Jennifer Whytlaw Joins GISCI Board as AAG Representative
The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) Board of Directors has welcomed Jennifer L. Whytlaw, Ph.D., GISP, associate professor of Applied GIS at Old Dominion University, as the newest representative of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). She joins Darcy Boellstorff, who recently renewed her term as AAG’s second representative on the board.
Founded in 2002 by member organizations including AAG, GITA, NSGIC, UCGIS, and the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN, formerly URISA), GISCI is a nonprofit organization that administers the internationally recognized GISP® (Certified GIS Professional) credential. The GISCI Board meets monthly to guide certification policies, strategic priorities, and initiatives that support excellence and professionalism across the geospatial community.
As a GISP since 2012, Whytlaw brings both professional expertise and a strong commitment to advancing the GIS profession. Throughout her career, she has promoted ethical and professional standards in GIS while inspiring the next generation of geospatial professionals through teaching, mentoring, research, and outreach.
At Old Dominion University, Whytlaw teaches undergraduate and graduate students, advises student research, and mentors emerging professionals as they pursue careers and advanced degrees. Her commitment to workforce development extends beyond higher education. She has been an active advocate for introducing GIS in K-12 classrooms, applying for educational grants, supporting GIS-integrated science curricula, and participating in STEM outreach programs that expose younger students to career opportunities in geospatial technology.
Looking ahead, Whytlaw is enthusiastic about helping GISCI strengthen its engagement with students and early-career professionals. Reflecting on her goals as a board member, she noted: “I would like to enhance GISCI’s outreach and engagement with student-focused programs such as mentorship programs and online resources targeted toward all types of colleges and universities, ensuring the future sustainability of the GIS profession.”
She also sees an opportunity for GISCI to continue evolving alongside rapidly advancing technologies: “A second focus area would be continuing the integration of new and emerging geospatial technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and XR [extended reality] technologies, into the GISCI’s certification process to ensure relevance and preparedness for the future of GIS.”
As a founding GISCI member organization, AAG plays an important role in helping ensure that GIS certification reflects the needs and perspectives of the geography and GIScience communities. Whytlaw’s experience in education, outreach, and emerging technologies will provide valuable insight as GISCI continues to advance the GISP credential and support the future of the profession.
“Figuring out what places are about” is the foundation of Dydia DeLyser’s inquisitive, hands-on work to explore and preserve American landscapes and cultural histories. A professor of geography emerita at Cal State Fullerton, DeLyser has cultivated this outlook from early on. As the child of Dutch immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1960s, she learned early how place, belonging, and language could open—or close—doors.
“My first language is not English, it was Dutch,” she says. “So my earliest memories are of having sort of a secret language at home that nobody else could understand.” Her parents were “always trying to understand American culture, and yet never able to become a part [of it].”
For DeLyser, the outsider status was doubled by another kind of “outside:” the past. Her parents’ vivid stories of their experiences of World War II and the privations of life in Europe even before Nazi occupation lit up DeLyser’s imagination and appreciation for social history: “The broader cultural stories about our past, like my parents’ stories about the war, are also intimate personal stories that happen in the lives of individuals,” she says. “We connect our individual experiences to the broader narrative, you know, of victory over the Nazis or so many other issues. That’s a geographical or spatial experience.”
DeLyser’s hunger to understand and embrace places and times she couldn’t know firsthand have led to her foundational preoccupation with what she calls “the intimate geographies of social memory.”
Bridging Time and Space
DeLyser started working on her intertwined study of history’s large scales and intimate personal histories while she was still an undergraduate at UCLA, aided by her work at UCLA Library’s Department of Special Collections in the manuscript, photographs, and rare books library, one of the largest such departments in the country. The archive housed the personal papers of L.A. notables and international figures such as novelist Raymond Chandler, journalist Carey McWilliams, writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin, and Peggy Hamilton, the first fashion editor of the LA Times.
