Notes from the Chair

Back to Monrovia

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 11 May 2010 09:37:11 -0600

Ahh, it is good to be back in our temporary home. The roof's fixed, we're chasing the mice away, and we're slowly unpacking the boxes we hastily packed last week.

Last Saturday I sat through our 99th commencement ceremonies (only my 13th). As all 1000 graduates' names are read, I passed the time in various ways (My apologies to any alum who thought all faculty paid rapt attention through the ceremony). Some of the time I just enjoyed the beautiful but windy day (nothing like a nice breeze up my regalia!). But, I also counted our majors who graduated cum laude or magna cum laude. I'm pleased to say that 9 out of 34 graduates received those honors!

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Mary Washington at the AAG

Stephen Hanna — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:28:55 -0600

Mary Washington Geography was well represented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (April 14-18) in DC. Students, faculty, and at least some alumni are listed below:

Students

Timothy J. St. Onge: The Geography of Water Pollution in the Salton Sea

Anya K Bogdanow: The Aral Sea Catastrophe: How are former Soviet countries dealing with the
problems?

Joseph Cirenza: Coastal Erosion in Hawaii

Lauren M. Birney: Exploring Maya Food Security in Highland Guatemala

Amber L. Huffman: Maya Women in Development: Experiences in Guatemala

Allyson L. Thompson: The Appeal of Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

Bitna Yeon: Effects of human activities on ecosystems in wetlands: Implication for Wetlands of Madrid in Spain

Faculty

Farhang Rouhani: Complicating Queertopias: The Story of the Richmond Queer Space Project

Dawn Bowen: Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: Field-Based Learning Experiences

Brian Rizzo: Quantifying Shoreline Change on The Virginia Barrier Islands

Jacqueline Gallagher: Fieldwork using GPS and mobile GIS: practical considerations

Melina Patterson: Transracial Adoption and the National Imagination: reproducing family and country without reproduction

Stephen O'Connell: Providing the Context: Imagery and Messaging in the Development of a National Park Community

Stephen Hanna: Slavery, War, and a Town Transformed: Exploring Fredericksburg's Cultural Landscapes (a field trip I led with John Hennessey (NPS))

Alumni

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't remember every Mary Washington alum who presented research at the conference. But I did see or note in the conference program the following alumni: Alison Greiner '88, Jessica DeWitt ‘07, Shelby Zelonis, Coleen Earp ‘08, Carole Gallagher '91, Jonathan Leib ‘85, Pete Chirico '93, Burrell Montz ‘73, Eric Perramond ‘92, Shari Wilcox Adams ‘01, Ally Serio '97, and Sarah Hinman ‘00. My apologies to anyone I left out!

Finally, Matthew Holden '11 was Mary Washington's representative on the SEDAAG team that won the AAG Geography Bowl competition! Congrats to Matthew!

Graduation approaches

Stephen Hanna — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:08:08 -0600

Its all over but the grading. One of the department's more tumultuous semesters is ending well. As graduation approaches, its time to recognize a few more members of our exceptional graduating class.

This year four seniors will graduate with Honors in Geography. That is more than any other year that we have on record. Below is the list of honors graduates with their thesis titles.

Timothy J. St. Onge: "MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS AND PLACE PERCEPTIONS OF STIGMATIZED NEIGHBORHOODS IN WASHINGTON, D.C."

Lauren Birney: "EXPLORING MAYA FOOD SECURITY IN HIGHLAND GUATEMALA: THE ROLE OF AGROECOLOGICAL NGOS."

Amber Huffman: "THE GENDERED ASPECT OF MAYA DEVELOPMENT IN GUATEMALA"

Cassandra Ratti: "STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CAMPUS SAFETY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON"

Congratulations to all four!

Student Award Winners

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:22:53 -0600

We held our annual awards banquet a week ago (April 7). It was great to see a large number of students and a few alumni there. As always we honored our majors' many accomplishments and presented awards to the top juniors and seniors.

This year we welcomed one of the largest group of initiates ever into Gamma Theta Upsilon (the geography honor society). In addition, we recognized the members of the Virginia World Geography Bowl Team who carried the trophy back from SEDAAG as well as the students who will be presenting research at the Association of American Geographers conference this week.

