Newsletter – May 2018
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
The Difference That an Award Can Make (For All of Us)
By Derek Alderman
One of the greatest pleasures of serving as President of the AAG is attending and participating in the Association’s awards ceremonies, both at Regional Division conferences and at the Honors Luncheon held every year at our national meetings. Words cannot adequately describe the feelings of pride and fulfillment that award recipients appear to experience upon having their scholarship, teaching, or outreach/service recognized publicly… I encourage members to take full advantage of the award nomination process to recognize deserving colleagues. Members might also consider nominating a person previously overlooked or unsung at awards ceremonies but who has given significantly to geography. I suggest that awards make a difference to us, both in terms of the welfare of individual nominee and the wider discipline.
Read past columns from the current AAG President on our President’s Column page.
ANNUAL MEETING
2018 AAG Annual Meeting Highlights
The American Association of Geographers annual meeting was held April 10–14, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This conference hosted 8,550 geographers, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and other registrants from around the world, with 32% of registrants coming from countries outside of the United States. Whether you want to reminisce or just see what you missed, check out our retrospective of the special events and sessions from New Orleans.
MAD wins 2018 World Geography Bowl
The Mid Atlantic Team won first place in the 2018 World Geography Bowl, an annual geography knowledge competition for teams of college-level geography students representing the AAG’s regional divisions. The MAD Team defeated Team SEDAAG during the final round of the event where AAG President Derek Alderman served as a guest judge. In its 29th year of hosting, the 2018 AAG World Geography Bowl provides a fun nighttime conference activity while also assisting students in attending the AAG Annual Meeting.
View photos and news about the 2018 Bowl.
ASSOCIATION NEWS
2018 AAG Nystrom Award Recipients Announced
A fund established by former AAG President J. Warren Nystrom supports an annual prize for a paper based upon a recent dissertation in geography. There were 4 finalists in this year’s competition. They presented their papers in a special session on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 where the Nystrom Committee selected two Nystrom Awardees. The Nystrom Committee and the AAG are pleased to announce Bisola Falola of the University of Texas Austin and Qunshan Zhao of Arizona State University as the recipients of the 2018 J. Warren Nystrom Award. Bisola Falola’s dissertation is entitled “Terrains of Trauma – Urban Youth and Policies of Disinvestment.” Qunshan Zhao’s dissertation is entitled “Impact of tree locations and arrangements on outdoor microclimates and human thermal comfort in an urban residential environment.”
Learn more about the Nystrom Award and previous awardees.
Meet the Editors of AAG Journals: Stephen Hanna
Over the next several months, the AAG will be adding a new section to our newsletter and social media accounts to help members get to know the many editors of the AAG suite of journals. This month, meet one of the AAG Journals’ newest editors, Dr. Stephen Hanna. Hanna serves as the Cartography Editor for three of the AAG journals: the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, the Professional Geographer, and GeoHumanities.
Find out more about the AAG Journals editors.
MEMBER NEWS
Profiles of Professional Geographers
Geography education often emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach as a way to understand the breadth of knowledge the discipline has to offer. The two professional geographers interviewed this month in the AAG Profiles of Professional Geographers, Joe Scarpaci, Executive Director of Center for Study of Cuban Culture & Economy and Matthew Connolly, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Central Arkansas, both agree that this big picture approach to understanding the world is a key asset for those looking to undertake a career path in geography. Combine this diverse knowledge base with time management skills to make a winning combination!
Learn more about Geography careers.
The Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University Makes History
The MSU Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences has admitted and will fund three African American women graduate students for the 2018 academic year. This will be the first time in the history of the Department that three African American graduate students will be admitted and funded in the same year. The students admitted and funded are Cordelia Martin-Ikpe who will be pursuing a PhD in Geography with a focus on public health, Raven Mitchell who will begin her master’s in geography with an emphasis on physical and environmental geography, and Kyeesha Wilcox who will start her master’s degree in geography by researching urban social geography and food deserts.
Read more about the students and the department.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
2018 Guide to Geography Programs Deadline Extended
The American Association of Geographers is accepting entries from geography programs for the 2018 edition of the Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas. The deadline for submitting a listing has been extended to Friday, June 1, 2018. The 2018 edition of the Guide will be available exclusively online. The Guide lists undergraduate and graduate programs in all areas of geography and includes an interactive map that students can use to explore and discover geography programs, with easy-to-use search tools to find programs by degree type, region, and program specialization. It has long been an invaluable reference for faculty, prospective students, government agencies, and private firms in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world.
