July 2015
Welcome to the Newsletter of the Association of American Geographers (AAG). For more up-todate news, stories, and announcements, read news.aag.org/recent-news.
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
The Bully Pulpit
By Sarah Witham Bednarz
I begin my first column by thanking you for electing me president of the AAG, a
decision I hope you do not regret. I am simultaneously very excited and
nervous about this opportunity but I know that I have excellent support from my
in-house colleague, Bob Bednarz, from Doug Richardson and a terrific staff at
Meridian Place, and from a superlative Council. And I will lean on the wisdom
of many Past Presidents who guide me, notably Julie Winkler, Mona Domosh,
Dick Marston, Alec Murphy, and Ken Foote.
I now have the bully pulpit. Theodore Roosevelt coined this phrase at a time when bully meant
something quite different from today. To TR, everything good was bully. But its current meaning
of speaking from a point of authority, of being a little bossy, or pedantically instructive attracts me
to the term. I hope to be more instructive than bossy; I know you will let me know if I am achieving
this tone by commenting on my columns. Continue Reading.
Recent columns from the President
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Why is our Geography Curriculum so White?
How We Hurt Each Other Every Day, and What We Might Do About It
The Costs (and Benefits?) of Constant Counting
More from the President
ANNUAL MEETING
AAG Opens Annual Meeting Call for Papers on July 31
Registration for the AAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco opens on July 31, 2015. AAG will also
begin accepting abstracts and proposals for presentations. The 2016 conference will take place
March 29-April 2. Researchers, scholars, professionals, and students are welcome to present
papers, posters, and panel discussions on all topics relevant to geography. Abstracts are due by
Oct. 29, 2015, but may be edited through February 18, 2016. Learn More.
FOCUS ON SAN FRANCISCO
The Coming 'Dry-Wet Knockout' in
California
By B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam
Seven of the last 10 years have been dry in California, and
the last four have been critically dry. The drought is a top
concern for Californians, with two-thirds of the state in
extreme to exceptional drought. Severe droughts are one
feature of our state's climate; extremely wet years are
another. In fact, droughts and floods are two sides of the
same coin, because often extremely wet winters have
followed on the heels of severe and prolonged droughts.
This coming winter, a major El Niño is predicted, and may
bring heavy rains accompanied by flooding, mudslides, and
landslides.
The coupling of prolonged droughts with extreme wet years
has been dubbed a "dry-wet knockout" by climate
scientists, who have found that these occur with unnerving
Medieval tree stump in the West Walker
River (eastern California)
frequency in California's climate history. In just the past
century we have seen several examples. The years
between 1928 and 1937 were among the driest of the 20th century in California, desiccating the
grasslands of the Central Valley and the slopes of the mountains, and shrinking rivers and lakes.
Then the winter of 1937-38 saw a series of storms deluge the northern two-thirds of the state,
including two storms that dumped 10 inches of rain in southern California, flooding areas from
San Diego to Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert.
Learn More.
NEWS
AAG Releases Statement in Defense of Academic Freedom
at the University of Wisconsin
The Association of American Geographers expresses its deep concern over the proposals
pending in the Wisconsin legislature that threaten tenure and hence academic freedom. By
expanding the circumstances under which tenure can be revoked, the policies recommended by
the Joint Finance Committee threaten the academic freedom that makes scholarly discovery and
creativity possible. As such, these pending proposals run counter to the ideals of intellectual
independence, shared governance, and public engagement that have made the Wisconsin State
University system, and the higher education system of the United States, a beacon of academic
vitality around the globe. We call on the Wisconsin legislature to uphold a system of higher
education that is open to a diversity of perspectives, methods, and experiences by supporting
academic free speech that is made possible by the tenure system. Learn More.
Share Your Experiences
Geographical Scientist
About
Being
a
Visiting
Invitation to submit your experiences to promote VGSP
The AAG and Gamma Theta Upsilon are planning a new section of the Visiting Geographical
Scientist Program (VGSP) website by highlighting past events that inform potential hosts and
speakers about this important and beneficial funding opportunity.
If you have hosted or been a speaker at a VGSP event, we are interested in featuring images of
your experience, including any links to videos, posters or other promotional materials, along with
quotes and reflections about the program. Learn More.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
How Not to Get a DDRI Award
1) Construct a narrowly focused case study of process in a small community in a faraway land,
emphasizing its uniqueness. The case will be of interest to a few others who work in the same
area.
An acronym has been developed for these projects, "WISC" (Wallowing in a Specific Case). The
GSS program and NSF in general does not prioritize support for WISCy proposals as it needs to
support research that generates new knowledge more broadly and with relevance to US
society. Read More.
