President's Column

Academic Freedom and the Need for Geographers as Public Intellectuals

November 3, 2025

Geographer Katherine McKittrick and colleague Dan Charna participate in a joint book-signing at AAG 2025 in Detroit. Credit: Lisa Schamess, AAG

Free speech and academic freedom are increasingly under siege in the United States, with the scope and scale of speech repression nearly unprecedented. At the same time, the U.S. government is currently engaged in a vast array of domestic and foreign policy shifts, from changes in environmental regulations and naming conventions at home, to the closing of USAID operations and retreat from multilateralism abroad. Despite efforts to silence critics, these policy and program shifts deserve thoughtful public conversations that involve geographers. We need geographers as public intellectuals to continue to voice their perspective on the policies and programs of our government and others.

The tradition of the public intellectual (a form of public geography) may be contrasted with that of the ivory tower academic. Public intellectuals are scholars who take the time to address an important public debate or policy issue when they have relevant expertise and an informed perspective to offer. The public intellectual practice is more well developed in Europe, where academics regularly participate in policy discussions and are considered normal actors in public discourse. In fact, many European universities expect their faculty to comment on public issues and acknowledge this is in tenure and promotion criteria. In contrast, this practice is less well developed in the United States, with such engagement sometimes viewed as inappropriate. This distance between the American academy and public policy discussions has contributed to the ivory tower phenomenon, arguably making it more challenging for the U.S. public to feel connected to universities, their faculty and students.

To the extent that academics do participate in public policy discussions in the U.S., some disciplines tend to be over-represented, most notably economics and political science. That said, analysis that a student and I undertook over a decade ago showed that for a small discipline, geography was punching above its weight, outpacing allied disciplines such as anthropology, geology, and biology in terms of op-ed productivity per member. The geographic perspective is critical for adding to public policy discussions, be it in terms of nuance regarding spatial patterns, scale, coupled-human-environment systems or deep regional knowledge. As former AAG president Alec Murphy has argued: “our understanding of issues and problems will be impoverished if geographical perspectives are not part of the mix.”

The AAG considers the support of free speech and academic freedom to be core to its mission and has offered programming to this end. For example, in 2023, the AAG initiated the Elevate the Discipline cohort of 15 geographers to receive year-long support and training in techniques for public scholarship to inform public policy. In late October of this year, the AAG hosted a panel for department and program chairs seeking to support their faculty in terms of academic freedom. Furthermore, I am happy to report that we still have many geographers who continue to offer their perspectives on the issues of the day. Herewith three examples.

In early October, Christopher F. Meindl, associate professor of geography at the University of South Florida, published a commentary entitled “Florida’s 1,100 natural springs are under threat — a geographer explains how to restore them.” In this piece, Meindl drew on his own research as a human-environment geographer, and recent book on Florida springs, to provide context and recommendations for restoring these important natural assets.

Second, while we often think of public scholarship appearing in the form of commentaries, some geographers also write books that are more accessible to a public audience. A good example of this is Yolonda Youngs’ recent book, Framing Nature, about the social construction of nature in Grand Canyon National Park. Hearing Youngs present on her book at the recent meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, I appreciated how she explained deliberately writing the book for a public audience, even tearing up portions of a previous draft and re-writing it in a way that would be more accessible.

Lastly, geographer and cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce was recently recognized as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow (aka genius award) for her groundbreaking work “creating maps that foreground Indigenous Peoples’ understanding of land and place.” Her approach highlights another form of public scholarship, working respectfully with communities to bring their perspectives into conversation with broader publics. As a Potawatomi Nation tribal member, Pearce was well positioned to undertake this work.

Today, we need the geographer as public intellectual more than ever. Engaging in this manner requires a certain amount of backbone and privilege, the ability to write for broader publics, and good timing.

Writing for a general audience has always required some willingness to endure negative feedback. Now we have an added layer of hostility and professional risk to anything perceived as critical. In mid-September, the U.S. president argued that television coverage that is critical of him or his administration’s policies is illegal (a point that was unsubstantiated and challenged). Several academics, including geographers, have also lost their jobs or been put on administrative leave for comments they made on social media following Charlie Kirk’s murder. While the climate of fear these comments and actions have engendered is palpable, and some members of our community are in more precarious positions than others, now is not the time for those in privileged positions to be silent.

