Jean-Bernard Racine

Professor Emeritus at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, Jean-Bernard Racine passed away on March 23, 2026. He was renowned for bridging European and Anglo-American geographical traditions, playing a key role in introducing New Geography to the French-speaking academic world. He received the Vautrin Lud Prize in Geography in 1997.

Born into a Protestant family in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Racine earned his undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Aix-en-Provence in France in 1962. He obtained his doctorate in Geography from the same university in 1965 under the supervision of Hildebert Isnard. Inspired by regional geography, Racine coined the term “peri-urban” to describe land changes in Southern France in the late 1960s.

Following a trip to Quebec in 1965, Racine was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Sherbrooke, which he headed from 1966 to 1969. In 1969, he was appointed associate professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada. His office was next to that of Stanley Gregory, a pioneer in the application of statistical methods to geography.

After his postdoctoral proposal was criticized for its lack of formal rigor, Racine embarked on a tour of American and Canadian universities, meeting Allen J. Scott at UCLA, Larry Bourne (one of his many “great friends”) and Bryn Greer-Wooten in Toronto, David Lowenthal and Alan Pred at Berkeley, and, most importantly, Brian Berry in Chicago, whose work on city networks he would admire for the rest of his life.

While in North America, Racine developed a long-lasting relationship with William (Bill) Bunge, with whom he shared a common interest first for theoretical geography, and later on for social justice and critical analysis of spatial structures. They stayed in touch regularly (and always by phone “for fear of being spied on by the CIA”) until the early 2000s.

Deeply committed to understanding how cities emerge and evolve, Racine shaped the field of urban geography by employing the statistical tools brought to the fore by the New Geography. The guidelines of this “revolution” were formalized in a small but influential book entitled “Quantitative Analysis in Geography” (L’Analyse Quantitative en Géographie) published in 1973 with Henri Reymond. Using Brian Berry’s statistical software, Racine applied quantitative analysis in his monumental second doctoral dissertation, devoted to the peri-urban growth of Greater Montreal in 1975.

At the age of just 33, Racine returned to Switzerland, where he served as director of the Institute of Geography at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) from 1973 to 1982. He was appointed associate professor and later full professor in the Faculty of Arts and at the School of Business and Economics (HEC), where he taught numerous courses in economic geography and epistemology. Racine was a brilliant speaker with a powerful voice that captivated his audience. At UNIL, he served as vice-dean (1980–1982) and dean (1982–1984) of the Faculty of Arts, before resuming the directorship of the Institute from 1986 to 1992 and from 2000 to 2004. He retired as professor emeritus in 2007.

Racine was one of the most influential figures in Francophone geography over the past fifty years. While he is mainly known for having imported quantitative geography from North American to Europe in the 1970s, his most enduring contribution to science is in theoretical geography. Less interested in techniques than in the questions that geography can help to formulate, Racine contributed to the renewal of geographical epistemology, often with other key Francophone geographers.

In 1981, he published “Geographical Questions” (Problématiques de la géographie) with Hildebert Isnard and Henri Reymond, a book that examined the questions that geographers face and how to approach them systematically. Racine published extensively with Claude Raffestin from the University of Geneva, who died in 2025, and with Antoine Bailly, another geographer who returned to Switzerland after living in Canada.

Racine played a decisive role in the culturalist turn that swept through the social sciences beginning in the 1980s. Like many other geographers, his shift toward cultural geography was inspired by the writings of David Ley, Anne Buttimer, Yi-Fu Tuan and, of course, David Harvey, whose book The Condition of Postmodernity was prominently displayed in his Lausanne office.

The son of a pastor, Racine’s approach was deeply rooted in a humanist tradition, which is reflected in a wealth of publications co-authored with his doctoral students, such as Antonio Cunha, Ola Söderström, Etienne Piguet, and Lorenza Mondada. Published in 1993, The City Between God and Man (La Ville entre Dieu et les Hommes) is undoubtedly the book that best combines his deep interest for urban transformation and religious faith.

