Geography Program Review
St. Norbert College
February 24, 2016
Mission Statement/Vision Statement/Relation to College Mission
The St. Norbert College Geography Program is presently a Core Curriculum service provider with a
mission to provide students with intellectually demanding and personally rewarding study that will
help guide them along a path to become “responsible citizens of a diverse, interdependent, and
changing world.” Geography’s power lies in its spatial perspective, which leads to a clearer
understanding of dynamic natural and human patterns and processes across the globe at all scales
(please see “Geography Background” below). The Geography Program endeavors to connect
students with these spatial understandings, and also to reflect and to inspire foundational aspects of a
liberal-arts education, particularly those of instilling a global perspective and of developing an
understanding and respect for other peoples near and far. Geography plays an important role in the
College’s Mission and set of core values by encouraging and helping SNC students to “embrace a
diversity of persons, perspectives and cultures.”
The SNC Geography Program’s vision is to build upon its small but solid base into a full-fledged,
robust, minor- and major-granting program. This would be akin to the strong SNC Geology Program
or the Geography program at Macalester College (most of our peer and aspirant liberal arts
institutions do not have Geography majors – their loss). It is the intention of the members of the
Geography Program to “grow” the Geography Program over the next several years, with the
continued offering of useful and important Core and elective courses and the hiring of a new FTE
faculty member. This would enable the program first to offer a minor in Geography, and eventually
to construct a major in Geography. An enhanced Geography Program would better serve the College
(students, faculty, and staff, and local/state community) in productive and collaborative ways.
The Geography Program, as currently constituted, is a service program for the Core Curriculum. The
Geography Program responded to the call for both “new and/or improved” for the Core, with the retooling of its course offerings. It presently offers:
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two courses under Beyond Borders (one general - GEOG 140 World Regions and Issues,
and one advanced - GEOG 363 Global Urbanization);
two courses under Difference and Diversity (both general - GEOG 225 Social Geography
and GEOG 155 Ethic Geographies of the U.S.);
an infrequently-offered Physical and Natural World course (general - GEOG 120 Global
Physical Environments); plus,
an occasionally-offered GEOG 238 Intro to Geographic Information Systems course.
(Noteworthy regarding courses is that Bockenhauer has also taught, in all semesters but one since
hired in Fall 1994, a typically large section of SSCI 301 Environmental Studies, also a Core
Curriculum course - C-PN, averaging 40 or more students - with a lecture section and two
discussion/lab sections. This is noteworthy both because of the time needed to teach these “otherthan-Geography” courses, and also that the Geography Program must pay from its exceptionally
small budget for field trips and other teaching expenses associated with these SSCI courses.)
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Geography Background. As a preface to further discussion about the SNC Geography Program, a
brief overview of the study of Geography is in order. Geography is an ancient discipline (the term is
Greek - geo + graphein = “to write about,” or “to describe” the “Earth”). This definition is quite
broad, of course, and the discipline today reflects this breadth of meaning. At least two important
dichotomies have evolved within research and teaching in the discipline, including “systematicregional” and “physical-human” divisions. A kind of “trichotomy” also appears to be present in
geographic study, since its efforts “to describe the Earth” span the academic globe from natural
science to social science to the humanities. This “trichotomy” is particularly relevant at a liberal arts
institution like St. Norbert, one with a strong core set of values, a learning place where the geographic
perspective can be easily and fruitfully combined with other disciplinary viewpoints to the advantage
of students.
The constant in geographic study is the “spatial approach.” A 2006 National Research Council
report1 states that “Spatial thinking—one form of thinking—is based on a constructive amalgam of
three elements: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning. It is the
concept of space that makes spatial thinking a distinctive form of thinking.” While geographers, of
course, do not exclude other approaches, they look first to ask and answer spatial questions like
“Where is IT?” (IT being whatever phenomenon is being considered), “Is There a Pattern?” (few
phenomena are distributed randomly), “Why is IT There?” (And not somewhere else), and “So
What?” (What does it matter to me, to us, or to others?). Another near-constant in geographic study,
of course, is the use and construction of maps as tools of representation, interpretation, and analysis.