National Humanities Center Offers Fellowships for 2016-17
The National Humanities Center invites applications for academic-year or one-semester
residencies. Fellowship applicants must have a PhD or equivalent scholarly credentials. Midcareer as well as senior scholars from all areas of the humanities are welcome; emerging
scholars with a strong record of peer-reviewed work are also encouraged to apply. Located in the
progressive Triangle region of North Carolina, the Center affords access to the rich cultural and
intellectual communities supported by the area's research institutes and universities. Fellows
have private studies; the library service delivers all research materials. Scholars from all parts of
the globe are eligible; travel expenses in addition to a stipend are provided. The deadline for
applications is October 15, 2015. Read More.
MEMBER & DEPARTMENT NEWS
Jenny Zorn Named Provost at CSU Bakersfield
Zorn
Dr. Jenny Zorn will join CSU Bakersfield on July 31, 2015 as provost and
vice president for academic affairs, succeeding Dr. Soraya Coley, who was
named president of Cal Poly Pomona last fall. As the chief academic officer,
Zorn will oversee the academic enterprise of the University, including the
four schools, Extended University, Antelope Valley Center, and academic
support services such as enrollment management, grants, research, and
faculty affairs. Zorn currently serves as interim provost and vice president for
academic affairs at Humboldt State University, prior to which she was the
associate provost for academic and international programs at CSU San
Bernardino. Read More.
Elizabeth Wentz Appointed ASU Dean of Social
Sciences
Elizabeth Wentz, professor and director of the School of Geographical
Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, has been
appointed dean of social sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences. Read More.
Wentz
AAG Members Speak at 5th International Hurricane and
Climate Change Summit
Five members of the AAG were invited speakers of the 5th International Hurricane and Climate
Change Summit held in Chania, Greece June 9-14. Co-organised by Climate Specialty Group
Chair, Jennifer Collins, the following AAG members presented on topics such as paleotempestology, hurricane intensities and tropical cyclone risk assessments: Kelsey Ellis, Harry
Williams, Jennifer Collins, Mark Welford and Jerry Jien. Read More.
IN MEMORIAM
Harley
Daniel W. Gade
Jesse
Walker
PUBLICATIONS
Learning Progressions Handbook Is Now
Available
AAG and Cambridge Scholars Publishing announce the release of
"Learning Progressions for Maps, Geospatial Technology, and Spatial
Thinking-A Research Handbook" by Michael N. Solem, Niem Tu Huynh,
Richard G. Boehm.
As an approach to educational research, learning progressions offer
considerable potential for investigating how children develop an
understanding of geographic concepts and practices across grade bands
and in relation to national geography standards. Learn More.
New
Books
Received
-
June
2015
The AAG Review of Books office has released the list of the books received during the month of
June. Learn More.
MORE HEADLINES
Op-Ed: #KickOutTheKKK: Challenging White Supremacy at
UNC
By Reuben Rose-Redwood, Derek Alderman, Altha Cravey, Scott Kirsch, Omololu Refilwe
Babatunde, and Josh Inwood
On May 28, 2015, the Board of Trustees
at the University of North Carolina (UNC)
at Chapel Hill voted to rename Saunders
Hall-the building in which the Geography
Department is located-following months of
student protest that garnered national
attention. Nearly a century ago, this
building was named in honor of William L.
Saunders (1835-1891), a white
supremacist who played a leading role in
the Ku Klux Klan of North Carolina during
the nineteenth century. When the name
was bestowed in 1920, the university's
Figure 1. UNC students protesting for the renaming of
Board of Trustees listed Saunders'
Saunders Hall as Hurston Hall (courtesy of The Daily Tar
leadership in the KKK as one of his
Heel/Claire Collins)
accomplishments deserving recognition.
Naming a building for Saunders was
therefore a clear attempt to inscribe the legacy of white supremacy into the very fabric of the
university's cultural landscape. And the fact that the building's name endured for over 90 years
speaks to how legacies of anti-black racism are a largely unquestioned and taken-for-granted
aspect of our everyday surroundings, both on and off university campuses. We say "largely"
because the power of every racialized landscape never goes completely unchallenged, and
Saunders Hall was no exception. Learn More.
A Posthumous, Open Letter to Jay Harman
By Dr. Brian Michael Napoletano
Dear Professor Harman (or Jay, if you will permit me),
I'm sorry it's been so long since we've communicated; I'm still terrible at keeping in touch with old
friends. However, I have thought of our conversations many times, and have been excited to
update you on where I am and what I am doing. I have made several radical life changes that I
wish to share with you, as you have been a major inspiration in the career choices I have
made. Read More.
EVENTS CALENDER
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Earth Educators' Rendezvous at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO,
July 13-17
Regional Studies Association Inaugural Australasian Conference 2015, Melbourne,
Australia, August 31-September 2
GIS in Transit Conference, Washington, DC, September 1-3
2015 ILGISA Annual Conference, Springfield, IL, September 14-16
U.S. Board on Geographic Names 125th Anniversary Celebration, Washington, DC,
September 18
Digital Earth 2015 Symposium, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, October 6-10
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