The unfortunate reality is that tenured and U.S.-born professors in blue states are often in less precarious positions than others. As such, at this time I would especially encourage those with privilege to contribute as public intellectuals where appropriate. When writing, it is always important to stick to positions and perspectives that are informed by one’s scholarship. Doing so makes one’s arguments more defensible.

Writing for broader publics is also quite different than writing for academic audiences. While we generally learn to write for academic audiences as graduate students, most of us are not taught to write for non-specialists. Writing for a general audience is a skill that needs to be developed. As mentioned previously, the AAG’s “Elevate the Discipline” program offered media and advocacy training to a group of geographers working on climate change and society. Some departments and faculty members have also been more proactive than others in mentoring and collaborating with students in this approach to writing. For example, former AAG president Derek Alderman, as well as Jordan Brasher, worked alongside Ph.D. candidate Seth Kannar, who was first author on a 2025 commentary for The Conversation entitled “From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools.” This was no doubt a valuable experience for an early career geographer, showing that it is possible to make connections between our research and current policy discussions.

Lastly, unlike most academic articles, the timing of many (but not all) commentaries is critical so they dovetail with the news cycle. This is challenging for many academics, as it means dropping what you are doing and writing something quickly so that it is relevant to a burning, public debate. Reporters may also call for background information or perspective on an issue, and one needs to set aside their current work to think through a thoughtful response. Even more challenging are live media interviews on radio or television. A good example of this is former AAG president Glen MacDonald who was interviewed widely by major news outlets, including on the nightly news in 2018 in L.A. about the Camp Fire ravaging the state at that time. This is hard but important work, and geographers almost always add critical depth and perspective to the conversation.

While academic freedom is under siege in the United States today, we now need geographers as public intellectuals more than ever. Fear is a powerful weapon and those in less precarious positions need to push back in support of a robust civil society and the power of the fourth and fifth estates. In so doing, geographers bring valuable perspectives to the debate, bridge the gap between academia and the public, and demonstrate the vitality and relevance of our discipline.

Please note: The ideas expressed in the AAG President’s column are not necessarily the views of the AAG as a whole. This column is traditionally a space in which the president may talk about their views or focus during their tenure as president of AAG, or spotlight their areas of professional work. Please feel free to email the president directly at [email protected] to enable a constructive discussion.

News

Maximizing your Donation to the AAG

November 3, 2025

Credit: imagine buddy vsLbaIdhwaU, unsplash

By Antoinette WinklerPrins, AAG Council Treasurer

This is the sixth of a short series of perspectives by 2024-2026 Council Treasurer Antoinette WinklerPrins — a series designed to help illuminate some of the financial challenges a professional organization such as the AAG faces. In this column, she offers perspectives on the financial aspects of running the AAG Annual Meeting. Read previous columns.

Donating to organizations you care about can happen at any time of the year; however, the later fall is the time of year that most people donate to causes they believe in, in part due to the U.S. tax code that permits tax deductions for charitable giving. Since we are heading into the latter part of the year, I thought I’d focus my column this month on some best practices about making donations, whether large or small.

Donations help organizations do their best work

Donations really matter to nonprofit member organizations such as the AAG. The funds they bring in permit a range of activities and awards that simply would not be possible without this money. No matter the size of the donation, the gift is appreciated. Regular donations, whether monthly or annually, are especially helpful, because these let an organization such as the AAG plan, but one-off gifts are of course always welcome. What matters most is giving consistently over time, at a level that suits your budget while helping to support your values.

Do some research

It is best that donating to any cause is not done in a vacuum, so I recommend you consider looking up the organization you are considering donating to in a nonprofit evaluator such as Charity Navigator. You can search these sites for the organization of your choice, by name of their “Employer Identification Number” (EIN) – an IRS assigned number (for the record, the AAG’s EIN is 53-0207414), or by name. That means, though, that you need to know the legal name of the organization. In the case of the AAG, the legal name is the Association of American Geographers, as that is the name used when we were founded. About a decade ago, AAG members voted to change the name of the organization to the American Association of Geographers, and that is our “d/b/a” (“doing business as”) name.