Maps have been called "the language of geography," and their use is nearly universal in geographic
study.
Geographers attempt, in their teaching, to help students learn to look at the world in ways different
than most of these students are accustomed to doing. Geographers strive to help students see natural
and human landscapes differently, that is, in spatial terms. Anecdotally, many if not most students
enrolling in Geography courses here at St. Norbert College, even those who say they've had
geography courses in high school, seem to have geography envisioned as merely a map with
memorized place names - geography as a dreary litany of lists (sure to anesthetize even the most
inquiring young mind). The challenge and reward, of course, is to transform this oft-perceived
simplistic and incorrect view of Geography into one that fosters an enriched understanding of the
world.
Real-world examples of geographic issues and concepts help, and they’re always close at hand - from
last evening's news headlines to tomorrow morning’s commute to school. In Geography courses such
as the handful offered here at St. Norbert (World Regions and Issues, Social Geography, Global
Urbanization, Ethnic Geographies of the U.S., and the occasionally-offered Global Physical
Environments and Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, students have the opportunity to
take away a powerful and lasting perspective of the world not likely gained otherwise. These spatial
concepts, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning give students opportunities to deepen
understanding of their world and of the lives of others—and of their own lives, throughout their
lives. A College with a core set of values like St. Norbert would be irresponsible if it did not provide
these geographic concepts, tools, and processes of reasoning to those “responsible citizens of a
diverse, interdependent, changing world” who leave here after four years of study.
1
National Research Council, 2006. Learning to Think Spatially. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, p. ix.
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Discussion of Current Program and Analysis of OIE Data
The Geography Program presently offers neither a major nor a minor, so there are no demographics
to share on majors, minors, or graduates in Geography. Likewise, there are no “student profile data”
nor GRE and similar test scores to report. With no majors and minors, there are no “program
completers” for learning-outcomes assessment. The program has one FTE faculty member (Mark
Bockenhauer, Professor of Geography, Ph.D. in Geography, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
1996). The Geography Program currently employs two talented and innovative adjuncts (Parisa
Watson and Eric Schurer, both instructors of Advanced Placement Human Geography courses at their
high schools), who in recent years have each taught one course per year (Watson – a Fall section of
Ethnic Geographies of the U.S., and Schurer – a Spring section of Social Geography).
The teaching and learning of Geography are well-suited for the employment of full-spectrum
pedagogy, and the Geography discipline has embraced DLI advice and opportunities, and has made
great strides in employing new classroom and study technologies. Over the past two years, we have
used Snoodle almost exclusively for the delivery of course resources (homework, readings, Power
Points, video links, quizzes, forums), we have employed a variety of Google options (Google Forms,
Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Drawings), plus we have worked with a variety of map- and
GIS-based apps (e.g., Esri Story Maps and Story Map Journals, Google My Maps, and more) for both
assignments and student class presentations. We have developed a hybrid course design for the
Ethnic Geographies of the U.S. course (first offered in Fall 2014), with 8 face-to-face meetings
during the semester and the delivery of all assignments online via Snoodle (using a variety of Google
tools) in a modular, work-at-your-own-pace format. We have also developed a completely online
version of the Social Geography course, that we have offered now twice in J-Term (2015 and 2016)
and once in the 2015 MayMester, each time for (a seemingly-perfect) class size of 12 students, who
work from home, asynchronously, and do their daily assignments (one day = one week’s worth of
material) via Snoodle and Google apps, visit the instructor either via email or “office hours” via
“TodaysMeet,” and take quizzes and the final online via Snoodle. With these experiences in hand,
we feel that the Geography Program is well-prepared to engage further with digital technology for
teaching and learning - and we welcome these opportunities.
