Anthony Williamson

Human geography scholar H. Anthony Williamson died December 29, 2004. He was founding Director of the Labrador Institute, a center for northern studies based in Goose Bay and he administered Memorial University’s outreach programs in Labrador.

Williamson was born in New York City, and attended Darmouth College. He earned a master’s degree in geography at McGill University and later became a Canadian citizen.

Know for his support of indigenous communities in Labrador and the Canadian Arctic, he filmed villagers telling their stories, then invited them to view the raw footage and suggest what should be emphasized or changed. The visual documentation of conditions in their villages was then presented to the government. He also gathered environmental, economic and cultural data to create a template for evaluating the land claims of northern aboriginal people.

Anthony Williamson (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(3): 17.

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Daniel Paul Steiling

Daniel Paul Steiling, adjunct professor of geography at Riverside Community College, Moreno Valley Campus,died December 22, 2004.

A San Jose native, he earned a bachelor’s at San Jose State and a master’s in geography at University of California, Berkeley. Before becoming a geography professor, Steiling held jobs in a number of fields, being a road right-of-way agent, bicycle shop owner, computer-disk manufacturing specialist, soil inspector, and railroad conductor. In addition to teaching at Riverside Community College, Steiling also taught at Mira Costa Community College in San Marcos.

Daniel Paul Steiling (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(3): 17.

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Darryl Cohen

Darryl Cohen is a Geographer in the Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau, where he has worked since 1998. He has worked on reviewing and revising the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for defining metropolitan areas. He also works on maintaining the geographic base for the Census Bureau’s intercensal population estimates. In addition, Darryl helps design and maintain various metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area data products, including Census 2000, and post-censal population estimates table packages, and various definition and geographic relationship files publicly available on the Census Bureau’s website. Frequently, he responds to inquiries from the media, congress, other government agencies, and the general public.

Darryl’s research on settlement classification, census geography, and population data has been published in journals and government reports, and serve as the subject for numerous conference presentations. He holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Geography with concentrations in Urban Planning from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. In 2001, Darryl received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award as a member of the metropolitan area standards review team. He currently lives in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

This profile was published in 2004. Darryl is currently still a geographer in the Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

AAG: Did you always know you wanted to be a geographer?

Darryl: No, actually I found geography almost by accident. My original intention was to become an urban planner. I have always been fascinated by cities, which probably stems from having grown up in the District of Columbia, and learning about the L’Enfant plan and how the city was laid out. Finding the right undergraduate program was a bit of a journey for me, but in the end I was fortunate enough to find an urban planning concentration in the geography program at UNCG.

AAG: And now you have the rare job title of Geographer. How does that feel?

Darryl: It’s not as important to me as the fact that I enjoy what I’m doing. It doesn’t really matter what’s on my business card, as long as my work is intellectually stimulating and I’m contributing something valuable.

AAG: Well said.

Darryl: I think the variety of job titles among geography professionals speaks to the nature of our discipline. There are so many different opportunities and areas of specialization that often your job title is not going to be geographer. Even here at the Census Bureau, there are a lot of people who have degrees in geography, but do not have the job title of geographer; they are statisticians, or cartographers, or social science analysts. There are a lot of different jobs for which people with degrees in geography are qualified.

AAG: What is your favorite part of your job?

Darryl: Probably the research. Discussing — from a conceptual standpoint — what constitutes a metropolitan area and how the areas should be defined.

AAG: What kinds of discussions come up?

Darryl: One fascinating thing . . . is taking a look back at research done previously and finding that many of the same issues come up over and over again. Say, 50 years ago they were having some of the same discussions that we are having today regarding determining the extent of metropolitan boundaries, what measures of integration to use, how to assign titles . . . all those things have been addressed by various people here at the Census Bureau and other agencies since the 1940s. That’s something that I’m working on – a history of the development of the standards for defining metropolitan areas.

AAG: What major new research potential do you see on the future horizon?

