The Department of Earth Science at Utah Valley University and the Department of Geography at Brigham Young University are co-hosting the 2024 AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Regional Division Annual Meeting. The conference itself will take place at at Utah Valley University. Transportation between the venues will be provided.
The Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Division represents approximately 200+ members from the states of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Abstract Guidelines and Submissions
An abstract is required for everyone presenting a paper or poster at the conference and must be submitted using the online submission tool. Abstracts can only be submitted during or after registering for the conference. A student or faculty registration for at least one contributor to the presented work is required for the abstract to be accepted..
Guidelines
- Abstracts must describe the presentation’s purpose, methods, and conclusions.
- By submitting an abstract, you are granting the conference organizers permission to publish it in the abstract compilation and to disseminate it electronically.
- Do not include author names, contact information, affiliations in the body of the abstract.
- Do not use bulleted lists.
- Do not include formatting codes in your abstract (justification, line height/centering, margins, spacing, fonts, page centering/numbering, suppression or tabs, etc.).
- Keep in mind that your abstract will not be edited. You are responsible for any spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.
- Be sure to include keywords (see below).
Selecting Keywords
- Keywords may be compound (such as “political geography”).
- Do not use abbreviations.
- Should generally be nouns, not adverbs or adjectives.
- Keywords must be separated by a comma.
Submitting an Abstract
Upload abstracts for paper and poster presentations for the AAG-GPRM Annual Meeting using the online abstract submission tool. Abstracts are due no later than October 1. The AAG-GPRM Annual Meeting committee will review all submitted abstracts and publish a preliminary program shortly thereafter.
Log in to the online abstract submission toolRegistration
| THROUGH SEPT. 30 | STARTS OCT. 1 |
||||
| REGISTRATION TYPE | |||||
| Faculty/Professional | $170 | $220 | |||
| Student | $50 | $65 | |||
Schedule
Friday, October 25 — Field trips, Welcome reception
Saturday, October 26 — Paper/Poster Sessions, GeoBowl, awards banquet, keynote address
Keynote Speaker: Dr. William Moseley, Vice President, American Association of Geographers
Program
More information coming soon!
Session Types
Presentations in the form of papers or posters are welcome. Presenters must be registered for the conference. All presentations will take place on Saturday, October 7th. All sessions are 100 minutes in length.
Paper Sessions
Paper sessions will consist of five presentations with each presentation allotted 20 minutes (including questions and discussion). Special sessions are welcome. Organizers of special sessions should contact Daniel Olsen for coordination.
- 5 presentations per session
- 20 minutes per paper (time includes presentation and discussion)
- Presenters must furnish their own computers/laptops
- Digital projectors/AV equipment will be provided in each meeting room
Poster Sessions
Materials, both textual and visual, should be of professional quality and be clearly legible from a distance of four feet. Poster dimensions should be no larger than 48 inches in width and 36 inches in height. Neither poster width nor height may exceed 48 inches. Text should be limited to brief statements. Posters are exhibited for informal browsing with opportunities for discussion with authors
Audiovisual Equipment
Rooms for paper sessions will be equipped with standard A/V equipment including screens or monitors, projectors, and A/V cables. Participants must provide their own computers and any specialized equipment or connectors necessary to connect to a standard A/V cable. Session chairs are strongly encouraged to bring a computer to the conference to support their speakers.
Special Needs
Poster or paper presenters with special needs or requiring non-standard audio/visual equipment should contact Hilary Hungerford no later than September 20 to make necessary arrangements.
Field Trips
All field trips depart from the conference hotel. Participants should meet in the hotel lobby at the time indicated. Be sure to bring a water bottle, hat, and be prepared for abrupt changes in weather conditions.
Salt Lake City: from the beginnings to the future
Daniel Olsen, Brigham Young University
Friday, Oct. 25, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
This two-part field trip will examine historical roots of Salt Lake City and the contemporary challenges in the city. Starting at Temple Square, we will tour the Beehive House, the famous Salt Lake Tabernacle, and other important sites in the center of the city. From the city we will move to exploring contemporary issues of this dynamic capital city.