Geography Program enrollments for the period Fall 2010 through Fall 2015 total 600 students in 24
full-semester, J-Term, and MayMester sections (with several Independent Study and individualized
Special Topics courses also thrown in). The attached “Geography Program Review Data” file (we
added Fall 2015 GEOG courses to the OIE-supplied spreadsheet) shows that enrollment in “regular”
semester courses is typically near, at, or above capacity, with lower enrollment numbers in evening,
hybrid, or online sections - and in J-Term or MayMester sections. The total for the 11 “regular”
courses over this period is 380, for an average of 34.5 students. Lower numbers are found for some
of the courses taught by Watson and Schurer, since they have only been able to teach in the evening
time slots (this was also the case for the one evening course offered by Bockenhauer, in Fall 2012).
Dan Tilly, a GIS professional in a local engineering firm, taught two Intro to GIS courses for
expected lower numbers on long Monday evenings in 2011 and 2012. Bockenhauer’s recent online
J-Term and MayMester sections have enrolled 12 each time, and an online course taught one time by
Nick Padilla, an SNC grad and ABD who taught a section of World Regional Geography for 8
students in 2011 (Nick “followed” in Bockenhauer’s footsteps by going for his Ph.D. in Geography at
UW-Milwaukee – another benefit of having a Geography Program at SNC). The Geography Program
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feels strongly that with another FTE faculty member, it could offer courses that would attract strong
enrollments (see below).
SOOTs results over the period Fall 2010-Fall 2015 (attached, thanks to OIE) indicate that Geography
Program results are just above the College mean for almost every indicator, though the percentage of
surveys taken (61%) is below the College average (GEOG likes the online SOOTs in most ways, but
not regarding the difficulties with getting students to actually take the online survey – easier if they
are in the classroom!). (Not really sure what else to say here; it seems we are doing okay, and
constantly will try to do better.) SNC’s Geography Program is committed to excellence in teaching,
learning, scholarship, and collegiality, both on campus and in the broader community - and we want
to grow.
Geography Program - Strategic Goals
The Geography Program’s discipline coordinator and two Geography adjunct faculty members met in
May 2015 to discuss the Program and ideas/elements of a strategic plan for the next five years, and
then followed up with meetings in September, November, and December 2015. The following
paragraphs summarize the ideas generated for a five-year “growth plan” for the Geography Program:
1) to add more Core and other courses, 2) to establish forms of “certification” or “endorsement” for
students taking a set of Geography courses, 3) to increase Geography Program visibility, 4) to hire an
FTE faculty member – potentially in a joint appointment with another Social Science Division
discipline, and 5) to establish a Geography minor and then a Geography major. These ideas/elements
are, of course, subject to modification (and suggestions by the CEPC are most welcome).
1. Establish Additional Courses. The SNC Geography Program is a small but active entity, both
unique and distinctive. The discipline’s small set of Core Curriculum courses make it a positive
contributor to the College’s mission of developing skills needed to equip our students to be
“responsible citizens of a diverse, interdependent, changing world.” The Program provides courses
that ably serve the SNC Core Curriculum categories of Beyond Borders (World Regions and Issues
and Global Urbanization), Difference and Diversity (Social Geography and Ethnic Geographies of the
U.S.), and less frequently, Physical and Natural World (Global Physical Environments (less frequent
because there is no one to teach the course), and an elective Introduction to Geographic Information
Systems course. These courses are popular with our students (they typically fill up, and SOOTs are
good) and fit some existing majors and minors, such as International Studies, the Teacher Education
certification minor for Broad Field Social Studies, and others. There are opportunities for additional
Geography course offerings in these and other SNC Core Curriculum categories, and the members of
the Geography Program have been brainstorming possibilities. We are thinking that a course like
“Geography of Religions: Faith, Place, and Space” could be a workable addition to either Beyond
Borders (a global overview) or Difference and Diversity (with a U.S. focus; either way, there would
be no intent to infringe upon the Religious Studies discipline’s offerings, but just to offer another
useful course with a geographic lens). Another “no-brainer” would be a course in Political
Geography, that would be a worthwhile addition to the intellectual portfolios of our students majoring
in Political Science, International Studies, IBLAS, and others (again, better to understand the spatial
aspects of political behavior). There are many other possibilities for Core courses, too – Geography
courses that would add value to the résumés of Sociology, History, Business, and other majors in all
of our divisions. Additionally, an effort to secure a greater Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
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presence on campus is well underway – with ITS, Geology, and other interested parties involved.