In the ten years leading up to his retirement in 2007, Racine turned his attention to urban issues, particularly that of Lausanne, a city for which he had a deep passion. Far from resting on its laurels, and always surrounded by many young researchers, he threw himself with seemingly inexhaustible energy into the study of the city’s “fragile” or marginalized users. His humanistic approach to geography, attentive to the voices of young people, people with disabilities, and migrants, anticipates the most recent work in our discipline.

Internationally, Racine served as vice-chair of the International Geographical Union’s Commission on Urban Development and Urban Life from 1992 to 2000. He worked closely with or in parallel to influential French geographers such as Paul Claval, Sylvie Rimbert, René Dumont, Jean Labasse, Pierre Georges, Roger Brunet, and Denise Pumain. He played a leading role in the Dupont Group, founded in 1971 to introduce theoretical and quantitative geography in France, and in the organization of the Géopoint conferences beginning in 1976.

The author of four major books and 250 articles, Racine served as co-editor of Geographica Helvetica for many years and was a member of the editorial board of L’Espace géographique, Géographie et Cultures, and Articulo-Journal of Urban Research, founded by his doctoral students in 2005.

Racine’s influence on modern geography is evident in his ability to bring together geographers from remarkably diverse backgrounds. Based in Quebec and Switzerland, he managed to occupy a central position in our discipline without being located at its geographical center.

One of his most enduring contributions is having mentored two generations of geographers, all of whom, with rare exceptions, hold academic positions in Switzerland, Europe, and the United States. Racine tirelessly devoted his extraordinary intellect to the ideas that underpin modern geography. With his passing, we have lost one of the greatest brokers of Francophone geography.

Written by Olivier Walther

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Saul Cohen

On June 9, 2021, Saul Bernard Cohen passed away at the age of 95, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Malden, Massachusetts, he spent much of his life on the East Coast, as he attended the Boston Latin School and later went on to earn his bachelor’s and Ph.D. at Harvard University—graduating right before Harvard terminated the geography program.

He headed the School of Geography at Clark University and became a professor, director, and then later Dean of the Graduate School. During this time, he was lauded for revitalizing the Graduate School of Geography’s (GSOG) academic standards and increasing minority enrollment in the late 1960s/early 1970s. He also established teacher preparation programs for new and experienced teachers with funding obtained from the U.S. Office of Education for the Training of Teachers program, and a National Science Foundation departmental development grant designed to produce “centers of excellence.”

His plans included developing new strengths in the areas of environmental cognition, international development (particularly in Africa), and environmental hazards management. The expansion of the school’s graduate program allowed the faculty to double, and the number of graduate students substantially increased. Traditional environment-focused courses were rejuvenated by new concepts and techniques. As the environmental movement grew, the number of geography undergraduate majors rose to more than 100. The school also doubled its annual output of doctorates in the 1970s. Clark was a linchpin of one of Cohen’s other programmatic ideas: a consortium of doctorate-granting geography departments recruiting faculty or prospective faculty of historically Black colleges and universities to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees.

Following his career at Clark, Cohen served as president of Queens College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) from 1978 – 1985. Through his persistent advocacy, he was responsible for securing funding for key capital projects, many of which are still standing, including the Benjamin Rosenthal Library, the Copeland School of Music Building, science facilities, and Townsend Harris High School.

After leaving Queens College, Cohen was a professor of geography at Hunter College for 10 years. He served as AAG president from 1989 to 1990, and in 1993, he was elected to the New York State Board of Regents. He served for 17 years, chairing the Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Committee when it established new academic standards for the school.

He is remembered for his research specializing in economic and political geography of the Middle East and editing and authoring 16 books, including his work as an editor of The Oxford World Atlas. Saul was a beloved husband to his wife of 71 years, Miriam Friederman Cohen, and a dedicated father and father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend.

