Edward Babin

Dr. Edward Babin, a long-time professor at the University of South Carolina, Upstate (USC), died Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Spartanburg, SC.

He received his B.A. degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette in 1965, a master’s degree in Geography from the University of Arkansas in 1967, and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Georgia in 1974.

He taught geography at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette from 1968 to 1973. Dr. Babin joined USC Upstate as Professor of Geography from 1974 to 2015. He served as chair of the department twice.

Ed was born on August 29, 1944, the only child of Clarence and Helen Ourso Babin in Donaldsonville, LA.

Ed married Joanne Tinie Walsh on March 18, 1989, at Jesus, Our Risen Savior Catholic Church and was her devoted husband. They had no children. After marrying, Ed and Joanne became members of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church where Ed was an usher there for many years. He greeted parishioners at the door at both daily and Sunday Masses and enjoyed this ministry more than any other service he performed in the church.

In about 2013, Ed also started the senior singles’ luncheon for parishioners who found themselves single for one reason or another. This became a great place for newcomers to the parish to meet longtime members.

Ed became a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order on April 5, 1995, which was a lifetime commitment to an international lay religious order in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a member of the St. Michael the Archangel Fraternity and served as its first minister for two terms.

Ed was an avid reader on many geographical topics and loved to discuss these with others. He had a dry sense of humor and a quick wit and loved to tell jokes and stories. He loved pets and had many special dogs and two cats in his lifetime. Among the dogs were Angel, Pepita, and Pixie, whom he loved to walk with through the neighborhood and greet the neighbors.

He grew tomatoes in his garden for many years and gave away tomatoes to others generously. He did his own yard work and earned “Yard of the Month” in the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association several times.

In addition to his wife, Joanne, Edward is survived by his cousins, Jay Landry (Verlein) of Donaldsonville, LA, and “Sport” Le Blanc (Cacki) of Baton Rouge, LA; siblings-in-law, Marilyn Walsh (Ed Laskarzewski) of Glastonbury, CT, William “Bill” E. Walsh (Winnie), Marshall T. Walsh (Debbie), and Sara O. Walsh, David L. Walsh, all of Spartanburg, SC, and Natalie W. Bishop of Nashville, TN; along with many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother-in-law, T. Walsh.

This memorial, which originally ran on the J.F. Floyd mortuary website, was reprinted with permission.

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Pitas and Passports: Arab Foodways in the Windsor-Detroit Borderlands

January 8, 2025

Journals

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

January 6, 2025

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 Beunemann Michaela 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 Butler We 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.

Journals

Conver Named New Editor of AAG Review of Books

January 6, 2025

Joshua Conver

In January 2025, Joshua L. Conver will become the new editor-in-chief of The AAG Review of Books. Conver is the GIS Librarian in the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University.

A physical geographer with experience in both academia and public land management, he also has an undergraduate degree in political science and research experience at the Arizona State House of Representatives. With a wide-ranging background that includes the study of humanities and cultural resources, Conver will bring an integrative sensibility to his editorial decisions for The Review.

Conver earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Cincinnati in 2020, and is a longstanding GIS practitioner who earned his certificate in 2013. He has an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Arizona and a B.A. in Geography and Political Science, also from the University of Arizona. His research interests include spatial and landscape ecology, cultural and natural resource management, long-term monitoring, public science, integrated GIS, built environments, and data curation.

We express our gratitude to outgoing editor Debbie Hopkins, Associate Professor in Human Geography at the University of Oxford, who has steered the publication since June 2020. Along with editorial assistant Neha Arora, Hopkins worked to bring in book reviews that represent the diversity of the discipline and offer fresh perspectives, highlighting what she calls “that real-worldness of our work.”

Find out more about The AAG Review of Books and other AAG journals.

Resources

2024 Geography Department Survey: Majors

December 19, 2024

Resources

2024 Geography Department Survey: Courses

December 19, 2024

Resources

2024 Geography Department Survey: Student Enrollments

December 19, 2024

John S. Adams

John S. Adams, or JSA to those who knew him, was an urban economic geographer at the University of Minnesota. As a researcher, he studied the relationships between housing markets and policy, land use, and transportation in North American metropolitan areas. As a teacher, he taught classes on urban economics, transportation and land use, geography of the Twin Cities, and regional courses on North America and Russia. As a mentor, he advised dozens of graduate students, supporting them through research assistantships, an openness to whatever topic they chose to study, and continuing to be a source of guidance well after graduation. As an administrator, he was happy to take his turn as Department Chair (multiple times), President of the AAG, the first director and later the associate dean of the Humphrey School of Planning, and wherever else he was needed.