Offerings of GIS courses allow SNC students (and perhaps faculty) to learn and to use the spatial
perspective and geographic skills set with relevant technologies, of increasing value in careers of
many types. The discipline coordinator will work with his Geography adjuncts and consult with
faculty from other disciplines to gauge the likely success/acceptability of possible GEOG courses;
then the Geography Program will work to construct course descriptions and submit them for
approval. The discipline coordinator will be the responsible person, and will work with the Associate
Dean of Social Science, the Associate Academic Dean, and the CEPC to propose at least two new
courses in the next four years (2017-2020). Resources required include the hiring of additional
adjunct faculty, a second full-time FTE faculty, or a “lecturer” (discussed below in #4).
2. Establishing Form/s of Geography “Certification” or “Endorsement.” There are some SNC
students who just love Geography, and take all the courses that the Geography Program offers. This
has been the case for years. Every year, there are typically 3-5 SNC students who ask about a
Geography major or minor, or wonder if there is a “certificate” or an “endorsement” that they could
earn – something that they would be able to see on their transcript. We currently have nothing for
them. If the Geography Program is able to create a couple of more courses, then it would be
appropriate for a student who took the suite of Geography courses to earn a “certificate” – or for a
Teacher Education major, to take enough Geography courses to earn an “endorsement” (that would
allow that person to teach Geography in K-12 education). This is what we are presently beginning to
discuss with Teacher Education Program faculty. Perhaps there are other possibilities. Two of the
three Geography Program faculty members are involved in this effort. We will try to have something
worked out, and approved, by the close of the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Reaching this goal will be
self-evident: we’ll have something that is “transcriptable” (for a happy and more marketable student).
3. Enhance Geography Program Visibility and Community Outreach. We plan to work to raise
the visibility of the Geography Program with the local and state community. The Geography
Program’s long involvement in K-12 geographic education puts SNC “on the map” for teachers and
students of geography across the state and nation – as well as serving in an extra-curricular way for
SNC Teacher Education and International students. Mark Bockenhauer was able to move the
Wisconsin Geographic Alliance (WIGA) base from UW-Eau Claire to SNC, and has been the sole
coordinator of this statewide non-profit educational organization for the past 11 years. In that time,
the alliance has applied for and received grant money totaling more than $700,000 from the National
Geographic Society’s Education Foundation, to support networking, teacher professional
development, and materials creation and dissemination activities. These grant funds “count” in the
totals for the College, with accounting done by the SNC Finance Department. A healthy share of this
grant money ends up in a variety of College accounts through conference and events services,
graduate credits, housing, student assistance, and more. For instance, WIGA holds an annual
Saturday “Geo-Fest” each fall for teachers and pre-service educators from across the state. The past
two events have each attracted more than 130 attendees, including dozens of SNC Teacher Education
majors who get to “rub shoulders” with teachers and learn from hands-on classroom presentations by
WIGA master teachers. They are also typically able to earn a couple of “Human Relations” hours.
The past few years we have also worked with the Center for International Education to engage a
group of SNC international students to share ideas in a fascinating Geo-Fest session about their home
cultures and experiences here in the United States; results have been informative and delightful.