More information on the Guide and how to list your program.
Early Career Faculty and Department Leadership Workshops
On behalf of the Geography Faculty Development Alliance, the AAG is pleased to announce the 2018 Early Career and Department Leadership Workshops! These annual workshops for early career faculty and late career graduate students or geography department leaders will be held at the George Washington University in D.C. from June 10-16, 2018 (early career) and June 13-16, 2018 (department leaders).
More information and registration available.
AGI Webinar – Adapting Wildfire Management to 21st Century Conditions
The American Geosciences Institute’s Policy & Critical Issues program, in partnership with the American Association of Geographers, is hosting a free webinar, Adapting Wildfire Management to 21st Century Conditions, that will take place May 16th from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT. This webinar will explore recent trends in wildfires and changes in contributing factors/drivers of these hazards; examine different wildfire policy and management strategies and how they apply to different ecosystems; and feature case studies of wildfire policy and management strategies in the western and southern states. Speakers will be Tania Schoennagel from the University of Colorado-Boulder, David Godwin from the Southern Fire Exchange, and Vaughan Miller from the Ventura County Fire Department.
More information and register for the free webinar.
Call for Nominations for AAG Honors
Please consider nominating outstanding colleagues for the AAG Honors, the highest awards offered by the American Association of Geographers! AAG Honors are offered annually to recognize outstanding accomplishments by AAG members in research and scholarship, teaching, education, service, and for lifetime achievement. Individual AAG members, specialty groups, affinity groups, departments, and other interested parties are encouraged to nominate outstanding colleagues by June 30.
Guidelines for Honors nominations and a full listing of previous AAG Honorees.
AAG Fellows Program – Call for Nominations
The AAG is soliciting nominations for the AAG Fellows Program by Saturday, June 30, 2018. Please consider nominating outstanding colleagues to be recognized as AAG Fellows, a program to recognize geographers who have made significant contributions to advancing geography! Nominations for AAG Fellows are reviewed annually by the AAG Honors Committee, who will submit a slate of final nominations to the AAG Council for selection.
Additional information and guidelines for Fellows nominations.
PUBLICATIONS
Read the May 2018 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’ ’
The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 108, Issue 3 (May 2018) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available. While the Annals features original, timely, and innovative articles that advance knowledge in all facets of the discipline, each issue highlights one article chosen by the editors. This month’s editors’ choice is Governing Dispossession: Relational Land Grabbing in Laos by Miles Kenney-Lazar.
Full article listing available.
May 2018 Issue of the ‘Professional Geographer’ Now Available
The Professional Geographer, Volume 70, Issue 2, has been published. Of note to geographers interested in the Public Engagement theme for #AAG2018, the focus section in this issue is Out in the World: Geography’s Complex Relationship with Civic Engagement. The issue also includes short articles in academic or applied geography, emphasizing empirical studies and methodologies.
New Books in Geography — March 2018 Available
Books published during the month of March 2018 have been compiled in the monthly list of newly-published books in geography and related fields. Books in the March list include the 2018 AAG Meridian Book Award winner, Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes, as well as books whose topics encompass regional geographies, environmentalism, and big data.
Browse the whole list of new books.
Spring 2018 Issue of ‘The AAG Review of Books’ Now Available
Volume 6, Issue 2 of the quarterly The AAG Review of Books has now been published online. In addition to scholarly reviews of recent books related to geography, public policy and international affairs, this issue features longer book review fora of Refugees in Extended Exile: Living on the Edge, The Rise of the Hybrid Domain: Collaborative Governance for Social Innovation, and The Great Baseball Revolt: The Rise and Fall of the 1890 Players League.
GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
- Jennifer Collins, University of South Florida and AAG National Councilor, received promotion to Full Professor
- Brent McCusker lends expertise to World Bank report on climate change induced migration
- Geographers named as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences
IN THE NEWS
Popular stories from the AAG SmartBrief
- Large crack appears in Africa
- What does a warming Arctic mean for the future
- Miss. River flooding has intensified, study says
- Updated map shows greater risk from Tsunami in Wash.
- 2018 hurricane season may be above average
EVENTS CALENDAR
- May 16, 2018 – AGI Free Webinar – Adapting Wildfire Management to 21st Century Conditions
- May 20-22, 2018 – 35TH CONFERENCE OF LATIN AMERICANIST GEOGRAPHERS
- June 10-16, 2018 – Geography Faculty Development Alliance Workshop for Early Career Faculty
- June 13-16, 2018 – Department Leadership Workshop
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