Geoffrey Martin

Geoffrey J. Martin was born on March 9, 1934, in Ilford, Essex, England, and passed away on October 7, 2024, in Woodbridge, Connecticut.

Martin dedicated his life to the study and teaching of geography, specializing in the history of geographic thought. He taught as Professor Emeritus at Southern Connecticut State University for over 30 years beginning in 1966, and served as the official archivist for the American Association of Geographers (AAG) for over three decades.

Leading geography historian and AAG Archivist Geoffrey Martin gave rare glimpses into the history of geography to a near-capacity crowd honoring his career on Thursday, January 21, 2016, in the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Credit: Becky Pendergast

His meticulous research and passion for the history of geography were evident in his numerous publications. As a young academic, Martin was drawn to three figures in American geography, who had shaped the discipline in the first half of the twentieth century: Mark Jefferson, Ellsworth Huntington and Isaiah Bowman. All studied at Harvard under William Morris Davis, the man who played a founding role in the establishment of the academic discipline in America. Mark Jefferson: Geographer (1968), Ellsworth Huntington: His Life and Thought (1973), and The Life and Thought of Isaiah Bowman (1980) are considered some of his most influential work that provide deep insights into the evolution of geographical thought in the United States.

Geoffrey Martin shows a brand-new copy of his book, American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographical Science, during the international reception at the 2015 AAG annual meeting held in Chicago. Credit: Becky Pendergast

Following the publication of this trilogy, Martin then set out on a grander project: to tell the larger story of American geography and geographers: American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographical Science. Covering the period from 1870 to 1970, Martin took 17 years to research and write this publication. It is a testament to Martin’s meticulous attention to detail — pursuing every lead, uncovering every possible manuscript, and tracking down every living person to interview. This publication was unanimously selected as the inaugural recipient of the Humboldt Book Award for Enduring Scholarship in Geography from the AAG Review of Books. Those who knew him professionally knew that this book fulfilled his ultimate professional goal—to offer as complete a history of American geography as had been attempted to that point.

Beyond his scholarly achievements, Martin was known for his generosity and mentorship. He inspired countless students and colleagues with his enthusiasm and commitment to the discipline. In the course of more than five decades of research, he visited 17 countries, consulted 300 archival holdings, accumulated 115,000 manuscripts, and personally corresponded with more than 100 people.

His interests surpassed being a professor. He earned money as a road gang laborer, itinerant chess player in chess cafes in London and New York, substitute grade-school teacher, professional wrestling announcer, and assistant to a poisonous snake catcher in the Everglades. As a chess player, he was in the Guinness Book of World Records for decades for a simultaneous display he did while still in the UK against 142 opponents.

The loss of Dr. Geoffrey Martin is deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing him. His contributions have not only enriched our understanding of the discipline’s history, but his legacy will continue to influence the field of geography for generations to come.

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John (Jack) Ives

October 15, 1931-September 15, 2024

The mountain geography community mourns the passing of one of its most significant exponents, the bearer of a monumental scientific world in favor of mountain research and development worldwide. Jack D. Ives died on September 15, 2024, at age 93.

As academicians Vladimir Kotlyakov and Yuri Badenkov (2024) indicated, “Professor Jack Ives is a living legend of mountain geography in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. His name is well known not only among scientists, politicians, public figures, but the inhabitants of many mountain settlements of the world, from the Himalaya and Pamir to the Andes and European Alps, from Scotland and the Caucasus to Iceland and China.” In 2015, Bruno Messerli said that Jack “devoted his life not only to mountain research, but also to mountain development, on behalf of the people and communities living in mountain areas.” He drew attention to the plight of indigenous peoples living in mountainous regions and advocated for their inclusion in policy-making processes concerning their lands and resources. His work went beyond academia, influencing international policy on the livelihoods and rights of mountain people.

Jack Ives’ long-term work at the International Geographical Union has played an important role in shaping the global discourse on mountain environments. In 1972 he took over the chairmanship of the Commission on High Altitude Geoecology from then-president Carl Troll, who had established the Commission during the 1968 International Geographical Conference in New Delhi. Jack then alternated with his colleague Bruno Messerli until 1996. This role drew him increasingly into mountain studies. He left an indelible mark within the IGU, in promoting geographical research on mountains and sustainable development. Under his leadership, the Commission focused on interdisciplinary research and worked to improve global understanding of the importance of mountain ecosystems. In this context, in the 1970s Ives became particularly interested in environmental issues in the Himalayas. The increasing international focus on environmental degradation in mountainous regions, such as deforestation, soil erosion and the impact on local communities, led him to advocate for sustainable mountain development. His 1989 book The Himalayan Dilemma: Reconciling Development and Conservation, co-authored with colleague Bruno Messerli, challenged the prevailing understanding of environmental degradation in the Himalayas and changed the trajectory of conservation policy in the region. This work marked a turning point in mountain research and policy and established Ives as a leading figure in the advocacy of mountain sustainability. He played an important role in making mountains a key element in global environmental policy, especially at the Earth Summit in 1992. He was instrumental in shaping the globally recognized “Mountain Agenda” for UNCED at Rio. This agenda called for greater attention to mountain ecosystems and their importance for biodiversity, water resources and human livelihoods. His efforts helped to establish the concept of “sustainable mountain development”, which remains a guiding principle in the field today. Since then, his leadership brought mountain issues to the forefront of the global environmental agenda.

