

Zhengke Zhou, Chinese University of Hong Kong

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AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

The AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography will be inactive for the 2026-2027 awards cycle.

The objective of the Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography is to carry on the tradition of excellence and humanity in field work espoused by Dr. Melvin G. Marcus. Grants from the Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography will foster personally formative participation by students collaborating with faculty in field-based physical geography research in challenging outdoor environments.

Eligibility:

Marcus Fund grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded to faculty applicants to support travel and logistical costs of including students in field research in physical geography. Student submissions will only be accepted if the faculty member writes an accompanying letter stating how she or he will work with the student in the field. The faculty member must join the student for a significant portion of the field work. In general, the award is intended to support the inclusion of one or more students in field-based research, but not an entire class.  Research sites may include international as well as national locations. Marcus grant funds may be used to cover travel to the research site, as well as expenses related to the logistical support of the student, such as food, fuel and lodging. Student stipends are not eligible expenses under this grant. University or department overhead charges are not permissible budget items.

As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

 

Criteria:

The evaluation committee will select proposal(s) that in its judgment best address the objective of the fund as stated above. No awards will be made in years when funds are insufficient or if proposals are not suitable.

Applications:

Digital submissions are required. All information must be entered on our online application form. The form asks applicants to describe the research opportunity for the student and the manner in which the field experience will challenge the student to grow both personally and professionally. The review committee is aware that the personal experience and physical abilities of students will vary widely, and that what is challenging to one student may not be to another. Field experiences therefore may cover a large range of activities, so long as the outdoor experience will help the student to grow and excel in new ways. A budget and budget justification for the requested funds should be included on the form. The proposal should address how safety of the participants will be insured. The most successful proposals typically identify the individual students who will be involved in the study. Please view the application form before trying to submit, so that you have all information ready when you are ready to apply.

 

Submissions: 

Submissions must be sent using the online application form.

Reports and Acknowledgment:

Please acknowledge AAG support in presentations and publications.

About Dr. Marcus:

Melvin G. Marcus, past president of the American Association of Geographers and an internationally recognized physical geographer, structured his career around a balance of field work, theory development, teaching, and enjoyment of the geographic endeavor. Making physical geography accessible to everyone with a love of the outdoors, including women, minorities, and the less privileged, was one of Mel’s life-long objectives.

To put this objective into practice, Mel created and oversaw programs that emphasized excellence in field studies and the translation of field studies into scholarly achievement. He also believed in socializing and relaxing at the end of a field day, and encouraged collegiality and creative expressions of the enthusiasm and joy that often accompany field work.

In his own career, Mel took students on research expeditions to the Yukon and Alaska (especially the Juneau and St. Elias icefields), the Himalayas, the Southern Alps, the Colorado Rockies, and the Grand Canyon, as well as many other locations. These expeditions were often life-transforming experiences for those students fortunate enough to participate.

AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography Recipients

2020

Frederick (Fritz) Nelson with Raven Mitchell

2020 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Frederick (Fritz) Nelson with Raven Mitchell

2020 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Frederick (Fritz) Nelson of Michigan State University with Raven Mitchell (Graduate Student)

2019

Elizabeth Watson with Johannes Renke Krause and Sophia Courtney

2019 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Elizabeth Watson with Johannes Renke Krause and Sophia Courtney

2019 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Assistant Professor Elizabeth Watson with Johannes Renke Krause (Ph.D. student) and Sophia Courtney (undergraduate student), Drexel University

2017

Sally Horn with Elizabeth MacLennan, Maria-Jose Rivera-Araya, and Cathy Smith

2017 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Sally Horn with Elizabeth MacLennan, Maria-Jose Rivera-Araya, and Cathy Smith

2017 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Professor Sally Horn with Elizabeth MacLennan (graduate student), Maria-Jose Rivera-Araya (Ph.D. student), and Cathy Smith (Ph.D. student), University of Tennessee

2016

Hannah Cooper with Caiyun Zhang, Matthew Sirianni, Pramod Pandey

2016 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Hannah Cooper with Caiyun Zhang, Matthew Sirianni, Pramod Pandey

2016 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Hannah Cooper (Ph.D. student) with Caiyun Zhang (assistant professor), Matthew Sirianni (Ph.D. student), Pramod Pandey (graduate student), Florida Atlantic University

2015

Dr. Carol Sawyer with James D. Norris and Logan D. Hants

2015 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Carol Sawyer with James D. Norris and Logan D. Hants

2015 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Associate Professor Carol Sawyer with James D. Norris (undergraduate student) and Logan D. Hants (undergraduate student), University of Southern Alabama

2014

Yarrow Axford with Everett Lasher

2014 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Yarrow Axford with Everett Lasher

2014 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Yarrow Axford with Everett Lasher (graduate student), Northwestern University

2013

Johnathan Sugg

2013 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Johnathan Sugg

2013 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Johnathan Sugg, Appalachian State University, “Cordillera Vilcanota Research Expedition.”

