Environmental Justice in Detroit: Power and Pollution in the 21st Century

Franklin, Buenemann Join Annals of the American Association of Geographers as New Editors

Rachel Franklin

Rachel Franklin will take a new position as General Geography/Cross-discipline Editor, and Michaela Buenemann is the incoming Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences Editor at Annals of the American Association of Geographers, effective January 2025. Buenemann will replace outgoing editor David R. Butler.

Franklin is a broadly trained human geographer with research expertise in population and spatial analysis. She is professor of Geographical Analysis at Newcastle University, where she researches spatial demography and spatial inequality. She is also keenly interested in pedagogy, especially the teaching of methods. In addition to her new duties at Annals, she edits the journal, Geographical Analysis. She is a visiting academic in Population Studies at Brown University and at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) in L’Aquila, Italy. She brings to her work at Annals extensive experience as a member of several journal editorial boards, including Population, Space and Place, the Annals, the Journal of Regional Science, and the Journal of Geographical Systems.

One of Franklin’s primary goals is to “work diligently to promote the Annals and maximize its visibility, both within and outside the discipline.” She is especially interested in highlighting the commonalities across sub-fields, finding common ground throughout the discipline.

Michaela BeunemannMichaela Buenemann, incoming editor for Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, is professor and head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at New Mexico State University. Her interdisciplinary, international, and collaborative work features contributions in GIS, remote sensing, spatial modeling, landscape ecology, and biogeography. She has published in a wide range of geography, environmental sciences, and GIScience journals, and her research has been funded by numerous state and federal agencies. In the classroom and field, she teaches an array of courses in physical geography, socio-environmental systems, field methods, geographic information science and technology, and geographic theory and research design. She has contributed to the discipline of geography in various roles, including chair of the Southwest Division of the American Association of Geographers, Southwest Regional Councilor of the American Association of Geographers, and Southwest Regional Councilor of Gamma Theta Upsilon.

Buenemann brings to her editorship the experiences of seven years on the Editorial Board of the Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences thematic area of the Annals. She is currently co-editing an Annals Special Issue on “National Parks and Protected Places” with David Butler and also serves as an Associate Editor for Regional Environmental Change. She earned her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oklahoma in 2007.

Photo of David ButlerWe are grateful to David R. Butler, outgoing editor for Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. Butler is the Regents’ Professor of Geography Emeritus in the Texas State University System and an AAG Fellow. His research interests include geomorphology, biogeography, natural hazards, mountain environments, and environmental change. In 2023, Butler was awarded the AAG Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the discipline.

 

Find out more about The AAG Annals and other AAG journals.

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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 11th, 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 35th 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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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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Gathering Examines Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate

Attendees from the Symposium on Hurricane Risk gather for a group photo outside for the closing reception. Credit: Jennifer Colins
Attendees from the Symposium on Hurricane Risk gather for a group photo outside for the closing reception. Credit: Jennifer Colins

Over almost two decades, the 8th annual Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate Symposium has grown into a gathering where experts in the public and private sector can grapple together with escalating risks of hurricanes in our warming world. Held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from June 2-6, 2024, this year the symposium drew 75 specialists from diverse fields—meteorologists, social scientists, engineers, and reinsurance professionals—who engaged in in-depth discussions relating to hurricane risk over the course of four days.

Participants discuss their research during a poster session at the Symposium on Hurricane Risk. Credit: Jennifer Colins
Participants discuss their research during a poster session at the Symposium on Hurricane Risk. Credit: Jennifer Colins

The evolution of the symposium’s theme over the years mirrors a deepening understanding of the multifaceted nature of hurricanes and their impacts. This year, the meeting explored evolving challenges, with sessions such as “Signal or noise? Uncertainties in the future tropical cyclone (TC) risk projection,” dissecting the intricacies of risk modeling, debating strategies for mitigation, adaptation, and comprehensive risk management. These critical discussions could help shape policies and practices that affect millions of livelihoods.

“I love the general inquisitiveness of the group that attends,” says Phil Klozbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, who oversees the university’s seasonal tropical cyclone forecasts. “There’s some really good discussion there. I also learned about a lot more industry folks that use our seasonal forecast too.”

The symposium also served as a meeting place for the next generation of researchers, with students presenting yearlong research and receiving recognition for their contributions. Judges ranging from private industries to academia recognized three students for the presentation of their research:

Katy Hollinger Beatty, North Carolina University (Advisor: Gary Lackmann) for her work titled “Anticipating Future Tropical Cyclone Rainfall and its Influence on Transportation Infrastructure and Flooding”

Cong Gao, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Advisor: Lei Zhou) for his work titled “Ocean Subsurface has Significant Impacts on Tropical Cyclone Genesis”

Megan Blair, University of South Florida (Advisor: Jennifer Collins) for her work “How Hurricane Ian was Communicated to the Public and How they Perceived their Risk as a Result”

“It was such a great meeting. I am returning to work this week full of new ideas and recharged passion. That’s the best kind of conference,” noted Student Award Chair, Suz Tolwinski-Ward, Director of Climate Statistics at Verisk.