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Bryon Middlekauff

Professor Emeritus of Geography, Dr. Bryon Middlekauff, passed away on September 3, 2025. He was a faculty member at Plymouth State University (previously Plymouth State College), NH from 1988 to 2016. Bryon’s life was marked by a deep passion for teaching geography and mentoring both students and faculty.

Bryon’s bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees—all in in geography—were from the University of Maryland, Appalachian State University, and Michigan State University, respectively, and his dissertation focused on Appalachian paleoclimatology. He returned to this topic in a subsequent published article, and his scholarship also examined fieldwork practice.

Bryon joined the social science department at Plymouth State University after positions at Western Carolina University and Youngstown State University. In 2001 he taught at the University of Wolverhampton in the U.K. while on sabbatical and in 2004 expanded his teaching to encompass the environmental sciences, receiving a new appointment in 2008 as professor of geography and environmental planning.

“One of Bryon’s many strengths was engaging students both in the classroom and beyond,” says former colleague Dr. Patrick May, a longtime colleague. “His lectures were very dynamic, and he got a lot of students really excited about geomorphology, ‘the geography of geology’—understanding the processes that shaped the environment around them.”

Bryon felt strongly about the importance of field studies and led college trips around New England, eastern Canada, and to the American Southwest, as well as travel courses to Paris, the United Kingdom, and Tanzania. He also ran workshops for the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance, leading rigorous day trips throughout the state to help educate educators about the natural environment.

Bryon was instrumental in advancing Plymouth State’s geography program both nationally and regionally. He was heavily involved in the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and attended annual meetings where he presented papers and poster sessions. He was also a member of the New England St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society (NESTVAL) and served as their Regional Councilor to the AAG for two terms. Bryon received NESTVAL’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013 which included a citation for a Lifetime Contribution to NESTVAL and Geography, one of only three people to receive this distinction. In 1993, Bryon was instrumental in establishing a NESTVAL competition to create a team to send to the first AAG World Geography Bowl, held at the AAG’s annual meeting in Atlanta. Bryon mentored the PSU team members, preparing them for the competition. Under his guidance, Plymouth State’s Geo Bowl team won the New England-St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society competition several times and students participated in the national competition at the annual AAG conference. “The bowl was a way to excite students,” says May, “and Bryon assured that they took advantage of the full conference experience, including sessions and field trips.”

“He was instrumental in building the PSU Geography Club and remained in touch with many former students,” continues May. “Students will remember him to be very demanding and that they were lucky to have him because he shared so much enthusiasm for his field.” For his students, Bryon opened a door into the world of becoming a professional geographer. He encouraged many of his students to attend graduate school and accompanied some on visits to the schools.

Dr. Jennifer Collins, now at University South Florida, started her career at Plymouth State College, in the year 2000, where she notes that Bryon had such an impact on both her personally and her career, recognizing that she was a Geographer and suggested she become a member and come to the AAG annual meeting. Prior to that Jennifer was only an American Meteorological Society member. Jennifer notes that being a member of the AAG has been instrumental to her career and she owes that to Bryon who also helped her network at the AAG conference. “He was a friend, colleague, and mentor, all wrapped up in one.”, she said.

Bryon enjoyed many activities from fly-fishing to skiing. Most of all he enjoyed spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Bryon is survived by his wife and former Plymouth State Director of Advancement Julie DeGalan ’91MBA. Together they co-wrote the book, Great Jobs for Environmental Studies Majors, and were members of Holmes Heritage Society, which honors those who have included Plymouth State in their financial and estate plans. He is also survived by his daughters, Lari (Pat) Hayhoe and Amy (Dan) Jones; grandchildren, Nick (Chelsea), Beau and Olivia Hayhoe, Billy (Olivia) and Tyler Townes, Hayden Jones, and Chelsea Roberts; and great-grandchildren, Charlie, George, Margaret and Penny Hayhoe, Phoebe Townes, and Fiona and Josie Roberts. He is survived by his sister, Kirklyn Kline; nephews, Kevin (Cindy) and Kirk Eikelberger; and grand-nephew, Riley Eikelberger.