His name is linked to the creation of the International Mountain Society (IMS) and the leading journals of the discipline: Mountain Research and Development, and Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. He developed “Project 6 (Mountains) of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere” on “Human Impacts on Mountain Ecosystems” with Bruno Messerli and were key in catalyzing a group of mountain geographers into what he called amicably “the Mountain Mafia” as the movers-and-shakers for the advocacy that culminated incorporating Chapter 13 (Mountains) within the United Nations’ agenda for sustainable development (Agenda 21). They also coedited a book considered by most mountain geographers as the “bible” for mountain studies at the global level in 1997. Mountains of the World: A Global Priority became the framework to start conservation projects, academic projects and international organizations in favor of mountains. The book was translated to many languages with regional appeals. They were also key in formulating the UN-declared 2002 as the “International Year of Mountains” and thereafter November 11^th, as “International Mountain Day.”

Jack D. Ives’ numerous studies and pioneering initiatives with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Mountain Agenda including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ICIMOD, and FAO have been instrumental in shaping international policy on mountain conservation, and his work within the IGU has helped to raise awareness of the academic importance of mountains in global development agendas, drawing attention to the unique challenges facing mountain ecosystems and communities worldwide. He has been honored with many awards, including the King Albert I Gold Medal (2002), the Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Medal (2006), the Icelandic Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Falcon (2007), and two separate Distinguished Career Awards from the Association of American Geographers. The inaugural Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Heritage Medal Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) was presented to him to recognize lifetime achievement in mountain research and development.

Presentation of 2015 Lifetime Achievement edition of the Hillary Medal, October 29, 2015. L to R: Pauline Ives, Jack Ives, Simon Tucker, New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, Kali Prasad Pokhrel, ambassador of Nepal to Canada.

He received the Honorary Membership to the Commission of Mountain Studies with a diploma conferred at the 35^th International Geographical Congress in Dublin, Ireland just this past summer in 2024, recognizing his fertile and restless work on mountain research and studies. The Diploma, decorated with a gaze from Alexander von Humboldt (Jack’s inspiration) recognizes his pioneering spirit and fruitful work, which will continue to illuminate the path for future montology.

Jack had been the one to suggest the laying of a bronze plaque honoring Humboldt as “the father of Montology” on a cairn at the snowline of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, in December 1998 after the III International Symposium of the Andean Mountains Association (AMA). Indigenous community members, along with Christoph Stadel, Larry Hamilton, Maximina Monasterio, Robert Rhoades, Fausto Sarmiento, the Chimborazo Fauna Reserve administrators, and others, shared in Jack’s admonition that could well be the corollary of his monumental and passionate lifelong advocacy: “For a better balance between mountain environment, development of resources, and the well-being of mountain peoples.”

Colleagues and those who worked closely with him often emphasized his generosity, both in terms of his time and his willingness to mentor and support young mountain geographers. They also admired his ability to blend scientific research with activism as he sought to bring practical, policy-oriented solutions to the environmental problems he studied. It is comforting to know that many of his students, following the exemplary work of this giant, helped to cement transdisciplinary mountain research and study, becoming themselves champions of mountain geography works. Many of them are already retired from teaching, but proudly continue Ives’ model inspiring mountain lore contributing effectively to enrich the genealogy of montology with their emeritus wisdom. After Ives’ retirement, as scholarly recognition of brilliant mentors in academia, a Festschrift was published in his honor (Mainali & Sicroff, 2016) with an apropos title: Montologist.

Now that the discipline of Montology has been firmly positioned as the transdisciplinary mountain research and study, the image of Jack D. Ives will be forever reflected in the deep understanding of mountains as socioecological systems, where consilience and convergence favor decolonized scholarship of mountains, integrating the local knowledge and making real the critical biogeography and political ecology of the many dilemmas that still pervade militarized, marginalized, and exploited mountain communities in the world’s mountainscapes (Sarmiento 2020). It is with a heavy heart that the Commission of Mountain Studies of the International Geographical Union received the news of his passing, but it is with a hopeful spirit to commit maintaining Jack D. Ives’ lofty goals for the mountains alive and well!

References

Kotlyakov V.M., Badenkov Y.P. (eds). 2024. “History and evolution of the UNESCO MAB-6 mountain project human impact on mountain ecosystems: From ecology to montology.” Preface by Jack D. Ives to the book. Mountain Regions of Russia at the Turn of the Century: Research and Development. Problems of Geography Series, volume 158. Moscow: Media Press.