While JSA’s academic studies began in economics, he, like so many of us, took a class in geography and was hooked. After finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, he taught at Penn State for three years before returning to Minnesota, where he taught for an astonishing 37 years. He spent time at many other institutions as a visiting scholar during that time, including UC Berkeley, Bank of America world headquarters, Moscow State University, and the U.S. Military Academy. During this time, he investigated housing policy and economics across North America, as well as developing a history of the quantitative revolution in urban geography.

Much of his research focused on the Twin Cities, including the Transportation and Regional Growth Study, funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities, and the Center for Transportation Studies — a somewhat unlikely coalition to support research in the social sciences but reflective of JSA’s integrative approach to understanding the world. He was keen on producing research that was relevant to policymakers and planners in the region — many of whom he also had as students. The Center for Transportation Studies on the University of Minnesota campus established an award in 2009 in his honor for graduate students in planning and public policy, reflecting his contributions to interdisciplinary collaboration and policy-relevant research.

JSA was endlessly curious about the world. He was always asking people to share their stories with him, whether it was where they were from, where their family was from, or what they were interested in. He taught his graduate students that one of the best ways to do research was simply to ask people what they did for a living or what they thought of something, especially when it came to people like government bureaucrats whose stories often weren’t told. Field work was also essential: part of graduate student orientation at Minnesota was a field trip around the Twin Cities led by JSA and Professor Judith Martin, introducing students to their new home through a geographic lens. His willingness to strike up a conversation with anyone was especially on display during the field courses that he led across North America, Europe, and Russia for graduate and undergraduate students, along with his dedication to service no matter where he might be:

On a 1995 field study to cities of the U.S. Midwest and Southeast, it had been another long day of studying urban structure and change. Nobody knew why JSA stopped the van in the left turn lane of a busy thoroughfare during afternoon rush hour and got out of the driver’s seat, until we saw him dragging a fallen streetlight over to the curb and out of the lanes of oncoming traffic. Horns were honking, people were gawking, and we were kind of concerned that he might get electrocuted. But the image was perfect — “Citizen Adams,” in his signature plaid short-sleeve shirt and khakis, taking charge of Nashville’s “crumbling infrastructure” and “apathetic citizenry.”

Last but not least, JSA cared deeply about the institutions of higher education and of geography, arguing that higher education helps build a healthy foundation for the future of our country. He was a strong advocate for regular participation in departmental life and contributions beyond research and teaching. He argued for regular attendance at weekly departmental colloquia, in part to be well informed on the state-of-the-art of geographic research, but also to connect with students and faculty across the department as well as visiting speakers. Similarly, he advocated regular attendance at both national and regional AAG meetings, to hear about cutting edge research but also to learn about the state of the discipline in other departments and as a whole. He enjoyed introducing current and former students to each other, keeping the network of Minnesota alumni active through in-person meetings and also his family newsletter (always sent via the USPS). His sense of humor, concern for students and colleagues, and deep commitment to service are as much his legacy as his research and teaching, for geographers across Minnesota and around the world.

This memorial was prepared by Julie Cidell, Professor and Department Head of the Department of Geography & GIS at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Laura Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Macalester College.

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Careers

Program Profile: University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire – Department of Geography & Anthropology

December 9, 2024

In 2024, AAG recognized the Department of Geography and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire (UWEC) with the AAG Award for Bachelor Program Excellence. We asked Ryan Weichelt, a UWEC alumnus and current department chair, what makes the program stand out. He shares three key reasons how the department continues to evolve and meet the needs of the students, workforce, and discipline: promotion of geography and collegiality across campus, pursuit of scholarship, and excellence in instruction.

Cross-Campus Collaboration

Drs. Faulkner and Hilgendorf greeting 1st year students on the first day of classes at UWEC.

In 2014, the Department of Geography and Anthropology developed the Geospatial Analysis and Technology major to integrate geospatial technologies across disciplines in direct cooperation with public and private stakeholders, highlighted in a publication by Esri Press “Extending Into STEM: The Geospatial Education Initiative.” The major quickly gained momentum.