Additional information is available in an online obituary.

Written by Pat May, Jennifer Collins, and Julie DeGalan

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Sarah Praskievicz

Sarah Praskievicz, age 39, passed away peacefully from natural causes on August 11, 2025, in Guilford County, North Carolina. Born on July 28, 1986, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Sarah’s life was marked by a deep passion for geography and a love of travel.

Sarah’s academic journey took her from her New England roots to the Pacific Northwest, where she earned her Master’s degree in Geography from Portland State University. Her pursuit of knowledge continued at the University of Oregon, where she proudly obtained her Ph.D. in Geography in 2014. After completing her studies, Sarah embarked on a distinguished career beginning at the University of Alabama before joining the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).

Throughout her career as an Associate Professor, Sarah was deeply committed and inspiring to her students and colleagues, leaving a lasting and positive influence on all who knew her. Her dedication to education and the environment was evident in her vibrant and engaging teaching style, inspiring many young minds to explore the intricacies of the world.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sarah was an avid traveler who fulfilled her dream of visiting all seven continents. Her adventurous spirit and curiosity about the world around her were evident in every journey she undertook. She nurtured a profound appreciation for different cultures and landscapes, which enriched both her personal life and her academic pursuits.

Sarah is survived by her loving mother, Larrilee Praskievicz of Salem, Oregon; her father, Pauli Praskievicz of Portland, Oregon; her devoted brother, Adam Praskievicz, and cherished nephew, Seth, both of Salem, Oregon. Her family remembers her as a beloved daughter, sister, and aunt, whose warmth and kindness touched the hearts of everyone she met.

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Julian Wolpert

Julian Wolpert was born on December 26, 1932, to Rose and Harry (Hillel) in Brooklyn, New York. After attending Yeshiva for elementary school, Julian attended Erasmus Hall High School, where he met his future wife Eileen Selig, and graduated at the age of 16 in 1949.

Upon graduation, he enrolled at City College in New York and later transferred to Columbia University, where he received a degree in Economics in 1953. He and Eileen married in 1955, and the following year he entered Officer Training School for the U.S. Navy, as a Navigator at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Upon separating from the Navy in 1959, Julian entered the graduate program in Geography at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, completing his Ph.D. in 1963. He then joined the faculty at Michigan State University, transferring to the University of Pennsylvania in 1965. There, he rose to the rank of full professor. In 1973, he spent a sabbatical year at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California. The following year, he became the Bryant Professor of Geography, Public Affairs, and Urban Planning in an endowed chair at Princeton University’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and later was a Guggenheim Fellow at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He retired in 2005 and remained Professor Emeritus.

Over his career studying location theory, the provision of public and nonprofit services, urban development, and environmental policy, he received numerous distinctions. He was the first Geographer elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1977), became a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Russell Sage Fellow, and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also past Vice President and President of the Association of American Geographers, Vice President of the Regional Science Association, and was elected to the American Institute of Certified Planners. He testified before Congress and worked with various federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. State Department, and the National Institute of Mental Health.

He is the author of more than 100 highly significant books, journal articles, and reports. He was a pioneer in the use of computers and multivariate analysis of large data sets.

“His research and teaching always revolved around the underserved and the mobilization of resources and policies to better serve them,” recalled colleague John Seley, professor emeritus, of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Psychology, at CUNY Graduate Center.

Julian Wolpert is survived by a sister, Judith, children Seth, Jesse, Joshua, and Rebekah, and grandchildren Geoffrey, David, Jake, Samuel, Benjamin, Isabel, Lily, and Ida.

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Brian Berry

On January 2, 2025, Dr. Brian Berry passed away at the age of 90. Renowned for his influential work in urban and regional research, he was also a past AAG president (1978-79).