Mainali K, Sicroff S (eds). 2016. Jack D. Ives, Montologist: Festschrift for a Mountain Advocate. Himalayan Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. 94–97. ISBN 978-9937-0-1567-7.

Sarmiento, F.O. 2020. Montology Manifesto: echoes towards a transdisciplinary science of mountains. Journal of Mountain Science, 17(10): 2512-2527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-019-5536-2.

This memorial was prepared by Fausto Sarmiento, Professor of Geography and Director of the Neotropical Montology Collaboratory at the University of Georgia; Neslihan Dal, Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University; Alexey Gunya, Professor of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Christoph Stadel, Emeritus Professor of Geography, at the University of Salzburg.

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Julian Minghi

Julian Vincent Minghi passed away peacefully on July 26, 2024. A longtime professor of geography at the University of South Carolina Columbia, he had a lasting impact on the careers of his peers and succeeding generations of geographers.

Born in 1933 in London, Dr. Minghi spent his early years in Sussex and Wales. In his youth he traveled to Italy’s Piedmont and Tuscany regions, returning during his undergraduate years to climb the Italian Alps with famous mountain climber Walter Bonatti. These experiences influenced him to become a professional geographer with strong interests in boundaries and borderlands. He was also stimulated by his undergraduate professor, John House, from the University of Durham, who was held in high regard by his peers for pioneering works in political geography.

He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, where he was advised by Douglas Jackson who was known for cutting-edge approaches to studying interstate political worlds. Minghi’s 1961 Ph.D. dissertation addressed what then were innovative themes and approaches, for example, the impacts of cross-border landscapes in the emerging worlds of television. During this time, he met his wife and life companion Lee.

Active in the American Association of Geographers as a Council member, he also served on the International Geographical Union’s Commission on World Political Geography, where he worked in early years with John House, Ron Johnston, Bertha Becker, David Knight, John O’Loughlin, Anton Gosar, Werner Gallusser, Saul Cohen, Dennis Rumley, Vladimir Kolossov, Andre Louis Sanguin, Peter Taylor and others advancing political geography on many fronts.

Julian Minghi changed political geography through such work as his article “Boundary Studies in Political Geography,” published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers in 1963, signaling a new turn in the study of boundaries and borders. He co-edited, with Roger Kasperson, the comprehensive book The Structure of Political Geography. First published in 1969 and still in print, it changed political geography and the two mens’ careers.

“In the huge upheavals of geography in the 1960s, political geography was nowhere to be seen,” recalled Peter Taylor, emeritus professor of geography at Loughborough University. “This changed with the publication of The Structure …. It converted political geography into a social science; 40 chapters organized into five sections: Heritage, Structure, Process, Behavior, and Environment — Wow! It certainly recruited me.”

“Julian Minghi stood out in international encounters of political geographers for his kind mentoring and his fascination with borders and borderlands,” said Virginie Mamadouh, associate professor of political and cultural geography at the University of Amsterdam.

“Minghi’s contributions to the field of political geography are immense,” said Reece Jones, chair of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa. “Thankfully, his legacy will continue to be recognized through the Julian Minghi Distinguished Book Award, which is given annually to the author of the best book in political geography by the Political Geography Specialty Group of the AAG.”

“There was little of note published in political geography in the 1950s before Julian’s first papers and especially his co-edited book with Kasperson, said John O’Loughlin, professor of political geography at the University of Colorado Boulder. “The book’s ambition and broad range of subjects showed the young scholars of the day what should be important research topics and had been neglected for too long.”

“Julian was a pioneer in the field of political geography [whose] major publications led many young geographers to take up political geography and study borders (at a time when it was still partially blackballed within academic and scientific circles due to erroneous associations with the Geopolitics of the Third Reich) and make it into the thriving discipline which it is today.” David Newman, professor of geography at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Herman van der Wusten, professor emeritus of political geography at the University of Amsterdam, agrees: “Julian Minghi helped kickstart a new political geography in the 1970s. Later on he was fruitfully active on political boundary problems for humans and their landscapes as they were put up, withdrawn or got a different function. He was a great colleague who will be sorely missed.”

“In his long and distinguished career, Professor Minghi played a key role and link between an earlier generation of work on border studies in political geography and the revitalization of that field over the last thirty years,” said James Sidaway, professor of political geography at the University of Singapore. “This critical legacy will long endure,”

Julian Minghi posed for a photo outdoors Colleagues have praised Minghi’s energy and joyful spirit. He was “audacious and undisciplined … and a little bit playful,” in the words of Phil Steinberg, professor of political geography and arctic studies geographer at Durham University. Richard Schofield, senior lecturer in boundary studies at King’s College London, described Minghi as “a lovely man who continued to captivate my M.A. students at KCL on Geopolitics, Resources, and Territory into his 90s, delivering a usual annual clutch of lectures with relish and good humor. No one would ever call Julian a cowboy, but he did sort of die with his spurs on!”