Reading their letters and manuscripts opened DeLyser’s eyes to new ways of knowing people, even after their deaths. Research—specifically, qualitative research with primary materials—was like a portal through the gap in time and place that had so fascinated and frustrated DeLyser from childhood. She has dedicated her career to the methods that make qualitative research vibrant.
“To me, scholarship should be empirically rich, grounded in some real thing,” she says. “It should be theoretically sophisticated and engaged with whatever conceptual conversations are current and engaging and relevant in the discipline or subdiscipline you are in, and it should be methodologically articulate.” Put simply, she says: “You should be clear how you know.”
DeLyser describes research methods as “an important form of credibility for a scholar, as the core of your scholarly credibility. If you can show how you know—because you interviewed these people or because these are the quotes or because you did this archival research or you spent ten years observing at this place or because you actually did the labor or whatever the reason—If you can show how you know, then we will trust you. And then we’ll be able to learn from you, we’ll be able to take on whatever your point is.”
If you can show how you know, then we will trust you.”
Early in her career, DeLyser established a close relationship to Bodie, a California ghost town in the Eastern Sierra region. Designated a National Historic Landmark and state park in the early1 960s, Bodie began as a gold-mining town that boomed in the 1870s, crashed in the 1880s, but then lingered well into the 20th century. As the population declined, at one point there were more buildings than people. And as residents left, they abandoned furnishings and things they didn’t want to pay to move, which became the intact artifacts of their daily lives on display in about 200 buildings, from dishes, pots, and chairs in kitchens to unused caskets in the town morgue.
Credit: Jon Sullivan, Wikimedia Commons
Starting when she was a college student with summers free, she began working as a low-paid, unskilled seasonal worker for maintenance, DeLyser gradually deepened her knowledge of Bodie over the next 35 years in all different ways, from conducting ethnographic research tourists there to using the Park’s own archive to understand how State Parks staff were themselves shaping what visitors saw and ultimately to using her research to make the case for broadening the town’s National Historic Landmark status, all while putting in true sweat equity in caring for the town, from physically working to stabilize the abandoned buildings to “cleaning about 10,000 [public] toilets.” Now, she is executive director of the town’s nonprofit, working to preserve Bodie in a state of “arrested decay—keeping the buildings standing while letting them look like they’re still falling down,” according to DeLyser. Today’s visitors to Bodie can peer inside its buildings to see the many personal items left behind by the final occupants, and imagine the lives of the town’s former inhabitants. DeLyser was interested in the impact of this on visitors, especially in the moments of recognition when a specific object reminded them of something in their own lives. DeLyser then sought to map these personal epiphanies onto the larger stories of history.
Credit: Fronl, Wikimedia Commons
“Ghost towns are so connected to the mythic West in the United States, to the heroic, mythologized tales of the “Wild West” and all that, we simply connect ourselves to big themes about American culture. All of a sudden, from a small life and a small object, it links to the big themes. I’ve seen myself have ordinary objects spark magic in my life many times, and I’ve studied how it happens.“
Always say yes
DeLyser also engages enthusiastically as a teacher, mentor, and champion of the geography discipline. Over the years, she has served on AAG Council, was a founding member of the AAG Qualitative Research Specialty Group, contributed to the work of the AAG Harassment Free Task Force, as well as its Public and Engaged Scholarship Task Force. She worked tirelessly during the COVID pandemic to deliver supportive programming for graduate students, and also serves on the AAG Climate Committee, to name only a few contributions. It’s part of her commitment to hold the door open for the next generation of geographers.
“I’ve had to bust open doors myself in my career, but the point isn’t about busting open doors. The point is to hold the door open and create a pathway for success for the people who will come after us,” she says.
She brings the same esprit de corps to her research and publishing. “There’s no sense in scholarship unless it’s shared,” she says. “If I can learn something from my scholarship about the past, I feel obligated to share that, otherwise I take it with me. It happens in the moment, it happens in the present, but it’s always for the future.”
Living in Bodie, where only Park staff now live, gave DeLyser a strong sense of community, and a strong desire to give back to that community, something that has followed her throughout her career.