2012

Dr. David Butler, with graduate student Melanie Stine

2012 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. David Butler, with graduate student Melanie Stine

2012 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. David Butler, with graduate student Melanie Stine (Texas State University, San Marcos)

2011

Geoffrey Kershaw

2011 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Geoffrey Kershaw

2011 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Geoffrey Kershaw of the Department of Geography and Environment at Mount Allison University

2010

Dr. Dawna Cerney, with two undergraduate students

2010 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Dawna Cerney, with two undergraduate students

2010 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Dawna Cerney, with two undergraduate students at Youngstown State University (Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada)

2010

Dr. Patrick Hesp, with graduate doctoral student Katherine Renken

2010 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Patrick Hesp, with graduate doctoral student Katherine Renken

2010 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Patrick Hesp, with graduate doctoral student Katherine Renken, Louisiana State University (Veracruz State, Mexico)

2009

Dr. John (Jack) Schroder

2009 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. John (Jack) Schroder

2009 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. John (Jack) Schroder, University of Nebraska – Omaha and Dr. Richard Marston, Kansas State University with graduate student Brandon Weihs (Shimshal Valley, Pakistan)

2008

Dr. Wendy Bigler with four students

2008 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Wendy Bigler with four students

2008 AAG Mel Marcus Fund for Physical Geography

Dr. Wendy Bigler with four students from Southern Illinois University (Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, Mexico)

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Anne U. White Fund

Deadline: November 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

Purpose:

The Anne U. White Fund will serve the purposes Anne White held dear if it enables people, regardless of any formal training in geography, to engage in useful field studies and to have the joy of working along side their partners.

Eligibility:

You are eligible to apply if you have been an AAG member for at least two years at the time you submit your application. Your partner does not need to be a member of the AAG to be eligible. (For instance, only one of the two joint applicants must comply with the membership requirement, and this person should be listed as “applicant.”)

 

Criteria:

The evaluation committee will select for support proposals that in its judgment best meet the purposes for which Anne and Gilbert White contributed the funds that endow the awards.

 

Awards: 

In the past, one or two awards have been made each year of approximately $1,500 each.

Applications: 

All information must be entered in our online application form.

APPLY

As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

Reports and Acknowledgment:

Please acknowledge AAG support in presentations and publications of your research results.

About Anne White

In 1989, Gilbert and Anne White donated a sum of money to the Association of American Geographers to establish the Anne U. White Fund. Gilbert White and other donors have subsequently added substantially to the original gift. The Fund’s income is to be used to encourage field research conducted by a member of the Association jointly with her or his partner.

Anne Underwood was a native of Washington, D.C. who attended Madeira School and Vassar College, class of 1941. At Vassar she studied American history and economics. She met Gilbert White in Washington and they decided to marry, but only after the uncertainty of his service as a conscientious objector was resolved. That came after he returned from detention in Germany in 1944.She meanwhile had held posts with the Program Surveys of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Rensis Likert, Director of the first of the national opinion surveys, and then as a field investigator for the National Labor Relations Board.

Following their marriage in 1944, they lived in Philadelphia (1944-46), Haverford College (1946-55), the University of Chicago (1956-69), and the University of Colorado (1970-89). After their youngest child went off to boarding school, Anne joined with Gilbert in field studies of domestic water use in East Africa. Out of this came a monograph they authored with David J. Bradley of the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine. Then followed a series of studies on water supply and health that she completed independently or in collaboration with others. She consulted with government agencies in that field and took part in scientific gatherings.