During this period, the department began to partner closely with the university to become a hub for geospatial technology and expand its reach into various programs on campus, including biology, computer science, and data science. Geospatial technology has distinguished the department on campus ever since, and facilitates significant research opportunities. For instance, faculty and students have collaborated with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to leverage geospatial technologies in understanding and improving healthcare across the country. The interdisciplinary nature of these technologies “has shown how geography can play a role in understanding healthcare and making [it] available for more people,” says Dr. Weichelt.

While the department’s largest major is environmental studies, the geospatial program has driven numerous cross-campus collaborations. Biology and geology students frequently enroll in numerous certificate programs, leading to new majors and fostering a collaborative academic environment. The geospatial technology program has opened doors for interdisciplinary research and attracted new students who wish to work in archaeology, climate science, resource planning, or conservation.

Pursuit of Scholarship: “Geography is Everything”

The department offers a diverse range of classes and Liberal Education (LE) core components, akin to General Education in other institutions. Dr. Weichelt expresses the department’s pride in the breadth of curriculum, encompassing physical geography, technology, and cultural studies. The versatility of courses enables staff and students to provide extensive service to the university, supporting its growth and attracting prospective majors.

This commitment to geography as an all-encompassing discipline underscores the departmental belief that “geography is everything.”

Cross-campus collaboration also attracts new students, supporting other department efforts, such as incorporating GIS into non-geospatial classes, and renaming introductory classes to clarify that they belong to a series: “Planet Earth, Human Geography,” “Planet Earth, Physical Geography,” “Planet Earth, Cultural Geography,” and so on. Equipped with three state-of-the-art computer labs, the department can offer students a state-of-the-art computing experience, with support from alumni grants and donations and the university, which provides geospatial lab modernization funds every two years. Students across the university can access these dedicated spaces to get direct experience with remote sensing, GIS, and other geospatial tools.

Fieldwork is also a critical component of UWEC’s curriculum. “Many of our classes require field components, not just the physical geography classes, [but also] those like tourism geographies, urban geographies, and Indigenous geographies courses,” says Dr. Weichelt.

Students have field work opportunities with their professors in the United States, internationally, or remotely. Dr. Harry Jol, for example, conducts ground-penetrating radar (GPR) research globally and recently took students to Lithuania to study Holocaust sites. Dr. Douglas Faulkner, a fluvial geomorphologist and recipient of the 2019 Gilbert Grosvenor Award, brings students to local rivers like the Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Red Cedar Rivers. Dr. Papia Rozario collaborates with colleagues across the U.S. on remote sensing and AI research, analyzing precision agriculture data obtained with drones.

A standout course, Geography 368, mandates 7 to 12-day field expeditions for all students. Even during the COVID-19 campus closures, students in the course adapted by researching sustainable city exploration via bicycles. Students also must complete 30 hours of community service before graduation. The geography club’s “Missing Maps” program allows students to apply their geospatial skills while fulfilling this requirement, making meaningful contributions to communities across the globe.

Excellence in Instruction: Strengthening Department Culture

Dr. Weichelt praises the numerous younger faculty members the department has hired in recent years. They help to foster a more cohesive and collaborative environment, enhancing the program’s longstanding tradition and continuously updating curriculum to address Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) issues, particularly how geographers and geography can contribute to solving these critical questions. This is upheld by an Anti-Racist Statement wrote and approved in 2020, in addition to the University’s EDI Goals.

As the state grapples with challenges to campus justice and equity initiatives, the department is using scholarships to help bridge gaps for diverse students, while adhering to new state regulations. For example, six first-year students interested in majoring in geography are eligible to apply for the George Simpson Incoming Student Scholarship, ranging from $1,000 up to $1,500.

Faculty are active in campus organizations and programs that advocate for diversity and inclusion such as the Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Program and American Indian Studies. This commitment to inclusivity and support is mirrored in the department’s vibrant student life. From a strong geography club, welcome parties and celebrations, mentorship opportunities, and speaker series presentations, connecting with students “always been a tradition here.” The level of attention to maintaining and strengthening the department culture in turn strengthens the discipline and future geographers.

UW Eau Claire’s Department of Geography and Anthropology exemplifies excellence not only through its award-winning programs but also through its dedication to student success and inclusivity. By fostering a supportive and dynamic environment, the department ensures that its graduates are well-prepared to tackle the challenges of the modern world, making significant contributions to the field of geography and beyond.

On the Map

History Painted in Place: Detroit Murals Map and Guide

November 26, 2024

"Power to the People" mural captured in an image from above on Woodward Avenue in Detroit; Source: Joe Gall, courtesy Hubert Massey and Detroit Heals Detroit

Just weeks after Detroit was named #4 in the United States for the creation of beautiful murals, the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (ACE) took on the task of putting the city at number one. To accomplish this, in 2022 the city launched a mural map and app to identify every mural and artist in the city, based on hundreds of curated murals and biographies of artists.