DeLyser is careful to appreciate and credit the communities she works with. Years later, as she launched a new research project about how neon signs have shaped the American landscape she recognized that there was a “neon community” or “communities” in the U.S., and, she says, “I wanted people to feel like they knew who I was and they welcomed my work, so it took me a long time to become part of that community, vested in being part of a community as ‘neon people.’” DeLyser says neon signs are “an incredibly overlooked part of the American landscape. People read the sign that says “OPEN” over the door that’s red and blue—they read that sign without even realizing that they’ve read it.” She wanted to bring those hidden signs and their hidden stories to light.
DeLyser had been introduced to the behind-the-scenes world of neon by her husband and longtime creative partner, Paul Greenstein, an expert in the history and repair of classic neon signs. Early in their relationship, she accompanied him to repair a sign over a restaurant, and the adventure sparked questions and conversations, which in turn led to more than a half dozen collaborations over the years. Greenstein and DeLyser have delved into the history and cultural significance of neon, antique cars, and Indian motorcycles. Their 2021 book Neon: A Light History is the latest culmination of these collaborations.
DeLyser’s approach to research combines immersion in the topic, becoming embedded in the communities that hold deep knowledge about it. She sees her research across a spectrum of often deeply personal and committed hands-on experience and careful methodologies. “I had all the tools,” she recalls of her long relationship with Bodie. “I knew how to use a hammer and a Skilsaw, and I also I knew how to do an interview. I had a hammer in one hand and a notebook in my pocket.”
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Saul Cohen
On June 9, 2021, Saul Bernard Cohen passed away at the age of 95, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Malden, Massachusetts, he spent much of his life on the East Coast, as he attended the Boston Latin School and later went on to earn his bachelor’s and Ph.D. at Harvard University—graduating right before Harvard terminated the geography program.
He headed the School of Geography at Clark University and became a professor, director, and then later Dean of the Graduate School. During this time, he was lauded for revitalizing the Graduate School of Geography’s (GSOG) academic standards and increasing minority enrollment in the late 1960s/early 1970s. He also established teacher preparation programs for new and experienced teachers with funding obtained from the U.S. Office of Education for the Training of Teachers program, and a National Science Foundation departmental development grant designed to produce “centers of excellence.”
His plans included developing new strengths in the areas of environmental cognition, international development (particularly in Africa), and environmental hazards management. The expansion of the school’s graduate program allowed the faculty to double, and the number of graduate students substantially increased. Traditional environment-focused courses were rejuvenated by new concepts and techniques. As the environmental movement grew, the number of geography undergraduate majors rose to more than 100. The school also doubled its annual output of doctorates in the 1970s. Clark was a linchpin of one of Cohen’s other programmatic ideas: a consortium of doctorate-granting geography departments recruiting faculty or prospective faculty of historically Black colleges and universities to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees.
Following his career at Clark, Cohen served as president of Queens College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) from 1978 – 1985. Through his persistent advocacy, he was responsible for securing funding for key capital projects, many of which are still standing, including the Benjamin Rosenthal Library, the Copeland School of Music Building, science facilities, and Townsend Harris High School.
After leaving Queens College, Cohen was a professor of geography at Hunter College for 10 years. He served as AAG president from 1989 to 1990, and in 1993, he was elected to the New York State Board of Regents. He served for 17 years, chairing the Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Committee when it established new academic standards for the school.
He is remembered for his research specializing in economic and political geography of the Middle East and editing and authoring 16 books, including his work as an editor of The Oxford World Atlas. Saul was a beloved husband to his wife of 71 years, Miriam Friederman Cohen, and a dedicated father and father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend.
Professor Emeritus of Geography, Dr. Bryon Middlekauff, passed away on September 3, 2025. He was a faculty member at Plymouth State University (previously Plymouth State College), NH from 1988 to 2016. Bryon’s life was marked by a deep passion for teaching geography and mentoring both students and faculty.
Bryon’s bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees—all in in geography—were from the University of Maryland, Appalachian State University, and Michigan State University, respectively, and his dissertation focused on Appalachian paleoclimatology. He returned to this topic in a subsequent published article, and his scholarship also examined fieldwork practice.