She was the co-editor of the Natural Hazards Observer during its first two years. In later fieldwork she was especially interested in the complex relationships among water supply, household behavior, and health. She was active in community planning in Chicago and Boulder, including the setting of managed urban growth policies for Boulder, the defeat of a plan to build underground nuclear war shelters for officials only, and the initial design of the Boulder County open space program. In recognition of her role in that effort, the County Commissioners named a hiking trail of striking beauty for her along Fourmile Canyon Creek a few months before her death. Typical of her life is that after she heard a cancer probably would make her next year terminal she chose to spend parts of it in an International Geographical Union field trip in Australia, and in giving her grandchildren their first experience of camping in a wilderness area.

 

Select Bibliography :

  • With Gilbert F. White and David J. Bradley. Drawers of Water: Domestic Water Use in East Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.
  • Toward a Global Summary of Natural Hazards. In M. Pecsied., Man and Environment, Studies in Geography, No. 11, Budapest: Geographical Research Institute, 1974.
  • Water Supply and Income Distribution in Developing Countries;. In J. Powelson and W. Loehr eds., Economic Development, Poverty and Income Distribution. Boulder: Westview Press, 1977.
  • With Gilbert White. Potable Water for All: The Egyptian Experience with Rural Water Supply, Water International 11, 1986, pp. 54-63.
  • With Samiha E. Katsha. Woman, Water, and Sanitation: Household Behavioral Patterns in Two Egyptian Villages;, Water International 14, 1989, pp. 103-111.

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AAG Anne U. White Fund Recipients

2022

Savanah Collins-Key

2022 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Savanah Collins-Key

2022 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Savanah Collins-Key, University of Tennessee

2022

Kathleen Epstein

2022 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Kathleen Epstein

2022 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Kathleen Epstein, Cornell University

2021

Erik Johanson

2021 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Erik Johanson

2021 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Erik Johanson, Florida Atlantic University

2021

Max Woodworth

2021 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Max Woodworth

2021 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Max Woodworth, Ohio State University

2020

Joshua and Marylynn Steckley

2020 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Joshua and Marylynn Steckley

2020 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Joshua Steckley, University of Toronto, will conduct community-based research in Thailand with his partner, Marylynn Steckley, Carleton University for their project titled: “The Political Ecology of Coconut Water: how Thailand exports health, and imports obesity.”

2016

Shouraseni Roy

2016 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Shouraseni Roy

2016 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Shouraseni Roy, University of Miami

2015

Joseph Weber

2015 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Joseph Weber

2015 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Joseph Weber, University of Alabama

2015

Mark Welford

2015 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Mark Welford

2015 AAG Anne U. White Fund

Mark Welford, Georgia Southern University

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AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award

(formerly “AAG Enhancing Diversity Award”)

Deadline for 2027 awards: September 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern Time)

The AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award honors those geographers who have pioneered efforts toward or actively participated in efforts toward encouraging a more diverse discipline over the course of several years. The award is presented during the AAG’s Annual Meeting.

Criteria

Individuals are eligible, regardless of their status as AAG members.

Nominations

Nominations must be received by the deadline (Eastern Time). Nominations for the Diversity and Inclusion Award require:

  • the nominee’s resume or CV
  • a concise (500 words maximum) yet specific description of the accomplishments that warrant the nominee’s selection
  • at least 2, and no more than 3, letters of recommendation.  You will request letters of recommendation directly in the application portal.

As with all other AAG awards, eligibility also rests on the candidate being in compliance with the AAG Professional Conduct Policy. Nominations may be rescinded, and the award may also be revoked for any candidate or awardee who is found in violation of the AAG’s Professional Conduct Policy.

 

Apply

For questions or difficulties, please contact grantsawards@aag.org or call the AAG at 202-234-1450.

For more information about AAG’s activities on diversity and inclusion, please visit www.aag.org/diversity.

AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award) Recipients

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2025

Jieun Lee

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2025 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jieun Lee

2025 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Dr. Jieun Lee, Associate Professor of Geography, GIS, and Sustainability at the University of Northern Colorado, is recognized for her deep and sustained commitment to increasing diversity and equity in geography at the departmental, institutional, and national levels. Dr. Lee is explicitly recognized for empowering foreign-born women working in U.S. academic institutions in geography and the geospatial sciences. Dr. Lee played a leadership role in creating the Golden Compass program, which provides a safe and supportive environment for international women scholars to share their experiences, build networks, and receive mentoring. Building on the early success of an inaugural workshop, she secured grant funding from the National Science Foundation, in partnership with the Association of American Geographers and the University of Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), to expand the reach and impact of the program over the next four years. Her visionary initiative is putting inclusive excellence into practice and opening new leadership opportunities for diverse scholars in the discipline.