Pictured here are the winners of this year's departmental awards. 2010 Award Winners

From right to left: Richard Palmieri Award co-winner: Kayla Kuhn; Meriwether Lewis and Richard Clark Award receipient: Amber Huffman; NCGE Award for Excellence in Scholarship winner: Cassandra Ratti; Matthew Fontaine Maury Award recipient: Jessica Lok; Palmieri co-winner and Alumni Scholarship recipient: Sarah McNeal; and Harold Thompson Straw Award winner: Tim St. Onge.

Congraluations to both these students and to the entire graduating class of 2010!

Symposium 2010

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:12:04 -0600

Here's the line-up for the Geography Department's Annual Symposium on April 7. Come and hear what Mary Washington Geographers are up to this year!

Morning Presentations in Annex A 112

9.00: Lauren Birney:
Exploring Agroecology in Highland Guatemala

9.25: Amber Huffman: The Gendered Aspect of Maya Development
in Guatemala

10.00 Allyson Thompson:
The Value of Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

10.25 Cassandra Ratti:
Student Perceptions of Campus Safety at the University of Mary Washington

11.00 Tim St. Onge:
Media Representations and Place Perceptions of Stigmatized Neighborhoods in
Washington, D.C.

11.25 Kayla Kuhn:
Contesting Neoliberalism: Public Urban Gardening

12.00-2.00 Poster Session in Annex A 112

Anya Bogdanow: Monitoring
the Kokaral dam's effectiveness in preserving the Aral Sea, using GIS and
Remote Sensing Techniques

Bitna Yeon: Effects of human activities on ecosystems in
wetlands: Implication for Wetlands of Madrid in Spain

Sarah Trimble: Examining
Historic and Current Data Using GIS: An analysis of shoreline change on the
Virginia Barrier Islands

Ryan Forbes, Sarah McNeal & Brandon Eads: Slavery, War, and
a Town Transformed: Exploring Fredericksburg's Cultural Landscapes through
Cartographic Design

Amber Huffman, Jeff Soffer
& Curran Bullock: Reservations, EITC Filers, and Refund Anticipation Loans:
Mapping the Correlations

Matthew Holden, Kristin Cutler, Nate Finney & Bonnie Trumbetic: Cartographic Processes: Creating
views of Fredericksburg and the Civil War

Afternoon Presentations in Annex A 112

2.00 Mary Pawlina: Securing Butte's Future by Preserving Its
Past

2.25 Megan Falkenberry: Water Scarcity in Phoenix: Water
Usage in Relation to Location & Socioeconomic Status

3.00 Sarah Trimble:
Attempting to Manage the Modern Wolf Population of Idaho

3.25 Erik Monterosso:
Modeling climate ecosystem dynamics

Victory!

Stephen Hanna — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:18:04 -0700

The Mary Washington led Virginia team won the World Geography Bowl competition at the Annual Meetings of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers last week. Led by captain Matthew Holden (2011) and coached by Joe Nicholas, Jackie Gallagher and Jackie Gallagher, 5 Mary Wash geographers and one graduate student from Virginia Tech defeated teams composed mostly of grarduate students from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

During the final round against Florida, Matthew was joined by Brandon Eads (2010), Allyson Thompson (2010), Anya Bogdanow (2010), Joey Winters (2013) and the Virginia Tech student. Ryan Forbes (2011) and Zach Werhmann (2011) served as alternates. Congratulations to everyone!

Alumni Lecture Series - Continues

Stephen Hanna — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:24:07 -0700

We've now hosted four speakers in our 50th Anniversary Lecture series. John McCarthy (1943), Carole Gallagher (1991), Louis Dean (1990), and LeAnne Carrouth (1984) have talked on subjects incuding planning, Northern Ireland, remote sening, and how geography is great preparation for a career in filmmaking.

This week we're proud to host Dr. Sarah Hinman (MWC 200) who will talk about how she incorporates GIS in her research in historical and medical geography. The talk is at 6:00pm on Thursday, November 19 in Annex A 109. All are weclome.

SEDAAG Sessions Commemorate 50th

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:18:36 -0700

The upcoming (November 22-24) annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG) will feature two sessions organized by Dawn Bowen to mark the 50th Anniversary of Geography at Mary Washington.

