| Geography is a big-picture discipline. Geographers integrate knowledge of culture, society and the economy with understanding of the earth's physical system and biosphere in order to provide a holistic perspective on human-environment relationships. The geographic perspective is vital to understanding and addressing many critical problems including global warming, environmental change, global and local conflicts, sustainable development, and maintaining indigenous cultures in a globalizing world. Geography is an ideal major for those who wish to use knowledge of society and the environment to make the world of the future a better place. |
Congratulations to Randy, Kim, and Eve!
In the latest edition of Weather Climate and Society, Geography Ph.D. students Randy Peppler and Kim Klockow and Geog adjunct professor, Eve Gruntfest are authors on 3 of the 7 research papers published by the journal. Congratulations to all three!
Retreat and Fall Picnic this Saturday
Dear Geography Graduate Students,
I would like to say a very warm welcome to Oklahoma to all of our new students! And to returning graduate students, I say welcome to the Fall 2010 semester! As is the tradition of the Department, we will hold our annual fall picnic this Saturday August 28th. Let me strongly encourage all students to attend. The venue is the Sooner Room of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. The faculty and staff will hold a short retreat beginning at 9:00 am. I understand from Erich Keithly that the graduate students will be holding a retreat of their own that morning. Graduate students will join the faculty for lunch at 12:30 pm and stay to the end of the retreat. The goal is to provide an opportunity for new graduate students to meet all of the faculty as well as their fellow graduate students. Returning students can also raise any issues of concern to them or simply discuss topics on which they would like faculty insights and clarification. I will be making a number of announcements with respect to changes in the graduate program and curriculum, expectations, new initiatives in the Department, opportunities for graduate student participation and so on. Again, I believe it will be in the interest of all graduate students to attend. The retreat should come to an end about 3 pm.
At 5 pm that evening, the fall picnic will kick off at Indian Point shelter at Lake Thunderbird State Park. Directions to the venue will be posted on the Department webpage. Hard copies will also be distributed in your mail boxes. I am trying to make it hard for people to get lost! The picnic will continue until the last person leaves (whenever that is). The Department will provide grilled meats, buns, and beverages. I encourage you to bring side dishes to share. Those of age are free to bring alcoholic drinks if they wish. I encourage AGGS to make transportation arrangements for all students wishing to attend. Please liaise with me and the faculty if necessary. DO NOT attempt to go to the venue on your bicycles. There is a volleyball pitch at the venue so come ready to play. If you have other games you would like to share, bring those too but please note that this venue is smaller and less open than the one we had last year.
Plan to attend both the retreat and the picnic. Let's start the new semester in a spirit of collegiality and fun!
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Aondover Tarhule
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Geography
University of Oklahoma
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Congratulations to Dr. Dilekli !!
Naci Dilekli successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation in the afternoon of July 26, 2010. His dissertation topic was titled "Developing and Evaluating a Web-Based Emergency Management Spatial Decision Support System". Naci's dissertation Chair was Dr. Darren Purcell.
Congratulations to Heather Hollen Jones !!
Heather Hollen Jones, the 2009-2010 Outstanding Junior for the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences has been selected as the 2010-2011 Astronaut Scholar for the 2010-2011 academic school year. Heather Hollen will receive the $10,000 award from former Astronaut scholar and presently STS-1 pilot Robert Crippen at a special reception organized in her honor on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. In her first year at OU, Heather received the James Davis Early Career Award in Geography. Heather’s mentor is Prof. Fred Shelley. Congratulations to Heather!
Congratulations to Daniel Sambu!
Daniel Sambu has accepted a tenure track position as Assistant Professor at Glenville State College (West Virginia), starting this fall. Daniel will teach Geography in the Department of Social Sciences. Congratulations to Daniel!
Welcome Kirsten de Beurs, New Geography Faculty Member in Fall 2010.
Dr. de Beurs will teach GEOG 4133/5133 (Fundamentals of Remote Sensing) in the fall 2010 semester. Read more details here
Welcome William Monfredo, Ph.D.
William Monfredo, Ph.D. earned his Master of Science degree in Geosciences at Mississippi State University in 1998 and a Doctorate in Environmental Geography at Texas State University in 2002, where he specialized in atmospheric hazards.