Besides her work on the Golden Compass program, Dr. Lee researches the intersections of geography, equity, and education, contributing to broader discussions on fostering more inclusive academic environments. She has also demonstrated leadership in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at her home institution as a Faculty Senator on the faculty welfare committee and as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow.

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2024

Elizabeth Olson

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2024 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Elizabeth Olson

2024 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Dr. Elizabeth Olson, professor of geography at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, is recognized for the breadth and depth of her commitments to fostering inclusivity and care. Dr. Olson has been an outstanding mentor for scholars of color and women. As department chair, she made a concerted effort to create a more diverse faculty, focusing on the recruitment and retention of scholars of color.  She has worked continuously to build a department culture in which faculty and students of color can thrive. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Olson’s expertise in care work informed how the university responded to the pandemic, contributing to the formulation of policies to support early-career faculty. Finally, Dr. Olson’s scholarship on care ethics, youth, and religion speaks to her dedication to creating more welcoming and inclusive spaces in the university and in the discipline.

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2023

CindyAnn Rose-Redwood

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2023 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

CindyAnn Rose-Redwood

2023 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

CindyAnn Rose-Redwood, Associate Teaching Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria, is recognized for her sustained commitment to diversity and equity in her service to her department and university. Dr. Rose-Redwood is also recognized for her consistent efforts to incorporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion themes in the geography curriculum; and for her work to promote the inclusion of international students in higher education. Dr. Rose-Redwood played an active role as a racialized minority, female faculty member on the Faculty of Social Sciences’ Equity & Diversity Committee at the University of Victoria, a position she successfully leveraged to create a department-level Equity & Diversity Committee of which she became the founding committee chair. These efforts paved the way for the appointment of the department’s first Indigenous hire in recent years.

Besides her tireless service in teaching and administration, Dr. Rose-Redwood has conducted research on the international student experience within higher education institutions, specifically addressing issues of diversity and inclusion themes relating to these students’ academic and social experiences. She has also demonstrated leadership in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education through her editorial roles as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and Associate Editor of the Journal of International Students, which are well-known journals that engage with diverse student bodies and call attention to DEI issues within higher education spaces.

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2022

Beverley Mullings, Kate Parizeau, and Linda Peake

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2022 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Beverley Mullings, Kate Parizeau, and Linda Peake

2022 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Beverley Mullings Queen’s University, Kate Parizeau University of Guelph, and Linda Peake York University, for their collaborative work which has increased the visibility of the mental health crisis within AAG and the North American academy.

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2022

Austin Mardon

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2022 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Austin Mardon

2022 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Austin Mardon, University of Alberta, for his research and service advocating for individuals living with chronic mental disorders.

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2021

Raynah Kamau

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2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Raynah Kamau

2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Raynah Kamau and Whitney Kotlewski, Esri, for being both Esri employees and grassroots activists  whose collaborative work has fostered increased visibility for community-engaged geography and greater inclusion within GIS professional culture.

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2021

Whitney Kotlewski

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2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Whitney Kotlewski

2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Raynah Kamau and Whitney Kotlewski, Esri, for being both Esri employees and grassroots activists  whose collaborative work has fostered increased visibility for community-engaged geography and greater inclusion within GIS professional culture.

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2021

Jovan Lewis

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2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jovan Lewis

2021 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jovan Lewis, University of California Berkeley, for his efforts in research, teaching, mentorship, and service that are bringing Black geographies (and Black geographers) to the forefront of the discipline.

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2020

Demetrice (Dee) Jordan

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2020 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Demetrice (Dee) Jordan

2020 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Demetrice (Dee) Jordan has been a true change agent for diversity in our discipline. Among Ms. Jordan’s many notable accomplishments, she founded and co-leads the Michigan State University Geography Department’s graduate student diversity recruitment initiative “Advancing Geography through Diversity,” which actively recruits and increases application submissions and acceptance among underrepresented minorities. Dee is a tireless mentor and advocate for creating an institutional climate that encourages the development of under-represented minorities as leaders in our discipline. Ms. Jordan was named MSU’s 2018 Excellence in Diversity, Individual Emerging Progress recipient, as well as the 2018 Black Faculty, Staff and Administrators Association’s Graduate Student Emerging Leader recipient, becoming the first Geographer at MSU to receive this recognition.