In these sessions, Mary Washington Geography alumni and current faculty will present ongoing research in both physical and human geography.

Derek Alderman, professor of Geography at East Carolina University and current President of SEDAAG sees "the celebration of the Mary Washington geography department's 50th anniversary as a major milestone for the Division and, of course, the University of Mary Washington." He also notes "Mary Washington's geography program has produced a particularly impressive array of professional geographers over the years, including major leaders in the fields of environmental and political geography."

In addition to papers by 4 current Mary Washington faculty, 7 accomplished geography alumni will present in these sessions. These include: Dr. Burrell Montz (1973), professor and chair of Geography at ECU, Dr. Jonathan Leib (1984), associate professor of Geography at ODU, Peter Chirco (1993), Geographer at USGS, Dr. Richard Russo (1993), Stephen O'Connell (1998), instructor at UMW, instructor at University of Maryland, Dr. Sarah Hinman (2000),assistant professor of History at Idaho State, and Stuart Geiger, Geographer at Dewberry.

For more information on these sessions, go to www.sedaag.org click on the Annual Meeting tab and look for the conference program.

Movin' In (or Movin Out Part Deux: Life in Monrovia)

Stephen Hanna — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:07:48 -0600

We've been in Monrovia for a few weeks now. The GIS lab is mostly set up, the maps have been filed back into their drawers, and the HVAC contractors are trying to get the inside humidity down below 80%. All in all, it's working out ok.

If you are a member of the Geography Alumni Group on Facebook, check out Dawn's pictures of the deserted Monroe Hall and the inside of Monrovia. If you aren't a member, I've copied some of them here:

The first two show Monroe Hall, now abandoned and awaiting its much need renovation. The last give you sense of our life in the trailers.

What a Celebration!

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:46:34 -0600

On Saturday, April 18, 135 geographers came together to celebrate 50 years of Geography at Mary Washington.
Marshall Bowen and Sue Liebenow (1971)

The Banquet, held at Brock's Riverside Grill in Downtown
Fredericksburg, featured Marshall Bowen's recollections on the
Department's history, the presentation of awards and the Geography
Alumni Scholarship to current students, and the recognition of the
contributions to the department made by students, faculty, and alumni
over the years.

Bill and Jenny Major, Pete Chirico, and Matt Mejia

But mostly, it was just a lot of fun! Alumni from the 1970s, 80s, 90s,
and the 2000s shared stories and laughs, caught up with each other and
made new connections.

In addition to celebrating our past, we recognized the accomplishments
of our current students. Timothy St. Onge, Emily Fornof, Leah
Shopneck, Keith Garrett, and Hilary Lufkin won the department's annual
awards while Allyson Thompson won the Geography Alumni Scholarship for
2009-2010.

Timothy St. Onge (left) Claire Tamaccio and Allyson Thompson (right)

Finally, the current faculty and students took some time to thank past graduates for all their contributions over the years - the teaching, the internships, and the job opportunities that have helped our students make their way in the world. We also thanked Ellen and Keith Littlefield (1979) and Jeff Rountree (1991) and his wife Lisa for their generous gifts towards the Geography Alumni Scholarship fund and the new 50th Anniversary Geography Endowment.

Let me end this by thanking Dawn Bowen, Donald Rallis, Jackie Gallagher, Dora Minor, Jason Smith, and everyone else who made this such a special evening!

Jeff Rountree (1991) and Doug Stanley (1992)

Winter arrives

Stephen Hanna — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:09:13 -0700

The annual Fredericksburg Christmas parade (complete with some light snow this year!) signals the end of another semester and the beginning of break. As always, exam week is a busy time, but also a time to note some accomplishments:

At the SEDAAG meetings this year, the Virginia Geography Bowl team was made up entirely of Mary Washington students. Going against other states with graduate students on their teams, our team did quite well and two of our students, Matt Holden and Jonathan Trenary, had top 10 scores.

Also, at the SEDAAG meeting, Keith Garrett's (UMW senior) presentation on GIS and emergency response was very well received.