Alexander (Alec) Murphy: professor emeritus of geography at University of Oregon, said, “Julian was an exceptionally warm, good humored, thoughtful political geographer who made pioneering contributions to the subdiscipline. His work with Roger Kasperson, The Structure …, helped to turn me toward political geography as a graduate student, and I cherished the many times we met at academic gatherings around the world. One of the great honors of my career was the invitation to give the first inaugural Julian Minghi Lecture at the University of South Carolina in 2007.”

Minghi’s knowledge of the world was always informed by his fascination with boundaries. “As a political geographer, Julian Minghi was professionally loyal to the Alps-Adriatic region,” recalled Anton Gosar, professor of geography at the University of Ljubljana. “He wrote extensively with Milan Bufon and made several field trips to the Italo-Slovenian border and organized conferences with scholars from both countries. Julian and his wife were fascinated by the mountain and Lakeland of the Julian Alps. They spent their honeymoon there and wanted to celebrate their anniversaries every year in the same facility.”

Mamadouh remembered, “One of the memorable moments was him sharing his memories of the evolution of the Italian/Slovenian border area over decades during the Cold War and after the disintegration of Yugoslavia when we were visiting Gorizia/Nova Goricia during a fieldtrip at the occasion of the Borderscapes III Conference in Trieste in summer 2012.”

Dennis Rumley, Professor of Indian Ocean Studies and Distinguished Research Fellow at Curtin University in Western Australia, called Minghi “an icon of political geography. He never got bored with borders. He was a very kind and generous man who had a wicked sense of humour. Like his favourite football team — Arsenal — Julian was always straight (talking in his case; shooting — for goal — their case). He clearly enjoyed life and had a positive and permanent impact on all who met and knew him. He will be missed by all of us.”

This memorial was prepared by Stanley Brunn, University of Kentucky, Lexington, insights and information from former colleagues and family members: Lee Minghi, Lynn Shirley, Anton Gosar, Reece Jones, David Knight, Victor Konrad, Virginie Mamadouh, Alec Murphy, David Newman, John O’Loughlin, Dennis Rumley, Richard Schofield, James Sidaway, Phil Steinberg, Peter Taylor and Herman van der Wusten.

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Angel David Cruz Báez

Students, teachers and the community mourn the departure of Dr. Angel David Cruz Báez (1948-2024). His career was marked by a deep commitment to teaching and research, leaving a lasting impact on his students and colleagues.

Professor Cruz Báez was one of the first professors of Geography in Puerto Rico and served as a professor and director for more than 30 years in the Department of Geography of the University of Puerto Rico. Before this, he began his academic career as a professor at the Interamerican University in San Germán.

Dr. Ángel David Cruz Báez was a distinguished professor and director in the Department of Geography at the University of Puerto Rico, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Dr. Cruz Báez’s research focused on various aspects of geography, including residential segregation by socioeconomic class, particularly in metropolitan areas like Miami. His work contributed significantly to the understanding of geographic and social dynamics in urban settings.

His achievements, beyond his publications, were to create a solid geographical community dedicated to teaching, research and the creation of a holistic local environmental awareness. Published books, articles and essays, since his dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, show great love, commitment and respect for Puerto Rico.

Throughout his career, he was known for his passion for geography, his dedication to academic excellence, and his efforts to promote knowledge about the geographic and social environment. Additionally, he was a leader in the management of geographical information systems, statistical applications, computer management and digital mapping in Puerto Rico.

He also forged several generations of geographers as an advisor, counselor, friend, teacher and mentor. His legacy continues to inspire those who had the privilege of learning from and working with him.

The loss of Dr. Ángel David Cruz Báez is deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing him. His passing is deeply felt in the academic community, but as we reflect on his life and contributions, we are reminded of the power of education to change lives and the importance of passionate educators like Dr. Cruz Báez who devote their lives to this cause.

Adapted from an online memorial on Facebook.

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James Gordon Nelson

In May 2024, Canada lost one of its most distinguished and honored geographers, Dr. James Gordon Nelson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of University of Waterloo in Canada.

Dr. Nelson was an internationally respected and renowned expert in conservation, protected areas, and policy, having worked all over the world, and was a leader as advocate for parks and protected areas all over Canada during a professional academic career that spanned decades. He received his B.A. from McMaster University, his M.A. from Colorado, and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Before accepting a position with the University of Waterloo in 1975, Dr. Nelson held academic and administrative positions at the University of Calgary and the University of Western Ontario.