Bryon joined the social science department at Plymouth State University after positions at Western Carolina University and Youngstown State University. In 2001 he taught at the University of Wolverhampton in the U.K. while on sabbatical and in 2004 expanded his teaching to encompass the environmental sciences, receiving a new appointment in 2008 as professor of geography and environmental planning.
“One of Bryon’s many strengths was engaging students both in the classroom and beyond,” says former colleague Dr. Patrick May, a longtime colleague. “His lectures were very dynamic, and he got a lot of students really excited about geomorphology, ‘the geography of geology’—understanding the processes that shaped the environment around them.”
Bryon felt strongly about the importance of field studies and led college trips around New England, eastern Canada, and to the American Southwest, as well as travel courses to Paris, the United Kingdom, and Tanzania. He also ran workshops for the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance, leading rigorous day trips throughout the state to help educate educators about the natural environment.
Bryon was instrumental in advancing Plymouth State’s geography program both nationally and regionally. He was heavily involved in the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and attended annual meetings where he presented papers and poster sessions. He was also a member of the New England St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society (NESTVAL) and served as their Regional Councilor to the AAG for two terms. Bryon received NESTVAL’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013 which included a citation for a Lifetime Contribution to NESTVAL and Geography, one of only three people to receive this distinction. In 1993, Bryon was instrumental in establishing a NESTVAL competition to create a team to send to the first AAG World Geography Bowl, held at the AAG’s annual meeting in Atlanta. Bryon mentored the PSU team members, preparing them for the competition. Under his guidance, Plymouth State’s Geo Bowl team won the New England-St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society competition several times and students participated in the national competition at the annual AAG conference. “The bowl was a way to excite students,” says May, “and Bryon assured that they took advantage of the full conference experience, including sessions and field trips.”
“He was instrumental in building the PSU Geography Club and remained in touch with many former students,” continues May. “Students will remember him to be very demanding and that they were lucky to have him because he shared so much enthusiasm for his field.” For his students, Bryon opened a door into the world of becoming a professional geographer. He encouraged many of his students to attend graduate school and accompanied some on visits to the schools.
Dr. Jennifer Collins, now at University South Florida, started her career at Plymouth State College, in the year 2000, where she notes that Bryon had such an impact on both her personally and her career, recognizing that she was a Geographer and suggested she become a member and come to the AAG annual meeting. Prior to that Jennifer was only an American Meteorological Society member. Jennifer notes that being a member of the AAG has been instrumental to her career and she owes that to Bryon who also helped her network at the AAG conference. “He was a friend, colleague, and mentor, all wrapped up in one.”, she said.
Bryon enjoyed many activities from fly-fishing to skiing. Most of all he enjoyed spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Bryon is survived by his wife and former Plymouth State Director of Advancement Julie DeGalan ’91MBA. Together they co-wrote the book, Great Jobs for Environmental Studies Majors, and were members of Holmes Heritage Society, which honors those who have included Plymouth State in their financial and estate plans. He is also survived by his daughters, Lari (Pat) Hayhoe and Amy (Dan) Jones; grandchildren, Nick (Chelsea), Beau and Olivia Hayhoe, Billy (Olivia) and Tyler Townes, Hayden Jones, and Chelsea Roberts; and great-grandchildren, Charlie, George, Margaret and Penny Hayhoe, Phoebe Townes, and Fiona and Josie Roberts. He is survived by his sister, Kirklyn Kline; nephews, Kevin (Cindy) and Kirk Eikelberger; and grand-nephew, Riley Eikelberger.
International Geographic Information Fund (IGIF) Scholarship
Deadline: October 15, 2026 (by midnight, Eastern)
The International Geographic Information Fund (IGIF) is an endowed fund established through generous gifts from Laura and Jack Dangermond and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri). Its purpose is to support scholarships that advance student career development in the academic areas of applied spatial analysis and geographic information science/systems (SA/GISS).