Attendees listen during a welcome session at the Symposium on Hurricane Risk. Credit: Jennifer Colins
Attendees listen during a welcome session at the Symposium on Hurricane Risk. Credit: Jennifer Colins

As the symposium concluded, it was clear that the collaborative efforts of the attendees would resonate far beyond the conference room. The dialogues initiated here are set to influence research, policy, and practice, steering a global community towards more resilient and adaptive strategies in the face of hurricane risks. As a result of the collective efforts, a peer-reviewed book related to the conference theme, published by Springer, is now available.

This year’s conference was led by AAG member, Fellow, and Distinguished Scholarship Honor Awardee Jennifer Collins (University South Florida), and co-organized by AAG member Yijie-Zhu (Florida Atlantic University). Sponsorships from the American Association of Geographers, the University of South Florida, Gallagher Research Centre, RenaissanceRe, Reask, Moody’s RMS, and FM Global supported the conference. AAG’s support assists up to eight students to receive free registration.

Learn more about the 2024 Symposium on Hurricane Risk in a Changing Climate.

Curious about working with AAG? We are seeking new partnerships for 2025. Find out more.

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2023 Climate Change & Society Cohort

Arvind Bhuta

By Emily Frisan

Education and Certificates: B.S. Zoology, B.S. Environmental Science, B.A. Geography from Auburn University; M.S. Geography, Ph.D. Geospatial and Environmental Analysis from Virginia Tech; Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forestry at Clemson University; Certified GIS Professional (GISP) and a certified Senior Ecologist through the Ecological Society of America. 

At the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Arvind Bhuta works in the State, Private, and Tribal Forestry program to enhance and maintain healthy ecosystems and watersheds. His specific work in the Cooperative Forestry unit is to address landscapes that are outside of what he refers to as “The Green:” the national forests managed by the Forest Service. He specifically works in rural landscapes under the Landowner Assistance department, assisting program managers with geospatial and tabular reporting and data analysis. Bhuta’s training as a geographer brings a valuable perspective to this work: “Thinking about space and place and how different states operate in maintaining those forests is important from a geographical perspective because it helps bring context.”

“I accidentally fell into GIS and then from [there], that was a Pandora’s box into learning about the discipline.”

 

Geographic Inquiry

The discipline of geography was not immediately obvious or available to Bhuta, but luckily, he happened to be in the right place, at the right time. “When I was a biology major, I found out about GIS. This was the late 90s, and I was very intrigued about what GIS had to offer because obviously biology or ecology wasn’t really doing any of those things.”

Throughout his wide-ranging educational experiences, this inquiry instantly hooked him “to what geography had to offer as a discipline and not really [previously] knowing that it was a major, I could pursue as a career opportunity.” Bringing together biology with elements of human and physical geography helped Bhuta shape and share his professional worldview, future interests, and successes.

 

Early Opportunities and Exposure

Aligning with the U.S. Forest Service’s mission to protect, balance, and manage natural resources, Bhuta emphasizes how his education in geography has allowed him to think critically and take a holistic approach to the work he does when working with people and programs. In addition to his extensive education, he has gained skills on–the–job through training in past and current positions that he’s held. Whether working in the public, private, or nonprofit sector, Bhuta says, “there will always be challenges to a job that academic training will not prepare you for. More than likely, you’ll get to experience it when and after you get hired.”

Early opportunities exposed Bhuta to a vast array of professional experiences. Early on, he lived in the Everglades National Park as a GIS technician field mapping the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. For two years after, he chased gopher tortoises in the field using GPS, radio telemetry units, and cameras to track their population and interactions across different habitats. His first experience as a federal employee as a summer intern at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and later as an intern with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, exposed him to the world of careers within these agencies.

For those interested in working within the federal government, various opportunities such as internships to fellowships can give young geographers an opportunity to advance their professional journeys. Within the Forest Service, the Research Assistant program allows individuals to come into the agency noncompetitively, which enables some of them to be appointed to federal positions without competing with the general public. Bhuta also suggests networking with people within these agencies who have backgrounds in geography, which can open doors for students. For example, at the 2023 Annual Meeting, Bhuta met with students and young professionals to discuss techniques and answers questions on how to navigate the federal career path: “That’s a great opportunity to network with people who work in the federal government and ask questions like, ‘what do I need to do’ in terms of course work, internships, or other jobs to get my foot in the door to work in the [sector].”

Learn more about what a degree in geography can do for you by reading more AAG Career Profiles and discover the resources we offer for your professional development journey.

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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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