During his time in academia, he was a prolific scholar with hundreds of publications including dozens of peer-reviewed articles and several major authored or edited books — many with students and colleagues as co-authors. In addition, during his academic career at University of Calgary, Western University, and the University of Waterloo, Dr. Nelson advised and mentored dozens of graduate students — many of whom are today leaders in governmental agencies, NGOS, or in academia, continuing the legacy of his work. Although he retired from the University of Waterloo Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in 1998, he remained active working on book projects, with his colleagues including former graduate students. Notable publications include Protected Areas and the Regional Planning Imperative in North America: Integrating Nature, Conservation, and Sustainable Development (2003, Michigan State University Press); Places: Linking Nature and Culture for Understanding and Planning (2009, University of Calgary Press); and Amid Shifting Sands: Ancient History, Explosive Growth, Climate Change and the Uncertain Future of the United Arab (2022, Austin Macauley Publishers).

Dr. Nelson has been a member of the College of Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, a committee member of the World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness, and Ontario’s Representative on the National Board of Governors of Heritage Canada. He has received many awards, including the first Natural Heritage Award in 1978, the Canadian Association of Geographers Award for Scholarly Distinction in Geography in 1983, the Massey Medal for the Royal Canadian Geographic Society in 1983, a Certificate of Achievement from the Grand River Conservation Authority in 1994, and the 1994 Environment Award for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.

His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him. His legacy is one of intellectual curiosity, rigorous scholarship, and a deep commitment to the principles of ecology, geography, planning, and policy making.

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Robert “Bob” Moline

The daily work rhythms Robert “Bob” Moline observed for nearly 40 years reflected a passion for landscape, weather, culture, and thinking about the human place in the environment. After teaching his 8:00 am meteorology class, Bob took his daily run through the prairie and forested landscapes of the campus arboretum. Then, it was time to print and post the daily upper air and surface weather charts, teach another class or two, followed by late afternoons spent listening to jazz at high volume while organizing his slide carousels for the next day. Bob Moline was a beloved professor and colleague and the guiding force in building both the geography and environmental studies programs at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Although he passed away in January 2024, his influence continues to be felt through the thousands of people he inspired to pay careful attention to the skies, to the landscape, and to their place in the region and river basin.

Bob Moline, was born in Gary, Indiana and grew up on the Southside of Chicago where his dad was pastor of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church. Bob graduated from Chicago’s Hirsch High School in 1951 and entered Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where he majored in science and met his future wife, Janet Reedquist. After college he served in the Air Force from 1955-1959 as an instructor in the weather training program at Chanute Air Base in Illinois and then at Etain, France, where he taught meteorology and held the post of Chief Weather Observer. The experiences in the Air Force prompted Bob to pursue a career in teaching. When he and Janet returned to the United States, he began graduate work in geography at the University of Illinois.

As Bob was finishing his master’s degree in 1961, Gustavus Adolphus College was in the process of establishing a geography program. Bob’s alma mater, Augustana College, had established its geography program in 1949. Like Gustavus, it was affiliated with the Swedish-American Lutheran Church. A telephone call between the deans at Gustavus and Augustana identified Bob as a likely candidate, and an interview at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago led to a job offer. Soon Bob and Janet Moline were on their way to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he would spend the next 37 years teaching full-time, raising two children (Jeff Moline and Karen Wallin) and living out the remainder of their lives until Janet died in 1999. For most of the years since that time Bob remained in St. Peter with his new wife Kay.

Sharing the basement of Old Main and later the Nobel Hall of Science with the lone geologist, Bob Moline set about building the geography department while working on his Ph.D. in geography at the University of Minnesota. Under the supervision of University of California-Berkeley-trained Ward Barrett, Bob completed his dissertation in 1969 on agricultural drainage of wetlands and shallow lakes entitled, “The Modification of the Wet Prairie in Southern Minnesota.” This work led to two published monographs on public attitudes in water resources management. Bob’s long-term research passion was to update Jan Broek’s classic 1932 study of landscape evolution in California’s Santa Clara Valley to document the transition from prunes and cherries to microprocessors and computer software.

Bob’s teaching portfolio reflected his diverse interests: Meteorology, Water Resources, Cultural Geography, The American West, and a course whose title reflected the questions he cared most about: Environmental Attitudes and Landscape Change. Bob knew well the value of maps and the importance of field experiences. He curated the map collection at Gustavus Adolphus College, one of the largest map libraries in the country at a liberal arts college. Between 1974 and 1998 he led an annual January Term field course titled San Francisco: The City and Its Region. To bring the expansive western landscape into the classroom, Bob shot his photographs in side-by-side mode and equipped his classroom with side-by-side slide projectors operated in tandem. In recognition of his excellence in the classroom, Gustavus awarded Bob with the college’s Distinguished Teacher Award in 1987. In presenting the teaching award, a faculty colleague described Bob as evincing “enthusiasm from the heart, commitment to the land, and deep care for students.”