Berry was born in Sedgely, Staffordshire, United Kingdom on February 16, 1934. He graduated from University College, London, with a B.Sc. in Economics with first class honors in 1955. He was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Washington, where he completed an M.A. in 1956, and a Ph.D. in 1958, studying under noted geographer and leader of the quantitative revolution, William Garrison, in the Department of Geography.

Upon completing his Ph.D., he began his career, which spanned more than six decades. In 1958 he was named the Irving B. Harris Professor of Urban Geography, chairman of geography and director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University of Chicago. Berry’s early spatial analytic research helped spark the scientific revolution that occurred in geography and urban studies in the 1960s, making him the world’s most frequently cited geographer for more than 25 years. He refined the concept of “central place theory” and laid the foundations of analytic urban geography, spatial analysis, and of geographic information science.

In 1975, Berry was the youngest social scientist ever elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He subsequently was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the British Academy. From 1976 to 1981, Berry joined Harvard University where he served as the Frank Backus Williams Professor of City and Regional Planning, chair of the Ph.D. Program in Urban Planning, director of the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, and a faculty fellow of the Institute for International Development. He was appointed University Professor of Urban Studies and Public Policy and dean of the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University, until he joined the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in 1986.

At UTD, Berry became the first director of the Bruton Center for Development Studies. In 2005, he was appointed dean of what was then the School of Social Sciences before he engineered its transformation into the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS).

Among his many accolades, Berry was the 1978-79 President of the Association of American Geographers. In 1988, he was also awarded the Victoria Meda, the Royal Geographical Society’s highest honor, and the Vautrin Lud Prize — considered the “Nobel Prize for Geography” — in 2005. He also earned the Kondratieff Medal from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2017 and the Stanley Brunn Award for Creativity in Geography from the American Association of Geographers in 2020. Most recently, in 2021, Berry earned the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science Research Award. The award recognized Berry’s early research on geographic information systems — specifically his conceptualization of the geographic matrix in 1964 — that continues to shape practice and to ensure conceptual and functional linkages between geographic information science technique and the field’s intellectual core.

Although Berry authored over 550 books and articles, he is most proud of being the advisor to more than 150 Ph.D. students and has served on an equal number of other doctoral committees. Many of his students have gone on to successful academic and professional careers in their own right.

He also has been an active family historian and genealogist, with many additional publications to his name, most recently delving into genetic genealogy. Brian retired from active academic life to become a “gentleman rancher” in 2020. Brian is survived by his wife, Janet (Shapley) Berry; son, Duncan J. Berry; and daughter, Diane Berry Yakel.

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Ross MacKinnon

Ross MacKinnon, scholar and administrative leader at UConn, SUNY-Buffalo, and the University of Toronto, passed away from pancreatic cancer at his home in Sonoma, California, surrounded by family, on Jan. 27, 2025, at the age of 82.

As a geographer, he was well-versed in the development of mathematical models for geographical systems, and he made particular contributions to geography through the application of these models to the fields of transportation and migration.

Ross grew up in New Westminster, Trail, and Kelowna, British Columbia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of British Columbia in 1964. He was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, earning a Master of Science in geography from Northwestern University in 1966, and a Ph.D. in geography from Northwestern University in 1968. He was a faculty member of the University of Toronto’s geography department, where he became a Director of Graduate Studies. He joined SUNY-Buffalo in 1976 as Chair of the geography department and later became Dean of Social Sciences. He joined UConn as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1996 until he retired in 2008. He championed major investments in hiring, research, academic programing, and most importantly … people.