For a large gift, get guidance from the organization

If considering a large donation, especially one with a possible endowment for a specific award or purpose, please reach out to AAG staff ahead of time to talk through the details. It is very important that you limit the restrictions/conditions/purpose of the donation — it is better to assign your donation to general use (“where the need is greatest”). The limitations you impose today may make sense for a specific purpose at this moment, but those limitations may not make sense decades into the future. Many nonprofit organizations are hamstrung with restricted funds, sometimes decades old, that they cannot access or use for awards or services they are undertaking for their membership today. A recent case in Orlando, Florida involved a behest intended only to purchase art for the permanent collection, which the institution has gone to court to release, citing the fact that it has no funds for purchasing art for a permanent collection, but does have significant operating needs. Restricted funds are appealing to donors, who understandably want to leave a specific legacy, but can ultimately constrain organizations from fulfilling their missions. Please reach out to the AAG office to learn more about setting up a major gift or bequest. [insert mailto link to [email protected]]

There are many ways to give

Donate when, in whatever way you can, and at the level that you can afford. You can donate via Charity Navigator, or you can donate directly via the AAG website. More people are moving towards the use of “Donor Advised Funds” (DAFs) which are a mechanism set up via financial firms such as Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc., to manage cash and other assets that are earmarked to be donated to a qualified charity over time. These accounts are popular because they offer tax advantages and flexibility in asset contributions, and these are an easy way to support desired charitable causes through a single account. If you use a DAF, you will also need to know the correct legal name of the organization you wish to donate to, or its EIN.

We appreciate your support

Thank you! By donating you support the organizations you care about and affirm their purpose and work.

Please feel free to reach out to me or Gary Langham, AAG’s Executive Director with questions, comments, or concerns. Send your comments and questions with the subject line “Treasurer’s Corner” to [email protected].

On the Map

Where in the World: Renewed Care for Old Agricultural Land

October 27, 2025

Tractor in monocrop plots Credit: Marcio Silva, Getty Images

A tractor sits in monocrop plots. Credit: Marcio Silva, Getty Images

Geography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article.

By Emily Frisan

The world will have to feed 10 billion people by 2050. For the past 60 years, agricultural production has been driven by management of labor, technological advancements, and the expansion of irrigated areas. In the United States, the rise of single-crop farming became more intense in the early 20^th century. It powered a larger scale of production so we could feed a rapidly increasing global population. Despite this, over 735 million people worldwide still go to bed hungry each night.

The world’s agricultural land can be divided into two basic categories: cropland and land for livestock (pastureland). As of 2020, both of these cover 32 of the world’s total land area. That’s nearly 8% growth since 1961. Farms and pastures cover 40 of all habitable land in the world, about 4.2 billion hectares.

The immense agricultural space and over 14,000 edible plant species should mean more diversified food choices. Yet 75% of the world’s food comes from just twelve plant species and five animal species. Wheat, corn, and rice together provide nearly half of the world’s plant-derived calories. These major crops are often grown at large scales as “monocultures:” a single crop grown alone in large fields.

Where the World’s Food Grows

Before European colonization, thousands of ecosystems, species of plants, and animals thrived in regions worldwide. Agriculture was more local. Communities were rooted in local traditions for caring for land and growing food. Today, these major food-producing regions include Africa, Asia, and parts of North and South America.

Aerial photo of green fields and trees under blue sky with white clouds. Credit: Tom Fisk, Pexels — Credit: Tom Fisk, Pexels

The Global North and Global South are terms used to group countries based on their wealth and development. These categories are sorted to understand differences in how countries are similar economically and politically. Typically, the Global South countries’ economies depend on shipping out agricultural products and raw materials. While crops are grown worldwide, in 2020, the Global South accounted for 73% of agricultural production across the world. This has increased 33% since 1961.

Crops and livestock vary in different geographic regions. This might be due to climate, native species, or economic and cultural significance. For instance, the United States is a major producer of corn and soybeans. Countries like India and China are producers of rice and wheat. Explore this interactive map to learn about where your food comes from — past and present.