Bob Moline put his geographic expertise into practice by running a regional rain gauge network with local farmers and serving on the Minnesota state power plant siting committee, the River Bend regional planning organization, the Minnesota Water Resources Board, and the City of St. Peter Planning Commission. In the preamble to the city’s 1995 comprehensive plan Bob managed to quote Lewis Mumford, Michael Sorkin, and James Howard Kunstler.

Bob’s geographical fascination never wavered. He seemed to never not be a practicing geographer. His love of places and his deeply ingrained sense of the world as landscape were constants throughout his life. His family vacations, often road trips to the American West, were geographical field trips. Visitors to his house were met with walls covered in maps, each with beloved stories. Who could have much patience for faculty meetings when, out there, the landscape, even the most mundane, was waiting to be explored? Bob Moline’s legacy of service and endless geographic curiosity lives on through his many former students who have found positions in university geography departments, high school geography classrooms, city planning departments, and water resources agencies across the country. Bob is survived by his brother Norm Moline, professor emeritus of geography at Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois), his spouse Kay, and children Jeff, Karen, and their families.

This memorial was prepared by former colleagues and family members Mark Bjelland, Robert Douglas, Jeff Moline, Norm Moline, and Anna Versluis.

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Philip W. Porter

We mourn the passing of, but also celebrate the life of, Philip (Phil) Wayland Porter, a stalwart member of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Geography between 1958 and 2000. Phil died in Hanover, New Hampshire on April 24, 2024, just two miles from the place of his birth, surrounded by his family (predeceased by his lifelong life partner Patricia Garrigus Porter in December 2021).

Phil was born on July 9, 1928, in Hanover, the son of Wayland R. and Bertha (La Plante) Porter. He graduated from Kimball Union Academy in 1946, where his father taught mathematics and physics and his mother was a librarian. He then earned his A.B. in Geography at Middlebury College in 1950 (where he also was on the ski-jumping team), his M.A. at Syracuse University in 1955 (after two years in the U.S. Army, 1952-4), and his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics in 1956 (“Population Distribution and Land-use in Liberia”). He immediately joined the University of Minnesota department as an instructor, then assistant professor, advancing to associate professor in 1964 and professor in 1966. He chaired the Department of Geography (1969-71), directed the University’s Office of International Programs (1979-83), served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Space Programs for Earth Observations (1967-1971) and was a liaison officer for Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (1979-1983).

Phil’s first and enduring scholarly commitment was to understanding Indigenous agricultural practices in east Africa, undertaking career-long ethnographic fieldwork, initially with anthropologists, that began with Walter Goldschmidt’s Culture and Ecology in East Africa Project (1961-2). He taught at the University of Dar Es Salaam for two years (1971-73), overlapping with members of the influential The Dar es Salaam School of African History, introducing his daughters to rural African life through many trips in their Land Rover. This scholarship was summarized in two monographs: Food and Development in the Semi-arid Zone of East Africa (Syracuse: 1979) and Challenging Nature: Local Knowledge, Agroscience, and Food Security in Tanga Region, Tanzania (Chicago: 2006). In recognition, he received the inaugural Robert McC. Netting Award from the AAG Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group in 1999. His quiet but firm personal and intellectual support was vital for those students seeking to make a better world.

Phil’s interests in geography ranged far and wide. He was intrigued with John K. Wright and the geography of ideas. He was a passionate and innovative cartographer. Among his many published articles, he wrote on economic potentials, the point of minimum aggregate travel, the impact of climate on human activity, human ecology and agro-ecological modeling. During the last three decades of his career, he became particularly interested in critical development studies. This began with an AAG Resource Paper with Anthony de Souza, “The Underdevelopment and Modernization of the Third World” (AAG: 1974), was deepened through his annual undergraduate course on development, and culminated in the textbook A World of Difference (Guilford: 1998, 2008, with Eric Sheppard, Richa Nagar and David Faust). Former colleagues and advisors have described him as a “towering scholar”, “one of the most amazing polymaths and ‘renaissance men’ I’ve ever met”, “incredibly gracious”, and “genuinely curious rather than threatened by new ideas.”

Phil was a quietly reliable anchor of the department, with the capacity to talk with anyone and a puckish sense of humor. His students adored him, graduate and undergraduate alike, queueing outside his office to seek out his wisdom and bathe in his invariable support. He developed an innovative introductory course, in which students were asked to rotate the globe to a new north pole of their own choosing and tasked as teams to produce and rationalize an atlas reconstructing its human and physical geography of this hypothetical globe. The course on “Third World Underdevelopment and Modernization” was similarly made unforgettable by Phil’s extraordinary teaching style. David Faust, who had a chance to serve as a TA and co-instructor for this course, recalls:

“One day Phil would walk into the classroom and remark, ‘I want to show you something from one of my ancestors. Pay careful attention, because this is from one of your ancestors, too.’ He would hold out what appeared to be an ordinary rock. ‘This is a hand axe. You hold it like this. Try it.’ And he would pass it around. Another day he would enter the class carrying a rickety wooden turntable and a couple of bricks. He would ask for a volunteer to stand on the turntable, take a brick in each hand and be spun, extending their arms to make the spinning slow, and bringing them close to their chest to speed up the spinning, just as a figure skater does. This was to demonstrate conservation of angular momentum as part of a lesson about atmospheric circulation.”

