Alvin A. Munn

Alvin Munn died February 3, 2012 in Fort Myers, Florida.

Munn earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1942. After service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, Munn received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. In 1948, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he eventually became senior geographer with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Munn also earned a degree from the National War College, in 1966. As DIA senior geographer, he regularly briefed the Director of the DIA and the U.S. Secretary of Defense and served as a U.S. representative to NATO. As a member of the Military Geographic Documentation Working Group, he conducted key intelligence briefings and was actively involved in decision making during the Cuban Missile Crisis and other critical situations.

Munn published the article, “The Role of Geographers in the Department of Defense” in the August 1980 edition of The Professional Geographer, in which he estimated that 500 people with geography degrees were working for the Department of Defense (DOD) around the world. In the article, Munn stressed that the reputation enjoyed by geographers at the DOD was based on their ability to synthesize many sources of data from a wide range of sciences and provide cogent analyses.

An active member of the AAG, Munn served as association treasurer in 1967. He was a 63-year member of the AAG, having joined in January of 1949.

Alvin A. Munn (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(6): 28.

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Allen Hellman

Allen David Hellman was born in Dollar Bay, Michigan on November 29, 1921 and after leading a very full life passed away in his sleep on December 29, 2011. A veteran of WWII, he served with the first group of rescue pilots in the Pacific theatre, and was promoted to Commander of Naval Reserves while teaching geography at the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette. His formal education culminated with Ph.D. in Geography through the University of Michigan while married to the late June Iris Dement.

Moving to San Marcos to become the chairman of the Geography Department at Texas State University, then Southwest Texas State University, were wonderful years, as Dr. Hellman’s leadership and support through administration began to orchestrate the framework for where the department is today.

Allen’s other interests during his professional career extended to involvement with NASA’s moon mission projects, aerial and infrared photogrammetry, remote sensing, and aerial cartography in addition to petroleum exploration. During this time he met and married Majorie Wheatly, who proceeded him in death.

His best friend and the love of his life was the late Gloria Motovick who watched Allen swim competitively on the international level into his 70’s and enjoyed many travels together.

He is survived by his family: Donald and Debbie Hellman of California, John and Susan Hellman Franzetti and grandchildren Canyon, Dakota, Gianna Gortva and husband Ricky, and John and Renae Hellman and grandchildren Sarah and Zach of Manor, Texas.

The family expresses a heartfelt “thank you” to Texas State University, the First Presbyterian Church family and their “Sunshine Girls”, and to those showing such kindness during his later years.

Published by Legacy.com, and originally published by Austin American-Statesman on Jan. 8, 2012.

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Elen M.C. Cutrim

Elen Maria Camara Cutrim, Professor of Geography at Western Michigan University (WMU), died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 62. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cutrim earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Pontifical Catholic University in 1970, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Michigan in 1983.

Cutrim began her academic career at institutions in Belem, Brazil, where she served as an instructor of civil engineering, an Assistant Professor of geology, meteorology and geophysics, and finally headed the Department of Meteorology at the Federal University of Para, while directing Belem’s Regional Meteorological Training Center of the World Meteorological Organization.

In 1990, Cutrim joined Western Michigan University’s Department of Geography first as adjunct and later as a tenured faculty, and was promoted to Professor in 2006. She was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and French. She primarily taught and conducted research on South America, meteorology and global climatic change. Two special areas of focus included precipitation climatology of Michigan and Brazil and meteorology and climate as they relate to the interaction of atmosphere and land cover in Brazilian Amazonia. Cutrim received grant funding from such organizations as the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in support of her research.

Cutrim was active in several professional and academic organizations, including the AAG, American Meteorological Society Board of Higher Education and American Geophysical Union. She also served on the NSF/Unidata Users Committee, and was a past president of the WMU chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She also was instrumental in helping found WMU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.

Elen M.C. Cutrim (Necrology). 2011. AAG Newsletter 46(4): 29

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Sidney Jumper

Sidney R. Jumper, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee, passed away on December 9, 2011.