Old Techniques for New Growth

Feeding the world’s people is not as easy as expanding farmland. That would come at the cost of forests and other ecosystems. This further contributes to biodiversity loss and climate change. Agriculture is a leading cause of habitat loss, using 70% of global water use and releasing over 25% of the earth’s greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing agricultural productivity without using more land is essential. It is being lost to urban sprawl, erosion, sea level rise, change in climate, and chemical pollution.

An answer to these growing problems includes looking to Indigenous agriculture management systems. These practices include a wide range of techniques. For example, intercropping is used with multiple species of plants, such as the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash). Crop rotation is used to preserve soil health. Also, farmers can burn certain sections of the forest to clear the land for agriculture and encourage “interspecies synergies” where animals benefit from working together.

Mission Garden (Tucson) demonstrates the acequia system that used to bring Santa Cruz River water to area crops. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Once set aside by Western water managers, traditional irrigation practices like the “acequia system” can improve water quality using physical geography. Gravity carries water downhill. This slowly distributes minerals and rich soil throughout the landscape. Acequia developed from Native people’s experiences farming in the Southwest United States. The Acequia Institute in San Luis, Colorado, is one organization that is working to bring back traditional farming practices. They hope to revive Indigenous methods that work with natural water systems to introduce a closer connection of food and nutrition to the community.

And that is Geography in the News, updated October 10, 2025

Material in this article comes from “World Agricultural Land” (1997), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University.

AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning. For nearly 30 years from 1986 to 2013, GITN delivered timely explainer articles to educators and students, relevant to topics in the news. Many of these were published on Maps.com’s educational platforms and in National Geographic’s blogs. AAG is pleased to carry on the series.

Sources Consulted for this Article

Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) 2016. Where Our Food Crops Come From.

Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. 2024. U.S. Food System Factsheet. Pub. No. CSS01-06..

Gilbert, S. 2025. An Ancient Irrigation System May Help Farmers Face Climate Change. Civil Eats.

Michigan State University. 2017. MSU Food Literacy and Engagement Poll: Wave I.

Our World in Data. 2019. “Land Use.” https://ourworldindata.org/land-use

PBS Learning Media. 2024. Less Harm on the Farm: Regenerative Agriculture.

Population Matters. 2024. Feeding Billions, Failing Nature.

Sylvester, K and Cunfer, G. 2009. An Unremembered Diversity: Mixed Husbandry and the American Grasslands. Agricultural History.

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. 2024. Global Changes in Agricultural Production, Productivity, and Resource Use Over Six Decades.

World Resources Report. 2018. Creating a Sustainable Food Future: Synthesis Report.

Vocabulary and Terms

Agrobiodiversity: Variety of animals, plants, and microorganisms used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture.
Agroecology: An approach that applies ecological and social concepts and principles to food and agricultural systems.
Food Gap: Refers to the disparity between those who have access to healthy food and those who don’t.
Food Insecurity: The condition of not having access to sufficient food, or food of an adequate quality, to meet one’s basic needs.
Food Desert: An area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.
Food Swamp: Refers specifically to places where unhealthy foods like fast food are more readily available than nutritious options and grocery stores.
Global North: Refers to a group of countries that are generally more economically developed and wealthier, primarily located in Europe, North America, and developed parts of Asia.
Global South: Refers to a group of countries that are often characterized as developing or underdeveloped in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia.
Habitable land: Land that is suitable for human settlement.
Irrigation: The supply of water to land or crops to help growth.
Monoculture: The agricultural practice of cultivation of a single crop in a given area.
Plant-Derived Calories: The calories eaten from foods mainly derived from plants (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils, grains, and beans).

Questions for Discussion and Further Study

What has characterized agriculture for the past 60 years, and what are some alternative agricultural methods to feed the world’s growing population?
Consider what you ate for one meal yesterday. How many types of plants or animals were part of your meal?
Look up one of the 12 plant species and 5 animal species our agriculture relies on: can you find out why that species became such a staple of our diets? What is its history? Can you find information about a once-common food crop that is no longer popular?
Does anyone in your family garden, and do they have tips or family secrets for managing water or plants?
If we can’t simply expand our farmland to feed more people, what are some other solutions that the article did not mention?

News

How Does AAG Screen its Investments?