Regents Professor Emeritus Eric Sheppard, lead author of this memorial, recalls:

“I first met Phil when I interviewed for the position at Minnesota in 1976. I had no idea who he was when I arrived; a young, overconfident quantitative turk. The only names familiar to me were Fred Lukermann, John Adams and Yifu Tuan, I was here to transform the department. Prior to my talk, the graduate students took me out for a liquid lunch at what was then Bulwinkles, after which I was put in the chair’s office to prep my presentation on geographic potentials (the topic of my Ph.D.). Idly leafing through old copies of the Annals, I was shocked & disconcerted to find a paper authored by Phil and Fred on … geographic potentials. Needless to say, this was a bit embarrassing. I managed to get through the talk with both Phil or Fred being nice enough not to mention their paper (which I had not read; my article on this topic also appeared in the Annals a couple of years later, after it had been rejected and my advisor had prevailed on the editor, John C. Hudson, to change his mind). In the end it was the department that transformed me, and Phil played a key role. I spent the last decade of my career doing the same kind of qualitative research that characterized his lifelong scholarship.”

Former Ph.D. advisee Richa Nagar notes: “Phil played a major role in molding me as a learner, an educator, and a human, and he taught me to better appreciate the unpredictable poetry of the world we live in.” She recalls a moving incident from Fall 1990:

“Phil’s class on ‘Geography of Africa’ inspired me to undertake a directed study with him on the history of Asian communities in East Africa. That same quarter, I also committed to a two-quarter long course sequence in ‘Historical Sociology’ with Ron Aminzade and Barbara Laslett, who required the students to study primary research documents during the second quarter. I came across an article with a footnote which stated that Robert Gregory, a retired professor at Syracuse University, had boxes full of interviews that his students had conducted with Asians in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in the 1970s. I shared my wish with Phil in our directed study meeting, ‘I would’ve loved to examine those interviews for my Historical Sociology assignment.’ A week later I found a check from him in my department mailbox. It had a Post-it note: ‘Go book your plane ticket to Syracuse and read those interviews.’ I went to Phil in disbelief and asked why he had given me the check. He said, ‘I have some research money but your research is more important at this time. This is your Christmas present.’”

The annual Christmas parties, hosted by Phil and his wife Pat, were the major departmental social event of the year drawing almost everyone to feast and even sing carols, irrespective of their religious affiliations. His annual party invitations were also legendary; each year he would pick a letter of the alphabet, plumb his well-thumbed dictionary, and write a page-long invite using words only beginning with that letter.

Phil’s other abiding passion was music, particularly choral music by J.S. Bach. He regularly sang and performed with Pat, organist and choir director at Minneapolis’ First Congregational Church (1957-1971) and then Grace University Lutheran Church (1976-2000). In choirs, the other basses competed to sit nearby so that they could rely on his ability to read music and sing the right notes. After retirement, Phil and Pat returned to New Hampshire, where their lives alternated between scholarly senior living near Dartmouth College, and summers in the sprawling family cottage on Lake Sunapee. He is survived by three daughters, Janet E. Holmén, Sara L. Porter, and Alice C. Porter, as well as five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

This memorial was contributed by Eric Sheppard, Richa Nagar, and Abdi Samatar on behalf of the Department of Geography, Environment, & Society, University of Minnesota.

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Margaret FitzSimmons

Margaret I. FitzSimmons, a respected geographer in the field of urban planning and environmental studies, died April 3, 2023, in Santa Cruz surrounded by family and friends. She was 76.

Born into a lineage of esteemed geographers, she carried forward the legacy and passion for the environment. Her grandfather, Carl Sauer, a prominent figure in the field, influenced her interest in human-environment interactions. Margaret’s academic journey included undergraduate studies in psychology at Stanford, a master’s degree in geography from California State University, Northridge and a Ph.D. in geography from UCLA.

Her scholarly contributions were both profound and practical, Her dissertation examined the relationship between nature, labor, and capital in California’s agricultural heartlands. Her insights into the political ecologies and environmental history of the Salinas Valley was innovative theoretically but also relevant to understanding and solving real-world problems. She received the Nystrom award from the American Association of Geographers for her dissertation work. Her publications in journals such as Economic Geography and Antipode have been widely cited and respected, especially her Antipode paper on “The matter of nature.” Her book, Thirst for Growth: Water Agencies as Hidden Government in California, co-written with Robert Gottlieb, remains a seminal work in the field, highlighting issues of public accountability and water policy innovation.