Jumper received his PhD in 1960 from the University of Tennessee and joined the faculty of the department later that decade. In 1977 he was appointed Head, a position he held for 18 years. Under his leadership the department added new faculty lines and secured funding for a free-standing geography building located in the center of the campus. He also advocated for increased emphasis on research and graduate education in the department.

In 1986, Jumper and the late Theodore Schmudde established the Tennessee Geographic Alliance, one of seven pilot alliance programs in the United States. Today the Tennessee Geographic Alliance boasts nearly 5,000 members and has spent over $3.6 million on improving K-12 geography education in Tennessee.

Jumper was active in the Southeastern Division of the AAG (SEDAAG) and served as editor of the Southeastern Geographer. His contributions to SEDAAG resulted in his receiving the Honorary Life Membership Award in 1981 and Outstanding Service Award in 1987 from that division. In 1997, Tennessee’s governor named Jumper the Tennessee State Geographer. In 2000, Jumper was honored with AAG Distinguished Service Honors. A year later, the National Geographic Society established the Sidney Jumper Grant for Teaching Research in his honor.

For over thirty years, Sidney Jumper’s tireless efforts improved the status of our discipline and the quality of geography education at all levels of instruction.

Sidney Jumper (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(3): 36.

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William Horbaly

Fifty-year AAG member William Horbaly, 91, of Charlottesville, North Carolina, has died.

Horbaly was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 24, 1920, the son of immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. He earned a PhD in geography from the University of Chicago, and a portion of his graduate study was completed at Charles University in Prague.

During the Second World War, Horbaly served as a United States Army tank commander in the 749th Tank Battalion, which received a Presidential Unit Citation for meritorious service in France. Horbaly saw action in France and Germany and was awarded the Bronze Star.

After returning from the war, Horbaly spent his professional career in federal government service with the United States Department of Agriculture. During his time as an Agriculture Attaché‚ he was assigned to the State Department and was stationed in Moscow for five years and Beirut for four. Upon his retirement from federal service Horbaly was the Assistant Administrator to the Secretary of Agriculture and was in charge of United States Agriculture Attaches stationed overseas.

William Horbaly (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(3): 36.

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Judith Martin

Professor Judith Martin of the University of Minnesota died on October 3, 2011, at the age of 63.

Martin was a well-known personality on the University of Minnesota (UM) campus and within the Twin Cities, where she served as a visible and prolific commentator on the history, geography, growth, and redevelopment of the Twin Cities.

Martin was born in Chicago but made the Twin Cities her adopted home. She received her M.A. in American history and M.A. and Ph.D. in American studies at the University of Minnesota. Martin began working as a research associate in the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota in 1976, and held various positions until she was hired as a professor of geography and director of the urban studies program in 1989.

Martin was widely regarded as an exemplary University citizen. She served as chair or vice-chair for the Faculty Consultative Committee, University Senate, Senate Committee on Finance and Planning, and countless other committees on governance, planning, teaching, and students. Martin was an invaluable member of the College of Liberal Arts 2015 planning committee and recently served on the provostal search committee.

A fifteen-year member of the Minneapolis Planning Commission, Martin served that body for seven years as president, contributing to the development of plans for land use, downtown development, light rail stations, and the new zoning codes that were developed in the 1990s.

In addition to directing the Urban Studies Program, Martin was founding co-director of the University Metropolitan Consortium. She was known for her ability to blend her research, teaching and service, and was widely sought for her expertise on urban planning, policy and governance; historic preservation; urban sprawl; and landscape and culture.

Martin received many awards over the course of her distinguished career for teaching and service, including the Morse Amoco/Alumni Teaching Award, Academy of Distinguished Teachers, College of Continuing Education Teaching Award, CLA Alumna of Notable Achievement, and President’s Award for Outstanding Service.

University of Minnesota President Emeritus, Robert Bruininks, said upon Martin’s death, “I received the news of Judith’s passing with deep sadness. She was a dear friend of ours, and frequent confidante and advisor whose leadership, thoughtfulness, and broad perspective on issues impacting the University were invaluable to me over the past many years.”

Contributions may be directed to: The Judith Martin Memorial Fund, c/o University of Minnesota Foundation, C-M 3854, PO Box 70880, Saint Paul, MN 55170-3854.