Finally, its time to recognize nine majors who will graduate this month (we know they will pass their finals!). Congratulations to Jacqui Newman, Hilary Lufkin, Leah Shopneck, Colin Deyman, Keith Garrett, Deena Furry, Karen Portillo, and Krystal Bopp.

Stephen

a bit of news, a few notes

Stephen Hanna — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:07:15 -0700

Another Geography Awareness Week has come and gone. The Mary Washington Geography Club did a great job organizing a bunch of events including an "Around the World Dance," geocaching expeditions, and career day. For the latter I would like to thank Katie Walters (2006), Mark Preston (1999), Stu Geiger (2006), Laurel Hammig (2007), and Steve O'Connell (1998) for sharing their thoughts on their work experiences and their recommendations for how to succeed in their different fields.

At Mary Washington, Geography Awareness Week ends when (but not where) the annual SEDAAG (Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers) conference begins. As always, a gang of Mary Wash students have joined Joe Nicholas, Jackie Gallagher, and Steve O'Connell to travel to Greensboro, NC for the conference. The students will both represent Virginia in the annual Geography Bowl and attend sessions on all things geographic (I've heard reports already of cool presentations on pit barbeque). I'll add to this blog later when I hear how our team did!

Stephen

Between Change?

Stephen Hanna — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:37:03 -0700

February 18, 2008

Change is the word of the presidential election so far. Everybody is a candidate-for-change. Change the economy. Change Iraq. Change ‘broken Washington.’ Of course, every election features candidates-for-change. It’s just harder to figure out what it means when nobody runs on the status quo.

For the Geography Department at Mary Washington – and for the institution as a whole – change seems omnipresent as well. Bricks are now partially covering the grid of steel beams marks the addition to Anne Carter Lee Hall and we are all wondering who Mary Washington’s next president will be. We’re even planning for the renovation of Monroe Hall.

Yet, January 2008 also seems to be a brief interlude between change. We overhauled the geography major last year diversifying our course offerings. I served on a committed last fall that completely rewrote the the general education curriculum for the whole college I also worked with faculty in a variety of departments to design a certificate program in Geographic Information Science – a program that was approved in November. We added two new geographers to the faculty in the past two years. These changes are done and we anticipate their growth and development in the coming years.

We’re also waiting for more change. The GIS program’s start date is Fall 2008. Students and faculty are eager to get it going. We’re due to move out of Monroe and into modular units (trailers – although really very nice ones) in Spring 2009. I want to call our temporary home, “Monrovia.” While the geography faculty offices and labs will all be in the same place, we’ll become more nomadic – wandering from Trinkle to Chandler, to Combs to teach our classes.

And, this site is a change. A new place for interaction with people I remember and many I’ve never met. If it works, we’ll imagine a new community of Mary Washington Geographers spread over most states and a fair number of countries.

Heading to Winter Holidays

Stephen Hanna — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:27:02 -0700

Another Fall semester is almost over and its time to look back and see what's happened at UMW and within the geography department

1. Mary Washington's Foundation bought the Park and Shop shopping center right across Route 1 from the campus! This surprised a lot of us, but on the whole it makes a ton of sense. The plans are to build student apartments, some retail/entertainment/performance space, and some faculty/staff condos. It sounds a lot like a new-urbanism-inspired plan. There will be a foot/bicycle bridge over Route 1 to connect it to campus walk.

2. The MWC faculty passed a new general education plan. This plan streamlines the requirements and adds some interesting new things that will enhance student-faculty engagement. All students will take a first year seminar and all students will have to fulfill an experiential learning requirement. The latter can be fulfilled with independent studies, faculty-supervised internships, service learning courses, etc. It will ensure that all Mary Washington graduates have learning experiences beyond the classroom.

3. The Geography Department worked with Historic Preservation, Environmental Science, Computer Science, and programs at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies (CGPS) to create a new Certificate program in Geographic Information Science. While the program will be hosted at CGPS, MWC students will be able complete the certificate as part of their undergraduate program as well.

Of course, these are just the headlines. As we head into Spring the work that Jackie Gallagher, Brian Rizzo, and many of their students accomplished this fall will result in great internships with the City of Fredericksburg. We'll also look forward to what should be a stellar Geography Department Symposium.

Happy Holidays!

Stephen