Cost per person: $30 (includes transportation and lunch)
Limit: 25 people
Utah Lake: from the mountains to the valley
Hilary Hungerford, Utah Valley University
Friday, Oct. 25, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Utah Lake, one the largest freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi River, covers much of Utah Valley. Once a center of indigenous life in the valley, the lake suffered from decades of pollution and misuse but is once again becoming thriving center of the valley. This field trip explores the diverse ecosystems and conservation efforts surrounding Utah Lake. Participants will visit Utah Lake State Park and the newly restored Provo River Delta, where they’ll learn about ongoing ecosystem recovery initiatives and the notable successes achieved over the past decade. The trip will also include a visit to Sundance Mountain Resort, upstream in the watershed, to understand the broader environmental pressures affecting the lake. Throughout the journey, we will explore the interconnected nature of watersheds and the importance of comprehensive conservation strategies.
Cost per person: $30 (includes transportation and lunch)
Limit: 25 people
GeoBowl
Compete in the Geography Bowl
Compete in the Geography Bowl
Enter your department’s GeoBowl team to compete at this year’s GPRM-AAG Regional Meeting for fun, prizes, and glory, as well as the chance to represent the GPRM Region in the World Geography Bowl at the 2024 AAG Meeting!
GeoBowl is a friendly and fun academic competition based on fundamental factual and conceptual geographical knowledge. Teams of six students compete—game-show style—to answer questions and earn points. Teams must have a minimum of six members but can also have reserves that can rotate in and out of different matches. Teams are encouraged to include a mix of graduate, undergraduate, male, and female students, but this is not a requirement at the regional level.
The top three teams and top three individual scorers will be recognized. The six highest-scoring participants, including a minimum of one undergraduate and one female representative, will also be invited to represent the GRPM Region and compete in the World GeoBowl at the AAG Annual Meeting. Those invited will receive a small stipend for their participation at the Annual Meeting.
Schools wishing to participate are required to pre-register and send the institution and departmental name, all team member names, class (grad or undergrad), and email of each team member to the 2022 GeoBowl coordinator. Please include the words GeoBowl in your team registration or any other GeoBowl-related correspondence. Deadline is September 29, 2023.
For more information, contact Kim Johnson Maier and Mason Maimaitijiang.
Student Paper/Poster Competition
To be considered for an award, each student will need to register to attend their fall Regional Division meeting and submit their paper at that time. Awards will be presented at each Regional Division meeting.
- GPRM Region Awards for Best Student Papers and Posters — Awards are given for Best Graduate Student Paper, Best Graduate Student Poster, Best Undergraduate Student Paper, and Best Undergraduate Student Poster. Award amounts for each competition are $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place, with the exception of the best graduate student and undergraduate student papers, who will receive the AAG Council Award (see below).
- AAG Council Awards for Outstanding Undergraduate and Graduate Student Papers at Regional — These awards are designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate student participation at AAG Regional Division meetings and support their attendance (in-person or virtual) at AAG Annual Meetings. Each awardee (one undergraduate and one graduate) will receive $1,000/each in funding for use towards the awardee’s registration and travel costs to the AAG Annual Meeting. More information coming soon!
SPONSORs
Thanks to our sponsors for their support towards this year’s conference:
- AAG
- Utah Valley University
- Brigham Young University
Lodging
Courtyard Orem University Place
750 East Park Avenue Orem, Utah 84097
A block of rooms has been reserved for a rate of $124/night plus taxes and fees. Reservations must be placed by Thursday, Oct. 10 to receive the conference rate.
Reserve your roomSPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Meeting Overview
The 2024 meeting of the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Division of the AAG is expected to draw an enthusiastic group of 200+ active geographers, including faculty, practitioners, graduate students, and undergraduate students, from Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Sponsor support will enhance our meeting by connecting geographers to related organizations and their goods and services. All funds generated by sponsorships are used to offset participant registration costs which, in turn, promotes even higher meeting attendance.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please email Hilary Hungerford
Sponsorship Levels
- Platinum Sponsor — $1000
- Two complimentary registrations
- Recognition at banquet
- Logo on conference website
- Table for use at registration area
- Gold Sponsor — $500
- One complimentary registration
- Logo on conference website
- Table for use at registration area
- Silver Sponsor — $250
- Logo on conference website
- Signboard display at registration area
Contacts
- Conference Coordinator — Daniel Olsen
- Field Trips
- Salt Lake City: Daniel Olsen
- Utah Lake: Hilary Hungerford
- Food/beverage — Hilary Hungerford
- GeoBowl — Kim Johnson Maier and Hilary Hungerford
- Student Paper Competitions — Daniel Olsen
- Paper and Poster Session information — Daniel Olsen
- Student Paper/Poster Competitions — Daniel Olsen
- GPRM Regional Chairs
- Hilary Hungerford, Department of Earth Science, Utah Valley University
- Daniel Olsen, Department of Geography, Brigham Young University