The Award
These scholarships are designed for students who show clear career goals and strong potential for growth. They are especially intended for students who would significantly benefit from financial support as they work toward their professional aspirations. Scholarships are not limited to students with already well-established academic or professional records. The AAG reserves the right to determine whether scholarships will be awarded in a given year.
The AAG will distribute up to thirty-four (34) scholarships of $1,200 to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in SA/GISS. Funds are intended to support activities that help students take meaningful steps toward their professional goals. Scholarship funds can be used for:
Travel to national or international conferences, symposia, or professional meetings related to SA/GISS (including transportation, lodging, meals, and other travel expenses reasonably related to travel for attendance at such meetings).
Tuition, books, equipment, laboratory, or other academic fees at accredited U.S. institutions.
Scholarship funds may not duplicate support from other awards and must be used within one (1) year of acceptance. Scholarship recipients are strongly encouraged to attend the AAG Annual Meeting, where they will be invited to an Esri Young Professionals Network (YPN) reception and recognized at the AAG Awards Reception. Recipients are expected to acknowledge Esri IGIF support in any work funded by this scholarship.
Eligibility
Be a full‑time student.
Be enrolled at an accredited higher education institution within the United States of America.
Be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree or specialization in SA/GISS.
Not have previously received this scholarship within the same academic category (undergraduate or graduate), to help broaden opportunities and recognition for more students.
Applications
A complete application must be received no later than the close of business on the deadline (Eastern Time).Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
1. Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages).
2. Faculty Advisor Letter (maximum 1 page, on letterhead). The advisor must confirm that the applicant:
o Is a full time student in good standing.
o Is enrolled in an SA/GISS program.
o Shows strong promise in their stated career goals (and why).
3. Applicant Statement (maximum 3 pages, with up to 2 pages of optional supporting illustrations). The statement must include:
o Introduction and Professional Interests – Briefly describe your academic background and current interests in SA/GISS.
o Career Goals – Outline your short and long term career goals and explain how your academic work supports them.
o Proposed Use of Scholarship Funds – Clearly describe the activities or expenses you are requesting support for and explain their relevance to your career development.
o Justification and Financial Need – Explain why this scholarship is essential for enabling the proposed activities, including financial constraints and why these costs cannot be supported through other funding sources.
Criteria
Applications are evaluated on the clarity and strength of the written materials, alignment of career goals with SA/GISS, proposed use of funds, and demonstrated financial need. Undergraduate and graduate applicants are evaluated within their academic level.
Faculty advisor’s letter – 10%
Clarity, organization, and quality of written statement – 25%
Clarity and alignment of career goals within SA/GISS – 25%
Proposed use of funds and connection to career development – 25%
Justification and financial need – 15%
Each year, AAG staff convene an IGIF Esri Scholarship Committee to review applications and select recipients. The committee includes board members from AAG Communities specializing in SA/GISS, such as the Spatial Analysis and Modeling Specialty Group (SAM) and the Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group (GISS‑SG), or other SA/GISS leaders within the AAG Community.
Final selections are made at least 45 days before the AAG Annual Meeting, and applicants are notified shortly thereafter. In its review, the committee aims to:
Prioritize applicants whose career development would be meaningfully advanced by this scholarship, particularly those with clear goals, strong potential, and limited access to other funding sources.
Recognize the most deserving students.
Find an appropriate balance of undergraduate and graduate awardees based on the applicant pool, though the number of awards in each category may vary from year to year.
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The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) Board of Directors has welcomed Jennifer L. Whytlaw, Ph.D., GISP, associate professor of Applied GIS at Old Dominion University, as the newest representative of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). She joins Darcy Boellstorff, who recently renewed her term as AAG’s second representative on the board.
“Figuring out what places are about” is the foundation of Dydia DeLyser’s inquisitive, hands-on work to explore and preserve American landscapes and cultural histories. A professor of geography emerita at Cal State Fullerton, DeLyser has cultivated this outlook from early on. As the child of Dutch immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1960s, she learned early how place, belonging, and language could open—or close—doors.
