Newsletter – November 2018
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Watershed Moments
By Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach
“It is encouraging to be receiving AAG Members’ thoughtful geography abstracts for the AAG Annual Meeting major themes: Geospatial Health Research; Geography and Human Rights; and Physical Geography in Environmental Science. Thank you. There is still time to participate… While you are in Washington, visit your legislators, share your science, speak up and be a part of the change: make a difference with Geography. And on Tuesday 6 November, make a difference with your citizenship: VOTE.”
ANNUAL MEETING
Additional Theme Announced for #aagDC
The AAG Council and Executive Director have announced a third theme for the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting: Physical Geography in Environmental Science. This theme joins two others, Geography, GIScience, and Health: Building an International Geospatial Health Research Network (IGHRN) and Geographies of Human Rights: The Right to Benefit from Scientific Progress, as a way to focus the meeting.
Learn more about the meeting themes.
“Focus on Washington, DC and the Mid Atlantic” is an ongoing series curated by the Local Arrangements Committee to provide insight on and understanding of the geographies of Washington, DC and the greater Mid Atlantic region in preparation for the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting.
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center
Amidst the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland lies the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. The Center celebrates the legacy of Harriet Tubman, who spent her childhood enslaved in the area before assisting over 100 African American slaves to freedom in the mid 1800s. Catherine W. Cooper provides an overview of Tubman’s life and the landscape she impacted.
Registration rates increase for #aagDC November 8!
Abstracts for paper presentations are due November 8, while abstracts for poster presentations are due January 31. All abstracts can be edited until February 23.
- Register to attend the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting in Washington, DC
- Submit an abstract for a poster or paper presentation
- Book your hotel room in one of two hotels with an AAG attendee discounted rate
- Find out how to travel from the airport or Amtrak station using DC public transit
- Suggest potential workshops or field trips by submitting a proposal
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Geography Awareness Week is Almost here!
Geography Awareness Week, held the third week of November each year, will run from November 11-17, 2018. This year’s theme is Migration. Get involved in Geography Awareness Week with some of our suggested activities. Don’t forget to share your involvement with us on social media with the hashtags #GeoWeek or #GeographyAwarenessWeek.
Find activities and resources.
AAG Announces Launch of Geography.com
AAG and Esri have teamed up to create geography.com, a website designed for educational purposes and the promotion of the discipline. It is intended as an outreach tool for site visitors to learn more about what geography is, what geography offers, and career opportunities available in the field. The intended audience includes the general public and students (high school and undergraduates), as well as educators, parents, and federal agencies or other organizations seeking information about geography.
Dwayne Parks Joins AAG Staff as Accounting Specialist
The AAG is pleased to welcome Dwayne Parks to fill the role of Accounting Specialist. Dwayne brings more than 17 years of experience working with organizational data to the association headquarters in D.C. Previously, he has worked in a variety of fields including science, legal, and healthcare.
MEMBER NEWS
Profiles of Professional Geographers
Douglas Gress, Professor of Economic Geography, Seoul National University, has spent the majority of his professional career outside of his home country of the United States. In this month’s Profile he offers some advice not just about geography careers, but also about living abroad and being prepared to move while working to obtain a dream job.
Learn more about geography careers.
November Member Updates
The latest news about AAG Members.
The UK Academy of Social Sciences conferred the award of Fellow on Mei-Po Kwan in their 2018 class of social scientists. Kwan, the only US geographer to receive the award this year, was chosen for her “significant contributions to theory, methods and practice in urban, GIScience, mobility and health research.” More about the award.
In early October, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton issued a certificate of commendation to the John R. Borchert Map Library at University of Minnesota for its work in preserving and providing access to historical aerial photography of the state. The library provides online access to 270 different sets of 1923-1991 historic photos covering Minnesota’s 87 counties. The Map Library is named for John R. Borchert, AAG president in 1968-69. Borchert was professor of geography at the University of Minnesota (1949-1989) and member of the National Academy of Sciences. Explore the library.
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Upcoming Awards Deadlines – Nominate Deserving Geographers!
December 31st marks the deadline for multiple awards to honor and support geographers in all stages of their careers. Members may nominate their colleagues for the Wilbanks Award for transformational research in geography or the Glenda Laws Award for social justice as well as the AAG E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award for contributions to geography in teaching or research. Students can apply for AAG Dissertation Research Grants and the Hess Community College Geography Scholarship. Those with a geography career are invited to apply for an AAG Research Grant. Nominations are also being solicited for a variety of books in geography awards including the Globe Book Award, the Jackson Prize, and the Meridian Book Award.
Follow the AAG Awards Calendar for Deadlines.
Take Time Out This Summer for Professional Development
The AAG’s Geography Faculty Development Alliance (GFDA) will once again offer a valuable in-depth opportunity for early career professionals and department leaders in Geography to learn and engage during its annual workshops June 23-29, 2019, at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The shorter four-day workshop for department leaders (June 26-29) will overlap with the week-long conference for early career attendees providing a full career spectrum of exercises and activities. These workshops are part of AAG’s membership resources, which also include its Jobs and Careers Center and many other programs.
IN MEMORIAM
Marilyn Sue O’Hara
The AAG is saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Marilyn Sue O’Hara, also known as Marilyn Ruiz on September 30, 2018. O’Hara was a Clinical Professor of Pathobiology at the University of Illinois. She obtained a PhD in geography in 1995 from the University of Florida. Her work largely centered around the spatial diffusion of disease and epidemiology.
PUBLICATIONS
Read the November 2018 Issue of the ‘Annals of the AAG’
The AAG is pleased to announce that Volume 108, Issue 6 (November 2018) of the Annals of the American Association of Geographers is now available online. The November issue contains a special forum: Context and Uncertainty in Geography and GIScience.
Full article listing available.
New Books in Geography — September and October 2018 Available
From places like the Arctic and Africa to people like Lévi-Strauss and Doreen Massey, the topics are varied on the latest list of new books in geography! Recently released books are compiled from various publishers each month. The October list features topics such as citizenship, drugs, plants, and fire safety. Some of these titles are later reviewed in the AAG Review of Books.
Browse the list of September new books.
Browse the list of October new books.
Fall 2018 Issue of ‘The AAG Review of Books’ Now Available
Volume 6, Issue 4 of The AAG Review of Books has now been published online. This quarterly online journal publishes scholarly reviews of recent books related to geography, public policy and international affairs. A review essay this quarter by Gerry Kearns reflects on Ireland’s Brexit Problem.
GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
- Co-author of UN Climate Report, geography professor Bill Solecki, discusses findings on NPR
- Geographer Liz Oglesby comments on claims about the ‘migrant caravan’ in Time
EVENTS CALENDAR
- November 18-20, 2018 – Southeast Regional Division Fall Meeting
- April 3-7, 2019 – AAG Annual Meeting: Washington, D.C.
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