October 7, 2025

Jumble of white numbers on a black background

Credit: Jon Tyson, unsplash

By Antoinette WinklerPrins, AAG Council Treasurer

This is the fifth of a short series of perspectives by 2024-2026 Council Treasurer Antoinette WinklerPrins — a series designed to help illuminate some of the financial challenges a professional organization such as the AAG faces. In this column, she offers perspectives on the financial aspects of running the AAG Annual Meeting. Read previous columns.

Many nonprofit organizations care about where and how they invest the funds they have available for investment. Most organizations work with financial advisors and use mutual funds as a way of obtaining strong and consistent returns on their investment decisions. While it is a core obligation of the AAG to invest in such a way that it can support its programming and awards, nonprofit organizations also usually have strong missions, and usually seek to align their investment portfolio with their mission. One method of doing so is to use investment “screens,” a device that permits the investor to identify stocks that align with their core mission, and more importantly, to exclude investments that do not.

To manage its modest endowment, the AAG uses exclusively socially responsible screens known as ESG filters. ESG stands for “Environment, Social and Governance” and means that these screens select for investments in corporations that demonstrate concern about environmental issues, social justice, and ethical and transparent governance, and excludes investments in the fossil fuel industry, arms manufacturing, or occupied territories. This way the AAG investment portfolio aligns with AAG’s mission. The AAG has been 100% ESG invested since June 2022, working with its bank, Truist, through its Envestment PMC investment platform. This platform uses ESG screens from Morningstar Sustainalytics, which has conducted monitoring and research into ESG investing for more than 30 years. Clients such as the AAG select screens they wish to have applied to screen investments.

Truist offers a variety of different ESG screens, from which a maximum of three can be selected at any given time. In coordination with the AAG Finance Committee, the AAG Executive Director selected screens that screen out investments in fossil fuels and seek out the best-in-class choices for the environment. AAG also has chosen as its third screen, one that focuses on social justice, including attention to human rights and occupied territories around the world. We feel that these screens reflect the values of the organization, and all of AAG’s investments are now automatically pushed through these screens to generate a portfolio to ensure consistency with these values.

The AAG is constantly seeking to balance its needs for investment success while underscoring the desire to invest in ways that match its members’ values. By selecting screens that square with our mission, we can assure our members that we lead with our values in our investment portfolio. As part of the work of the Finance Committee, which I chair as AAG Treasurer, there is periodic review of the selected screens to ensure that they are functioning as intended.

President's Column

The War in Gaza and an Inclusive AAG Process for a Thoughtful Response

September 15, 2025

Magnifying glass highlighting Gaza on a larger map.

The AAG will hold a special meeting on October 3 in response to a membership petition asking the association “to endorse the BDS campaign for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and for financial disclosure and divestment of any AAG funds invested in corporations or state institutions profiting from the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.” Our bylaws state that if more than 10% of members sign a petition with a valid call, then the AAG will host such a special meeting. As this is a divisive issue, I write to clarify three points: 1) my personal perspective on the war in Gaza (which you deserve to know, but is irrelevant to the position of the AAG), 2) the AAG process for responding to troubling world events, and 3) some of the factors the AAG Council will need to consider before arriving at a decision on an appropriate AAG response to the situation in Gaza.

First, my own views. The situation in Gaza is deeply concerning and distressing to me personally. As some of you may know, much of my scholarship and United Nations (UN) policy work has dealt with food security and agricultural development in the Global South, often from a political ecology perspective. As per the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, famine was officially declared in Gaza on August 22, 2025, confirming what many had long argued was an unfolding humanitarian crisis. It is significant and sobering that this respected and cautious UN-backed food security monitoring group concluded that all three thresholds that define a famine had been crossed. It calls the famine in Gaza “entirely man-made.” It further notes that there are “half a million people facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death.” The IPC report on Gaza comes nearly two years into an armed conflict with Israel that was triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. Israeli restrictions have limited the flow of food and aid into Gaza. I believe in the right to food as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and I stand against using food as a weapon of war. I also recognize the right of Israel to exist, condemn the October 7 attack and support a two-state solution. However, let it be clear that my own personal views matter no more than anyone else’s in our community and that the central question is whether and how the AAG might respond to this terrible situation. The AAG Council must make the best possible decision in relation to its mission and values, with the fullest possible input of our membership and according to our bylaws.