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2019

LaToya Eaves

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2019 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

LaToya Eaves

2019 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

LaToya Eaves has worked to bring emancipatory geography to the forefront through institutional advocacy, mentorship, community engagement, and intellectual production. Her scholarship engages and informs racial, gendered, and sexual dimensions of identity and politics. She is widely applauded for her commitment to establish the AAG Black Geographies Specialty Group, and for her support of other under-represented groups of geographers. Her dedication to the discipline and the AAG has inspired many graduate students and faculty to engage in Black Geographies thought, and is also influencing some departments to seek out scholars whose research involves Black Geographies.

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2019

Minelle Mahtani

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2019 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Minelle Mahtani

2019 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Minelle Mahtani is recognized for being a scholar and communicator who connects geographic scholarship with public discourse.

2018

Banu Gokariksel

2018 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Banu Gokariksel

2018 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Banu Gokariksel of the University of North Carolina Chapel is recognized for her unwaveringcommitment to mentoring, her recruitment of young scholars into the field of geography, and the lasting impact as Director of Graduate Students (DGS) at UNC. She received her university’s most prestigious teaching award, the Chapman Award. This is due to her engagement with issues such as Islamophobia, xenophobia, and the associated forms of gender-based discrimination. She was also co-organizer for the 2017 Feminist Geography Conference, and when the new US administration’s rules regarding entry to the US from several Muslim majority countries were announced, she mobilized efforts to remotely connect those newly banned participants to the conference. Dr. Gokariksel has been selected to receive the AAG Enhancing Diversity Award because her actions (of which we listed only a few) provide a model for other AAG members invested in enhancing the diversity of our discipline.

 

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2017

Leela Viswanathan

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2017 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Leela Viswanathan

2017 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Leela Viswanathan, Associate Professor of Geography at Queen’s University, focuses her research on the cutting edge of planning theory and indigenous studies. Her commitment to decolonizing urban planning and practice has resulted in securing significant changes to Ontario’s 2014 Provincial Policy Statement, which now recognizes the right of Aboriginal peoples to inclusion at all stages of the planning process under the Human Rights Code. In addition, Dr. Viswanathan is a stalwart advocate for accessibility rights on her university campus and has never failed to support students in need of an advocate when such rights have been denied.

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2016

Lawrence E. Estaville

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2016 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Lawrence E. Estaville

2016 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Lawrence E. Estaville, Professor of Geography at Texas State University, has had a career-long dedication to championing greater inclusion of a wide range of diverse and underrepresented minorities at various institutions. In the 1980s and 1990s, he developed a pioneering lecture series focused on women and minorities. During his time at Texas State University, Dr. Estaville has hired eight minority women into tenure track positions and published seminal works for university administrators and faculty that address diversity in pedagogy and planning. At the AAG, Dr. Estaville led the establishment of the Ethnic Geography Specialty Group and participated in the AAG’s inaugural Diversity Task Force. Through his work, Dr. Estaville has truly encouraged a more diverse and inclusive discipline.

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2015

Wendy Jepson

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2015 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Wendy Jepson

2015 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Wendy Jepson keenly understands the importance of increasing diversity in our discipline. In her role as Chair of the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate Committee on Diversity, she has contributed to diversifying both faculty and student bodies at this institution. As Director of Undergraduate Education in her department, she is spearheading a renewed recruiting effort to bring in diverse students. Jepson also works closely as a mentor to students who are the first in their family to attend college, and also their parents. She has been an active and tireless participant in efforts to achieve excellence through equality and inclusion.

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2014

Jay T. Johnson, Renee Pualani Louis, Laura Smith, Zoltan Grossman, Douglas (RDK) Herman

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2014 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jay T. Johnson, Renee Pualani Louis, Laura Smith, Zoltan Grossman, Douglas (RDK) Herman

2014 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jay T. Johnson, Renee Pualani Louis, Laura Smith, Zoltan Grossman, Douglas (RDK) Herman are recognized for working to expand the presence and participation of indigenous peoples in the AAG, and geography more broadly, through visionary leadership in the association, academia, and beyond. They have worked collectively over many years of collaboration through the AAG Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group. Their efforts have led to increased number of Native American, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiians participating in the AAG. The number of members of the IPSG have doubled under their leadership. They have organized many valuable activities and sessions and plenaries, attracting greater participation in our annual meetings, including enriching the meeting program with speakers like the late Vine Deloria, Jr., Winona LaDuke, and Dr. Daniel Wildcat. In recognizing these geographers together, the committee is also acknowledging teamwork and long-term partnerships as an important part for enhancing diversity in the discipline.