Darryl: Well, one is certainly on the micropolitan statistical areas, since OMB has only been defining them since 2003. We only have 4-5 years of data using those definitions, so that’s an area that’s certainly becoming ripe for research.

AAG: What do you see about your work that is important for others?

Darryl: It is important that the definitions add value to our data products – and that they are as good as they can be – because so many people depend on the data for various levels of decision-making, whether it’s setting policy at the federal level, state or local government planning, location analysis in the private sector, academic research, and so on.

AAG: Do you get to make it to the AAG Annual Meeting every year?

Darryl: Usually, yes. The Census Bureau is very supportive of our participation in professional associations and conferences.

AAG: Why do you most like to go?

Darryl: Mainly to build contacts with people, particularly people I may not know personally, but I may share a research interest with them. Over time, you develop a professional relationship with folks and look forward to seeing them year to year.

AAG: Why is that important?

Darryl: Part of the reason why we try to remain active in the AAG and participate in meetings is that our work is and should be done in an open manner – not only do we want to share what we are doing, but we also want to learn about how people are using the data that we publish.

AAG: What do you think would inspire more young people to do geography like you?

Darryl: Looking at how geography has grown in leaps and bounds, I think they are already inspired. That may be in part because we live in an increasingly global society, and it’s more important now to have information about places that aren’t necessarily close to where you live. Since so much information from different parts of the world is so readily available, geography has become more important now than ever. And . . . it can be a very fulfilling career choice.

Dr. Patricia Solis, 2004

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Joan Clemons

Joan Clemons died November 28, 2004, in Los Angeles, California. An advocate for K-12 teacher empowerment, women in geography, and community college instructors, she had recently returned from Australia after spreading the last of her husband Tom McKnight’s ashes in one of their favorite locations.

Clemons was one of the original members the Los Angeles group that was the beginnings of the Geographic Alliances. She served as coordinator of the alliance, working to make it a valuable asset for K-12 educators. Clemons also worked on the California state standards for K-12 education and served on the California Geographical Society Board of Directors for many years. She was a founding member of the Women’s Network in the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers and recently wrote the History of the Women’s Network.

As the first community college faculty member to be elected President of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers she fought for recognition of the contributions that community college instructors make to geography. She served as Chair of the Department of Geography at her community college before moving to UCLA and working with the chancellor’s office. Her research included development and culture, and the linkages between community colleges and four-year institutions.

Clemons was chosen to receive the 2005 AAG Gilbert Grosvenor Honors for Geographic Education, which she will be awarded posthumously at the 2005 AAG Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon.

A memorial gathering in celebration of her life will be held January 29, 2005, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at 3240 Tilden Avenue, Los Angeles, California.

Joan Clemons (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(1): 16.

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Pierre Crosson

Pierre Crosson, an internationally-known agricultural economist with Resources for the Future who specialized in agricultural sustainability and soil erosion, died November 24, 2004, in Frederick Maryland. He was seventy-eight. While not a geographer, he often worked in geographic ways, interacting with and even collaborating with geographers. His obituary in the Washington Post (November 28, 2004) described him as bringing “independence and real objectivity to a polarized debate.”

Pierre Crosson (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(3): 17.

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Edgar Conkling

Economic geographer Edgar “Ed” Conkling died November 24, 2004.

Born in Indiana in 1921, Edgar Conkling earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology from Morehead State College, a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Chicago, and another master’s degree and a PhD in geography from Northwestern University. Beginning in 1961, Ed served as professor of economic geography at Kent State University and then at Queen’s University in Canada. In 1968, he moved to the State University of New York at Buffalo where he taught various courses in rural land use theory and regional development, economic geography, international trade, and regional economic integration until his retirement in 1989. During his tenure at SUNY at Buffalo, he was instrumental in creating the department’s undergraduate and graduate programs in international business, which built upon his earlier work as a manager of the home office of a multinational corporation headquartered in Chicago. He was Chair of the department from 1974-77.