In 1980, Margaret was appointed assistant professor in urban planning in UCLA’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she was instrumental in developing the Environmental Analysis and Policy concentration. In 1994, she moved to UC Santa Cruz’s Environmental Studies program, retiring in 2015.

Margaret’s teaching was characterized by its breadth and depth, reflecting her belief in the power of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding complex environmental issues. She was a devoted mentor to graduate students and colleagues and a thoughtful and inspiring teacher. In 1991, FitzSimmons received UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award and in 2016, her former Ph.D. students organized a gathering and dinner at the AAG annual conference as a tribute to their mentor.

Margaret was a longstanding AAG member who made significant contributions to understanding the geographies of agriculture and water, political economy of environment, and nature-society theory. In 2024, the AAG received initial funding from her trust for an award in her name, administered by the Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group. The endowed Margaret Irene Fitzsimmons Early Career Award recognizes the innovative work of an early career scholar in nature-society relations, including research, teaching, and outreach.

Her loss is deeply felt by all who knew her. Margaret’s legacy is one of intellectual curiosity, rigorous scholarship, and a deep commitment to the principles of social and environmental justice.

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Ken Hammond

Kenneth “Ken” Hammond, 90, a beloved faculty member at Central Washington University, passed-away on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Ken was born in 1934 along the Columbia River in northeastern Washington. Raised on a farm near Lake Ellen in the Sherman Creek area of Ferry County, he graduated as valedictorian from Marcus High School in 1951, earning a scholarship to Eastern Washington College of Education.

In 1956, Ken earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Eastern, one in Geography and one in Education. He taught high school biology for two years in Camas, Washington, before pursuing a Master of Science in Natural Resources at Oregon State College in Corvallis, Oregon. After completing his Master’s degree, he returned to Eastern Washington State College to teach in the Geography Department.

In 1962, Ken joined Central Washington State College in Ellensburg, Washington, teaching in the Geography Department. A year later, he became the Director of Extension and Correspondence for two years. In 1965, he began a doctoral program at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School, receiving his Ph.D. in Conservation in 1969.

Ken rejoined the Geography Department at Central Washington University in 1967. He taught a wide range of courses from Introductory Physical Geography to graduate-level Policy and Planning. Working with students was his life passion, and he considered effective teaching the most fundamental part of his job. His goal was to help students prepare for employment, citizenship, and graduate school. Ken mentored many graduate students and cherished the ongoing relationships he maintained with them. After 30 years of teaching, he retired in December 1997.

Ken co-edited a book on environmental literature titled “The Sourcebook on the Environment,” funded by the American Association of Geographers and published in 1978.

In 1981, he received the CWU Distinguished University Professor Teaching award. In 1993, the CWU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi named him Scholar of the Year. In 1997, he was granted an Honorary Life Membership by the Northwest Scientific Association in recognition of his outstanding service. In 2001, he received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Eastern Washington University for his exceptional service.

In retirement, Ken continued to lend his expertise in Conservation and Water Resources Policy. Planning, and Sustainability. He was an early proponent for new and refreshed policies that promoted environmental sustainability. Ken’s attachment to the land began early in life and continued throughout his life.

Ken enjoyed gardening and cultivated a large vegetable garden at his home near the Manastash Ridge trailhead. He happily answered questions and provided advice to visitors and enjoyed encouraging children to grow their own food. He shared his garden’s abundance, regularly stocking a small table outside with a “Fresh Veggies – Free” sign.

Ken is survived by his wife of 70 years, Britta Jo (Torrance) Hammond, and their three children.

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Susan Mary Berta

Dr. Susan Mary Berta passed away Wednesday May 22, 2024, at her residence in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was a professor at Indiana State University’s (ISU) Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, where she retired in 2021. She started her career at ISU in 1986, later serving as the department chairperson from 2002-2009. She was also the Interim Coordinator of the Science Education Program from 2005-2007. She published over 25 journal articles and reports, with specializations in physical geography, geomorphology, and remote sensing, in addition to supervising the research of and mentoring 13 graduate students.

Born July 29, 1957, in Flint, Michigan, she received a B.A. degree in Physical Geography from the University of Michigan-Flint and graduate degrees in Geography: M.S. from Oklahoma State University and Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Her master’s degree research involved using remote sensing technology and GIS, as well as field verification, to identify prospective locations of “natural areas” throughout Oklahoma for “wilderness” status consideration. Ph.D. work involved using aerial and satellite data to map periglacial landscapes in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado. As a graduate student, she assisted in three-week wilderness “research adventures” and later offered field camp at ISU for undergraduate and graduate students for 10 summers. Her favorite part of her professional career was always the research, field trips, and friendships accumulated throughout the years.

Berta’s heart belonged to the Terre Haute Humane Society, where she volunteered for over 30 years and served as a member of their Board of Directors. She also served as a Director on the Board at the Ouabache Land Conservancy, partaking as a member since 2013.

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