This initiative builds on a rich legacy of mural art in Detroit. Mural art has left its mark as far back to the early 1930s, capturing almost 100 years of history in Detroit. As the city struggled through the transition of the Great Depression, the prominent Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera was commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) to capture the energy of Detroit’s distinctive automotive, steel, and other industries. Often considered to be the most complex artworks devoted to American Industry, Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals depict the city’s manufacturing base and labor force on 27 panels, spanning all four walls of the DIA’s Diego Court.

Grand in scope and scale, the paintings celebrate Detroit’s auto factories and depict men of all races side by side on an assembly line. Rivera’s technique for painting frescoes, his portrayal of American life on public buildings, and the 1920s Mexican Mural Movement led to and influenced the New Deal mural programs of the 1930s and 1940s, in addition to the future generation of artists in the city.

The main two panels of his series draw inspiration from Ford’s River Rouge Plant, where Rivera toured and sketched for months before creating large-scale tributes to their workers along with a blend of critique and celebration of the forces of industry. He also blended ancient Aztec symbolism into his modernist treatment, creating allegorical figures to portray the complex relationship of human and machine.

A view of the south wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

A view of the north wall of the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ Research Library, Archives, and Collection Information department holds the digitization of a collection of existing 8 x 10-inch (large format) nitrate photo negatives, which were taken in 1932–33 to document the making of Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals. Their digitization preserves the history of the murals and makes the images accessible to the public. In addition, the film that Ford Motor Company’s team made of the artist at work is now accessible on the National Archives website.

Hubert Massey is a contemporary muralist whose work is inspired by 1960s- and ’70s-era activism and the art of Diego Rivera, having studied with former Rivera apprentices Stephen Dimitroff and Lucienne Bloch. In 2020, Massey worked with twenty Detroit teens to create a street mural in the Lower Woodward neighborhood, celebrating the phrase “Power to the People” and the Black Lives Matter movement spreading worldwide.

Massey works in the fresco technique and is the only known African American commissioned fresco artist in America. He has also produced work in the mediums of mosaic, terrazzo, sculpture, stained glass, and other material. You can find his work across Detroit’s Mexicantown, Greektown, the Cultural Center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Detroit Athletic Club, among other places.

Girl with the D Earring mural; Source: Zoyes Creative — “Girl with the D Earring” mural; Source: Zoyes Creative

Sydney G. James is another Detroit artist who has contributed large-scale work to the city. A Black figurative painter and public art muralist, she pays homage to the city and emphasizes the deep connection between her art and Detroit, highlighting how murals serve as vibrant expressions of identity and community. Her work not only beautifies the urban landscape but also tells the stories of the people and the place that inspire her.

One of her most notable works is “Girl with the D Earring,” an 8,000 square-foot painting of a Black woman, on Grand Boulevard from Woodward Avenue into Milwaukee Junction. This work re-envisions Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” “It’s one woman,” James told Hour Detroit. “But she represents Detroit in general. ‘Girl with the D Earring’ is a celebration of the city and a celebration of its people.”

“Detroit Never Left” mural; Courtesy Sheefy McFly’s website

Musician and visual artist, Sheefy McFly’s “Detroit Never Left” mural, located at Gratiot and Chene near Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market, is a nod to the idea of Detroit having a “resurgence.” The painting depicts a party full of Detroiters: a man jitting—a dance style that was born in Detroit–with a woman twerking (a dance move perfected in New Orleans in the 1990s, with origins in West African dance), a radio, and a Black man wearing a Cartier watch and a blue “D” hat, exuding an authentic Detroit. McFly told The Michigan Chronicle that “anyone from Detroit that walks by can identify with the mural.” His style blends Neo-Expressionism and Pop Art with a Detroit twist that reflects the cultural and social dynamics of Detroit, capturing the city’s spirit and history.

Public art is a form of creative place making, which further deepens connection with places where we live, work, and play.

The vibrant murals of Detroit are more than just artistic expressions; they are a testament to the city’s rich history, diverse culture, and dynamic geography. By intertwining art with public spaces, the city’s murals not only beautify the landscape but also celebrate the unique cultural tapestry that defines this iconic American city.

Explore Detroit’s murals in the city’s interactive map. Filter by year, artist, name, or location.