From Dr. Peter A. Rogerson, one of Dr. MacKinnon’s advisees at SUNY-Buffalo:

Ross MacKinnon was my Ph.D. advisor, and I’ll begin by literally “turning back the clock.” Somewhat more than midway through my dissertation defense, I made a statement to the effect that I was running out of time. Ross immediately got up, went over to the wall clock, and turned the hand back ten minutes. That is just a small story hinting at the many ways that he showed his support over the years. He was proactive when it came to students and recruitment — while I was taking a gap year after doing my M.A. with him at the University of Toronto, he wrote to me, convincing me to do my Ph.D. at Buffalo, where he was beginning to build the department in his new role as Chair. During my first AAG, he and I split the presentation of our joint paper. Aside from recalling how much my knees were shaking, I can now recall all of his colleagues he introduced me to — and although I didn’t have a clue at the time, I now recognize how this was one of the most important moments in my career. Over time I saw the time he spent with students, the care he took with them, and how important his mentorship was to their careers. A long line of his students and eventual professors went on to have very successful careers.

One of his traits that I always marveled at was his ability to “cut to the chase.” As a student this took the form of his knowing precisely what to ask a student. He knew what you didn’t know and needed to know, and he was unequaled in asking exactly the right question at the right time, to push you a little further. Later on, when I saw him in his roles as Chair and Dean, this took the form of sizing up both current and prospective faculty. He simply had an uncanny knack for seeing precisely how both personality and talent could or could not contribute to a department or program.

He saw to all aspects of a department — seeing to it that we not only had excellent personnel, but a vibrant social life with picnics, happy hours, and the like. Oh, and by the way, at one of those department picnics, while playing the outfield in the annual softball game, I tried to gun down a runner at second base. When I started my throw, I forgot that Ross was playing second base, and it was only while the ball was in mid-flight that I realized I should have made a softer throw. My last recollection was going to some emergency room or urgent care to see how his fingers were doing and thinking that this was not a good thing to do to your advisor.

Shortly before I arrived at Buffalo, budget cuts in the SUNY system led to very serious consideration of eliminating the department. It is difficult to capture here, but his efforts were absolutely crucial and pivotal in keeping the department alive.

He was also central to putting the department on the road to prominence (and in fact it would not be an exaggeration to say that he did this single-handedly). Part of this was attributable to his vision and his judge of talent and promise, and part was due to his vision of, and his work toward a successful bid to bring the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) to Buffalo.

Ross MacKinnon was a “quick study” when it came to sizing up people’s academic potential, their personalities, and their current or potential contributions to a department or program. His sharp wit and sense of humor gave him the ability to make lightning-quick comments about how someone could or could not help a program, might or might not become a star in the discipline, etc. Listening to his evaluations often left one both laughing at the humor and impressed with his assessment, as well as being in awe of how he could combine the two so quickly. All of this made him a fantastic mentor, colleague, Chair, Dean, and friend.

Ross was a proud Canadian and naturalized U.S. citizen. He loved travel, a good meal with friends, live jazz, contemporary painting, new plays, his dog, and the Buffalo Bills. He had a great sense of humor and was quick with encouragement.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Hoskin, and his two daughters, Pam and Caroline MacKinnon.

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Edward Babin

Dr. Edward Babin, a long-time professor at the University of South Carolina, Upstate (USC), died Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Spartanburg, SC.

He received his B.A. degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette in 1965, a master’s degree in Geography from the University of Arkansas in 1967, and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Georgia in 1974.

He taught geography at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette from 1968 to 1973. Dr. Babin joined USC Upstate as Professor of Geography from 1974 to 2015. He served as chair of the department twice.

Ed was born on August 29, 1944, the only child of Clarence and Helen Ourso Babin in Donaldsonville, LA.

Ed married Joanne Tinie Walsh on March 18, 1989, at Jesus, Our Risen Savior Catholic Church and was her devoted husband. They had no children. After marrying, Ed and Joanne became members of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church where Ed was an usher there for many years. He greeted parishioners at the door at both daily and Sunday Masses and enjoyed this ministry more than any other service he performed in the church.

In about 2013, Ed also started the senior singles’ luncheon for parishioners who found themselves single for one reason or another. This became a great place for newcomers to the parish to meet longtime members.

Ed became a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order on April 5, 1995, which was a lifetime commitment to an international lay religious order in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a member of the St. Michael the Archangel Fraternity and served as its first minister for two terms.