Additionally, and as an example of the recognition of the SNC Geography Program and the
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Wisconsin Geographic Alliance by others, the National Geographic Bee - operated by the National
Geographic Society and known to millions of middle school students, teachers, and parents across the
country - will hold its first-ever “National Geographic Bee Coordinators Meeting” at SNC’s Bemis
Center next August 2-5, 2016. Geographic Bee Coordinators from every state and U.S. territory are
invited to attend, and these 70 or so people will be on our campus for three days and nights – using
our dining services, staying in campus dorms (and Kress Inn), and taking back great impressions
about our campus (maybe even for prospective students). We also have plans to work with the
Norman Miller Center for Peace, Justice and Public Understanding to collaborate on the visit of their
Miller Lecture speaker for March 2017: Aziz Abu Sarah is a National Geographic “Emerging
Explorer,” and we are planning to create an opportunity to have him extend his campus stay to work
on a Saturday with local high school teachers and students – through the SNC Geography Program
and the Wisconsin Geographic Alliance. These connections and events happen because of strong ties
between the Wisconsin Geographic Alliance and National Geographic - and the alliance would be
based at another state institution if not for SNC’s Geography Program. We are looking for additional
ways to reach out and bring attention to SNC and to the Geography Program. All three of our current
full time and adjunct faculty members are involved with this work, while the discipline coordinator
will be superintending the effort. This work will be ongoing, and resources will include reaching out
to and collaborating with other campus groups, as well as being able to earmark WIGA grant
resources for specific events/activities (we will be putting a request for funds for the March 2017
Aziz Abu Sarah events into our operating grant application to the NG Education Foundation in a
couple of months). We will endeavor to complete one such high-visibility event per year over the
next five years– and that will be one measure of progress.
4. Hiring a FTE Faculty Member. Of course, this would be a huge step for the Geography
Program, and would likely go lock-step with the offering of a minor and then a major. Obviously the
clearest path would be to secure a tenure-track faculty line solely for Geography, but our small group
has been thinking of other possible hiring paths that might be workable – at least for a limited-term,
transition phase. We have discussed informally with another Social Science Division discipline, the
Teacher Education Program, the possibility of a joint appointment (why not?), and plan to have more
serious discussions with our Associate Dean and SNC Dean. In one scenario, a joint GeographyTeacher Education appointment would teach two courses in Geography and one course in Education
in Fall, then two Education courses and one Geography course in Spring (splitting costs equally; or
maybe a two-thirds/one-third arrangement - one way or the other - might work, depending on
discipline needs). Another scenario might involve a person nearing completion of a doctoral program
who could be hired initially in a Geography “Lecturer” position, to teach two courses per semester
(perhaps in hybrid teaching formats, as has been successfully done with Ethnic Geographies of the
U.S.). The discipline coordinator will meet by the end of Summer 2016 with the Social Science
Associate Dean and SNC Dean (and with the Teacher Education Co-Directors, of course) to discuss
the prospects - and timing - of such a hiring. It would be optimum to hire this person before the start
of the 2017 Fall Semester - and again, this goal’s evaluation will be self-evident.
5. Creation of a Minor and then a Major in Geography. This goal will be wonderful to attain
(think of that, all of you committee members - and it’s all of you - who actually have majors and
minors…). The Geography Program faculty will research anew, over the next year, offerings of other
small and successful liberal arts Geography programs (there are many; not just the peer and aspirant
institutions, most of which have not seen that spatial light). The object will be to construct an array
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of courses that will effectively work for a useful-to-our-students minor and major in Geography.
There will be Social Science-perfect courses, there will be courses that reach out to and strengthen
Natural Science majors, there will be courses that appeal strongly to History and other Humanities
majors, and there will be GIS for all. Depending on the outcome of discussions with many notables –
including the Associate Dean of Social Sciences, Associate Academic Dean, Dean of the College, and
more, a proposal will be prepared for each of these steps. This strategic goal will be realized by 2020
(and suggestions are always welcome).
El Fin 