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2012

Laura Pulido

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2012 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Laura Pulido

2012 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Laura Pulido for her research on how various groups experience racial and class oppression, how these experiences differ among particular communities of color, and how they mobilize to create a more socially-just world. She also worked to complete several projects left by her recently deceased friend and colleague, Clyde Woods, whom was also honored. She is a professor of American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California.

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2012

Clyde Woods

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2012 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Clyde Woods

2012 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

The late Clyde Woods for developing a one-of-a-kind research program engaging social and public policy issues by examining the cultural practices of those oppressed by such policies. His book, Development Arrested, was highly acclaimed and a model of interdisciplinary research. Woods will be remembered as an important mentor to many, and as a public intellectual challenging how we understand race and human geographic knowledge production.

2011

Rickie Sanders

2011 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Rickie Sanders

2011 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Rickie Sanders in recognition of her longstanding contributions to supporting students who are underrepresented in geography to enter into the profession at all levels of training and to prepare them to be exceptional professionals.

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2010

Laurence G. Wolf

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2010 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Laurence G. Wolf

2010 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Laurence G. Wolf for his pioneering efforts to advocate for inclusion, particularly related to sexual identity and differences in ableness, and in the domains of geographic research and publications on issues of diversity in the discipline and in society.

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2009

John Frazier

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2009 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

John Frazier

2009 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

John Frazier for his accomplishments in creating an environment where geographers make matters of race and ethnicity a priority in their classrooms and research, and for demonstrating and practicing effective models for inclusion and broadening participation in the discipline and beyond.

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2009

Glen Elder

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2009 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Glen Elder

2009 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Glen Elder for his empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated scholarship at the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, class, culture, and place; for his ardent voice for the marginalized, the dominated, and the less powerful; for making significant contributions to the fields of Gender Studies, Queer Studies, African Studies, and Political and Urban Geography; and for his deep and lifelong commitment to social justice and practices of broad inclusion.

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2008

Reginald Golledge

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2008 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Reginald Golledge

2008 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Reginald Golledge for his long-standing efforts to support and mentor underrepresented students in higher education, particularly for his attention to those with disabilities, and in recognition of his excellence in scholarship discovering ways to allow disabled people to become fully integrated into their communities around the world.

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2007

Jacquelyn Beyer

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2007 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jacquelyn Beyer

2007 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Jacquelyn Beyer for her work to establish nondiscrimination and monitoring of the status of women and minorities within the association, for her promotion of research on lesbian and gay communities, and for her introduction of scholarship on women into the university geography curriculum, among her other pioneering efforts and advocacy for women within the profession and discipline of geography.

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2007

Janice Jones Monk

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2007 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Janice Jones Monk

2007 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Janice Jones Monk for her many and incomparable personal, professional, and scholarly contributions to promoting and enhancing diversity in our society, our discipline, and our association over her illustrious career as a geographer.

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2006

Joe Darden

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2006 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Joe Darden

2006 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Joe Darden for being a stellar personal and professional role model, a national leader for promoting diversity in universities, and a champion for the greater inclusion of minority groups into our society and the discipline of geography.

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2005

Don Deskins

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2005 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Don Deskins

2005 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Don Deskins for his pioneering leadership toward enhancing diversity within geography particularly through serving as the founding Director of the AAG Commission on Geography and Afro-America; for his support of faculty from predominantly Black colleges and universities, and many other tangible and intangible benefits of his deep devotion and dedicated leadership in promoting diversity in geography.

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2005

Saul Cohen

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2005 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Saul Cohen

2005 AAG Diversity and Inclusion Award (formerly AAG Enhancing Diversity Award)

Saul Cohen for being one of the strongest and most vocal supporters of early diversity activities within the AAG, for his initiation of numerous activities designed to increase the enrollment of Black students in geography, and for his role as major advocate for diversifying the discipline, fundraiser for diversity activities, and mentor to young students and professionals, helping to establish and grow a new generation of African- American geographers.

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