Ed was an avid reader on many geographical topics and loved to discuss these with others. He had a dry sense of humor and a quick wit and loved to tell jokes and stories. He loved pets and had many special dogs and two cats in his lifetime. Among the dogs were Angel, Pepita, and Pixie, whom he loved to walk with through the neighborhood and greet the neighbors.

He grew tomatoes in his garden for many years and gave away tomatoes to others generously. He did his own yard work and earned “Yard of the Month” in the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association several times.

In addition to his wife, Joanne, Edward is survived by his cousins, Jay Landry (Verlein) of Donaldsonville, LA, and “Sport” Le Blanc (Cacki) of Baton Rouge, LA; siblings-in-law, Marilyn Walsh (Ed Laskarzewski) of Glastonbury, CT, William “Bill” E. Walsh (Winnie), Marshall T. Walsh (Debbie), and Sara O. Walsh, David L. Walsh, all of Spartanburg, SC, and Natalie W. Bishop of Nashville, TN; along with many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother-in-law, T. Walsh.

This memorial, which originally ran on the J.F. Floyd mortuary website, was reprinted with permission.

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John S. Adams

John S. Adams, or JSA to those who knew him, was an urban economic geographer at the University of Minnesota. As a researcher, he studied the relationships between housing markets and policy, land use, and transportation in North American metropolitan areas. As a teacher, he taught classes on urban economics, transportation and land use, geography of the Twin Cities, and regional courses on North America and Russia. As a mentor, he advised dozens of graduate students, supporting them through research assistantships, an openness to whatever topic they chose to study, and continuing to be a source of guidance well after graduation. As an administrator, he was happy to take his turn as Department Chair (multiple times), President of the AAG, the first director and later the associate dean of the Humphrey School of Planning, and wherever else he was needed.

While JSA’s academic studies began in economics, he, like so many of us, took a class in geography and was hooked. After finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, he taught at Penn State for three years before returning to Minnesota, where he taught for an astonishing 37 years. He spent time at many other institutions as a visiting scholar during that time, including UC Berkeley, Bank of America world headquarters, Moscow State University, and the U.S. Military Academy. During this time, he investigated housing policy and economics across North America, as well as developing a history of the quantitative revolution in urban geography.

Much of his research focused on the Twin Cities, including the Transportation and Regional Growth Study, funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities, and the Center for Transportation Studies — a somewhat unlikely coalition to support research in the social sciences but reflective of JSA’s integrative approach to understanding the world. He was keen on producing research that was relevant to policymakers and planners in the region — many of whom he also had as students. The Center for Transportation Studies on the University of Minnesota campus established an award in 2009 in his honor for graduate students in planning and public policy, reflecting his contributions to interdisciplinary collaboration and policy-relevant research.

JSA was endlessly curious about the world. He was always asking people to share their stories with him, whether it was where they were from, where their family was from, or what they were interested in. He taught his graduate students that one of the best ways to do research was simply to ask people what they did for a living or what they thought of something, especially when it came to people like government bureaucrats whose stories often weren’t told. Field work was also essential: part of graduate student orientation at Minnesota was a field trip around the Twin Cities led by JSA and Professor Judith Martin, introducing students to their new home through a geographic lens. His willingness to strike up a conversation with anyone was especially on display during the field courses that he led across North America, Europe, and Russia for graduate and undergraduate students, along with his dedication to service no matter where he might be:

On a 1995 field study to cities of the U.S. Midwest and Southeast, it had been another long day of studying urban structure and change. Nobody knew why JSA stopped the van in the left turn lane of a busy thoroughfare during afternoon rush hour and got out of the driver’s seat, until we saw him dragging a fallen streetlight over to the curb and out of the lanes of oncoming traffic. Horns were honking, people were gawking, and we were kind of concerned that he might get electrocuted. But the image was perfect — “Citizen Adams,” in his signature plaid short-sleeve shirt and khakis, taking charge of Nashville’s “crumbling infrastructure” and “apathetic citizenry.”