Judith Martin (Necrology). 2011. AAG Newsletter 46(11): 23.

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Mark A. Maschhoff

Mark A. Maschhoff, Associate Professor of Geography at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Missouri, died in September of 2011 at the age of 71.

Maschhoff received a bachelor’s degree from Concordia Teacher’s College in 1961 and in 1965 earned a master’s degree from Bradley University. He received his PhD in 1973 from St. Louis University. The philosophy of education was his main area of professional interest, and his research involved the development of innovative teaching methods.

A longtime faculty member at Harris-Stowe State University, Maschhoff developed the geography program there, increasing the number of geography majors from 25 to 150. He developed a strong program in physical geography, his specialty, but also increased offerings across a broader range of subfields including cartography and urban geography.

Maschhoff was well-known at Harris-Stowe for bringing new technologies into the classroom. He implemented the “Goals 2000” geography standards at Harris-Stowe, and pioneered methods of team teaching. He was particularly well-known for working with underachieving students and using perceptual behavior as a technique for increasing learning comprehension and the student’s self-image.

Mark A. Maschhoff (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(7): 30.

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Wes Dow

Maynard Weston Dow, professor emeritus at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, died on August 5, 2011.

Dow was born in 1929, close to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He took a BS degree from the U.S. Naval Academy (1952) and an MA degree from Rutgers University (1960). After earning a PhD from Syracuse University in 1965, Dow took a teaching post at the Air Force Academy, where he taught 1960-1962 and 1964-1972, before moving to Plymouth State University. He served 22 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1972.

At the peak of the Vietnam War in 1966, Dow was recruited by the Department of Defense to travel to South Vietnam to conduct research, which resulted in the publication of his book, Nation Building in Southeast Asia. It was in the late 1960s, while developing a course on geographic thought at the Air Force Academy that Dow began to conceive of the project that would later become known as “Geographers on Film” – his signature contribution to the discipline. At that time, filming an interview with synchronous sound was a cumbersome process, necessitating the use of a heavy 16 mm camera and burdensome sound and lighting equipment as well as a great deal of technical expertise. Dow’s wife, Nancy, became an integral part of the filmmaking process, learning to help set-up and then handle the shoot while Wes conducted the interview.

Working together closely over a period of four decades, Wes and Nancy Dow created one of the richest oral history collections in any academic discipline. Comprised of over 300 interviews, the Dows produced and administered the series largely on their own for 45 years, distributing episodes of the series for use in geographic thought and history classes for the cost of shipping. “Geographers on Film” is currently held at the Library of Congress through the auspices of the AAG, which took stewardship of the collection in 2009 upon Dow’s donation of the material. The Library of Congress is in the process of converting and making the series available in high quality digital formats.

At the 2008 AAG Annual Meeting in Boston, the association recognized the Dows (Nancy was honored posthumously) for their unique contributions to the discipline by organizing several special sessions featuring the “Geographers on Film” series, and presenting them with the inaugural AAG American Geographical History Award. The following year, Plymouth State University recognized Wes Dow’s career contributions to geography and the university by naming the Geographic Information System Laboratory after him.

Dow died at his home in Camden, Maine. A 39-year resident of New Hampshire, he returned to his home state in 2010. His wife, Nancy Freeman Dow, died in 2005.

Wes Dow’s family has requested that contributions in memory of Wes Dow be made to the AAG Endowment Fund. Please indicate “M. W. Dow memorial contribution” on your donation.

Wes Dow (Necrology). 2011. AAG Newsletter 46(8): 44.

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Dennis Ehrhardt

Dennis Ehrhardt, who spent 38 years teaching geography and urban planning at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, passed away on July 24, 2011, at the age of 69, after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Dennis Karl Ehrhardt was born on December 16, 1942 in Waterloo, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Iowa, as well as his doctorate. His PhD thesis, completed in 1972, was entitled “An ecological analysis of the zoning variance requests and approvals: a case study of Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1959-68.”