In addition Conkling was Associate Editor (1963-64) and then Editor (1978-82) of The Professional Geographer, and Co-editor of the Annals of the AAG (1982-84). Among his publications are the following co-authored books: Geography of International Trade; The Geography of Economic Systems; Man’s Economic Environment; Economic Geography: Resource Use, Locational Choices, and Regional Specialization in the Global Economy; and The Global Economy: Resource Use, Locational Choice, and International Trade. Deeply involved in historic preservation during his retirement, he wrote Frederick Law Olmsted’s Point Chautauqua: The Story of an Historic Lakeside Community and was a founding member of the Point Chautauqua Historical Preservation Society.

Edgar “Ed” C. Conkling (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(3): 17.

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Curt Poulton

Curt A. Poulton, Senior Instructor at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, died on November 22, 2004, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Born in St. Louis in 1931, Poulton served four years in the Air Force, and worked for 3M in Minnesota as a Product Design Engineer for much of his life. After leaving the position of Chief Engineer at a Colorado Springs firm in 1977, he set out to change his life by moving into academic geography. Curt received a BA in geography from CU-Colorado Springs, his MA from CU-Boulder, and then his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1989 at the age of fifty-eight. He was employed as a Senior Instructor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs from 1990 until his death. An historical geographer by training, Curt’s specialty was in Western water policies and law, with a particular emphasis on the Pikes Peak region. Fluent in German, his latest work was a translation of My Farm on the Mississippi by Heinrich Hauser (University of Missouri Press).

On his tombstone, he had the title “Geographer” inscribed, along with the words: “I regret that the only thing I found myself helpless to teach was curiosity—Oh, that, and the proper use of the apostrophe.” He was a member of the AAG since 1981.

The Curt Poulton Memorial Scholarship has been established in his name through the CU Foundation. Remembrances and thoughts may be sent to Eve Gruntfest at [email protected].

Curt Poulton (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(11): 17.

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Macel Wheeler

Macel Marteva Wheeler, geography professor and coordinator of the geography program at Northern Kentucky University (NKU), died November 20, 2004.

Wheeler received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography from Marshall University and her doctorate in geography from the University of Kentucky in 1978. Under her leadership, the NKU geography program expanded to include a concentration in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Her areas of expertise included cultural geography, North America, map studies and GIS, and reading skills. She also made contributions in brownfields research.

Macel M. Wheeler (Necrology). 2006. AAG Newsletter 41(2): 37.

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Leverett Paddock Hoag

Leverett Hoag, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Duluth died Tuesday, November 16, 2004. He was a graduate of Moorhead State Teachers College High School in 1933 where he was valedictorian of his class. After completing a bachelor’s of education degree at Moorhead State Teachers College in 1937, Professor Hoag taught meteorology and navigation to flight school candidates, and he also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1958 he was awarded his PhD in geography from the University of Minnesota. He then began his teaching career at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD), where he taught the core physical geography courses for twenty-six years. During his tenure at UMD he served as Department Head for eight years and on many campus committees including the Faculty Council and the University Wide Senate.

Professor Hoag was one of the two principle faculty members essential in the creation and building of the geography department at UMD. As a teacher, he firmly believed in the significant role of geography in the curriculum of the liberal arts college and that geography is orderly knowledge of the diversity of the earth.

Leverett Paddock Hoag. (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(9): 23.

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Jim Goodman

Long-time faculty member and former Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Oklahoma, Jim Goodman passed away on November 15, 2004. .

James M. Goodman was born in Henryetta, Oklahoma on July 23, 1929. He earned his BA at the University of Oklahoma in 1952 and his MS and PhD at Northwestern University in 1953 and 1961, respectively. He taught at Western Kentucky State University (1956-64); Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh (1964-66); Oregon College of Education (1966-67); and the University of Oklahoma (1967-93), where he was Chair of the Department of Geography in his last seven years. During his tenure at OU, Jim was President of the National Council for Geographic Education (1980-81). He was founder and the first Director of the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education. He was the author of The Navajo Atlas, which was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1982. After Jim retired from OU, he served as geographer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC, for two years before moving with his wife Mary to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jim Goodman (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(11): 17.

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