Last but not least, JSA cared deeply about the institutions of higher education and of geography, arguing that higher education helps build a healthy foundation for the future of our country. He was a strong advocate for regular participation in departmental life and contributions beyond research and teaching. He argued for regular attendance at weekly departmental colloquia, in part to be well informed on the state-of-the-art of geographic research, but also to connect with students and faculty across the department as well as visiting speakers. Similarly, he advocated regular attendance at both national and regional AAG meetings, to hear about cutting edge research but also to learn about the state of the discipline in other departments and as a whole. He enjoyed introducing current and former students to each other, keeping the network of Minnesota alumni active through in-person meetings and also his family newsletter (always sent via the USPS). His sense of humor, concern for students and colleagues, and deep commitment to service are as much his legacy as his research and teaching, for geographers across Minnesota and around the world.

This memorial was prepared by Julie Cidell, Professor and Department Head of the Department of Geography & GIS at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Laura Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Macalester College.

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John Fraser Hart

John Fraser Hart, a towering figure in American geography whose career spanned more than seven decades of active research, teaching, and service to the profession, passed away October 14, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin, at age 100. A meticulous and productive researcher, he authored scores of articles that appeared in the leading journals of geography. Among his books were The Look of the Land (Prentice Hall 1975), The Land that Feeds Us (Norton 1991), and The Changing Scale of American Agriculture (University of Virginia 2003).

Born and raised in southern Virginia and educated at Emory University (A.B. 1943), he returned following his wartime enlistment in the U.S. Navy and enrolled in classes at the University of Georgia in Athens. There he encountered academic geography and was soon recruited into the profession by the department head, Merle Prunty. Hart went on to Northwestern University, earning his Ph.D. in 1950, and also served on the faculty at Georgia.

The research to which he returned time and again over his long career focused on the land and how people used it. His doctoral dissertation, on hill sheep farming in southern Scotland, was a masterpiece of insight and sensitive description. As the years passed, Hart focused his research almost exclusively on the United States and he became increasingly drawn to questions of economic modernization on the farm. He was early to recognize the massive changes that were taking place both in Southern agriculture (“Land Use Change in a Piedmont County,” Annals of the AAG 70(1980) 492-527) and the Corn Belt (“Half a Century of Cropland Change,” Geographical Review 91(2002) 525-543).

He also contributed to national policy debates over the conversion of agricultural land to urban use (“Urban Encroachment on Rural Areas,” Geographical Review 66(1976) 1 – 17). Hart showed that land which went out of agricultural production was actually a surplus in terms of what was needed to maintain farm production. Urban uses were a comparatively less important reason for land conversion. His studies of land use change on the urban fringe typically involved field work and, more often than not, led to lasting acquaintances with the individuals whose farms he studied.

He served on the faculties at Indiana University (1955-1967) and the University of Minnesota (1967-2015) while making prodigious contributions to the American Association of Geographers and to the profession in general. From 1970 through 1980 he was editor of the Annals of the AAG, and regional councilor, vice president, and president of the AAG. In his AAG presidential address, “The Highest Form of the Geographer’s Art” (Annals of the AAG, 72(1982) 1-29, Hart made the case for why regional study has been so important in geography and why it should continue.

Fraser Hart remained a steadfast advocate for geography, geographers, and good scholarship throughout his career. He was a visible, approachable presence at every AAG annual meeting and at West Lakes and Southeast Division meetings until he was past his 90th year. When he retired from the University of Minnesota in 2015, he was the last member of the university’s faculty who had served in World War II.

He was predeceased by his wife, Meredith, and is survived by his children Laird (Kathie) Hart of Washington, D.C., and Anne Hart (Andy van Duym) of Madison, Wisconsin, and by his grandchildren, Dirk and Raina.

This memorial was contributed by Dr. John C. Hudson, professor emeritus of geography, Northwestern University.

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