Although he was destined for an academic career, Ehrhardt’s first publications were about improving geography teaching at lower levels and co-authored with his wife, Shirley, who was an elementary school teacher. Together they wrote “Teaching World Geography Concepts: A Kindergarten Approach” (The Missouri Geographer, Fall 1972) and “Let’s Learn Our States: A Gaming Strategy” (Journal of Geography, April 1973).

Ehrhardt’s first teaching positions were at the University of Wisconsin-Oskosh and then Saint Louis University before moving to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) where he stayed for almost four decades. He began as an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of City and Regional Planning, working his way up to head of the Department of Geography when the department was created. He remained the Coordinator of Geography when the department merged with the History Department.

Over the years Ehrhardt taught numerous undergraduate and graduate geography classes related to planning including city and regional planning, environmental and recreation planning, preservation planning, and housing and community development. But his expertise stretched across the breadth of human geography; at various points in his career he taught general courses on political geography, economic geography, urban geography, and social geography, as well as regional geography courses – the geography of the United States and Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and the Soviet Union. Ehrhardt contributed to the intellectual development of generations of students. He truly loved teaching and mentoring the students, with many keeping in touch with him even during his final days.

In addition to his university responsibilities, Ehrhardt worked as a private consultant, including as the Planning Consultant for Iberia Parish Government, providingexpertise and consulting services for a variety of projects, such as preparing the Iberia Parish Infrastructure Master Plan, revising the subdivision regulations, and implementing a comprehensive zoning plan.

He was also an expert witness on numerous court cases concerning matters of urban planning in Louisiana and Mississippi. One of the court cases for which he testified, James Hernandez v. City Council of Lafayette 3-15, was eventually heard by the Supreme Court.

Ehrhardt was involved in several professional organizations, serving on boards and committees and presenting papers at annual conferences. He was a member of the Association of American Geographers, particularly involved in the Southwest Division, serving one year as Chair in 1981. He was also a member of the American Institute of Planners and the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Ehrhardt loved sports. He was a life-long fan of the University of Iowa’s football and basketball teams, and at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette he was actively involved in athletics.

In his spare time, he loved to fish with friends, travel around the world, and visit his family. He is survived by his two daughters and four grandchildren.

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Clyde Woods

Clyde Woods, Associate Professor of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), died this past summer.

Woods received his PhD in Urban Planning from UCLA where he studied with Ed Soja. Since his graduate student days, he had been an active member of the geographic community. He research was centered at the nexus of regional planning, African American studies, and social justice. As a longtime member of the AAG, Woods not only sought to focus attention on the plight of poor communities of color, but he also actively encouraged and mentored black geographers in order to diversify the discipline.

Woods was also Director of the Center for Black Studies Research at UCSB. His work demonstrated his overarching belief that the purpose of public social science is to explore and strengthen the links between knowledge embedded in communities and the knowledge disseminated by universities. “Clyde Woods was an admired colleague, professor, and student mentor, and he will be deeply missed by all the members of our UCSB family,” said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. “Dr. Woods was engaged in two long-term research projects within our Department of Black Studies, one focusing on rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and the other on creating a network of community members and scholars studying race and policy issues in the Los Angeles area. He was also actively involved in Haiti relief efforts; the recent earthquake in Haiti touched him deeply, and he was passionate about helping the people of Haiti.” He joined the UCSB faculty in 2005 following appointments at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland.

Woods was the author of two important books, Development Arrested: Race, Power and the Blues in the Mississippi Delta (Verso, 1998), an interdisciplinary work that reframed the history of the Mississippi Delta by unearthing and interpreting the blues epistemology of its poor black residents, and Black Geographies and the Politics of Place, co-edited with Katherine McKittrick (South End Press, 2007). In addition, he edited a special issue of the American Quarterly focused on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, “In the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: New Paradigms and Social Visions” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010).

At the time of his death Woods had also completed a manuscript entitled, “Development Drowned and Reborn,” a study of post- Katrina New Orleans that his colleague and friend, Laura Pulido, will see through the publication process. Finally, Woods was also working on a book on the history of Black Los Angeles, which Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Laura Pulido hope to complete as a collaborative process. If people are interested in working on this project they should contact Ruth or Laura.

Clyde Woods (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(3): 36.

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