Second, what is the AAG’s process for considering a response to such a crisis? The AAG Council, the democratically elected representatives of the membership, has a legal and ethical obligation to consider actions called for in a membership petition or — in some cases — to decide how to respond to a crisis or government decision. In considering potential responses, the AAG Council must do so in a way that is in the best interest of the organization (also known as fiduciary responsibility). Typically, Council deliberations on potential actions include an analysis of relevant background information and occur without the active participation of the broader membership. However, because this deliberation was triggered by a membership petition, the AAG will engage in an open and transparent information collection process before the AAG Council arrives at a decision. The synchronous meeting of the membership on October 3 is intended to answer questions and kick-off an inclusive information collection process that provides the greatest potential for all members to participate. The process will involve a 60-day period in which any AAG member may asynchronously comment on a draft background document that will inform Council decision-making in regard to a potential AAG response to the situation in Gaza. This written comment option will be complemented by two AAG Council listening sessions (one closed session and one open to all members), both during the 60-day period. Members can sign up to share their perspectives on this matter with Council, starting on October 3. Once the background information collection period is complete, the AAG Council will deliberate on the best course of action, taking into account the concerns and perspectives of the membership as well as the mission and wellbeing of the organization.

Contrary to some views circulating, the October 3 zoom meeting will not entail an open debate among the AAG membership on the best course of action, nor a presentation by the petitioners or other groups (although this could happen in a subsequent listening session), nor a live vote of the membership. To undertake an open debate would be challenging (imagine an open zoom meeting with hundreds of members asking to speak). Furthermore, privileging some perspectives in featured presentations would be less than inclusive. Lastly, while I have received dozens of emails asking for a membership vote on the BDS proposal, this approach is not called for in our bylaws. Previous AAG membership votes have never been directly undertaken in response to a petition, but rather for an election, a bylaw change (such as the AAG name change) or on an issue at the request of the AAG Council.

Third, once the membership comment phase is complete, what types of issues might the AAG Council need to consider before arriving at a decision on an appropriate AAG response to the situation in Gaza? There are a range of potential responses, including divestment of AAG funds from organizations profiting from the oppression of the Palestinian people, an academic boycott of Israeli universities, endorsing BDS as a political movement, making a public statement about the situation in Gaza, calling for a vote of the membership on an action proposal, or no action. As noted previously, Council will need to consider all facets and nuances of these potential actions and make a decision that is consistent with the values and the well-being of the organization. In terms of our values, the AAG is committed to principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as outlined in the JEDI strategic plan and adopted by the organization in 2020. The AAG is also opposed to both Islamophobia and antisemitism, and we are dedicated to creating venues for free and open discussion of academic ideas.

While I could not possibly summarize all aspects the Council will need to consider (many of which will be in the aforementioned background document), let me just mention a couple issues that may be of interest to the membership. First, because of the work of the AAG’s climate action committee, we adopted socially responsible investment screening a few years ago. As a result, the AAG’s relatively small endowment (about 1.1% the size of my college’s endowment for example) does not have investments in the fossil fuel industry, arms manufacturing or occupied territories. Second, while the AAG could issue a statement about the situation in Gaza without violating nonprofit laws, endorsing BDS as a political movement may have complications. To wit, nonprofits, or 501(c)3 organizations, in the United States have strict restrictions on political endorsements. Furthermore, given that anti-BDS laws exist in 38 states, a BDS endorsement might inhibit our members in those states from using public funds to attend a regional or national AAG meeting. Lastly, the AAG is committed to academic freedom and we need to think carefully about any actions that might impede the free and open exchange of ideas.

In sum, the war in Gaza is deeply troubling, as were the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. While this issue has the potential to divide our membership, I have faith in the transparent and inclusive process that the AAG has embraced in its deliberations on the best potential response. While I understand that some of our members may be frustrated that we are debating this issue at all, or that the decision-making process is not moving quickly enough, it is important that we do this well. Healthy organizations are able to openly and fairly discuss contentious issues if they have a clear process for doing so. I am confident that our community will emerge from these deliberations stronger than ever.

Sarah Praskievicz

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

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

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

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

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

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