Geography Department News

Department of Geography College of Liberal Arts 1250 Bellflower Boulevard California State University Long Beach, CA 90840-1101 USA

as of 05 November 2007

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Geography Awareness Week Is upon Us!

The Department of Geography is proud to announce its annual Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day program. Traditionally, the third week of November is the National Week, and geography programs across the nation are encouraged to create events to inform students and the general public about the scope, interest, and value of geography. Our Department has always taken this opportunity to showcase our discipline, and this year is no different! This year, the national theme of the Week is Asia and, so, our keynote speaker, Ms. Nancy Yoho (the 2005 College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumna and Vice-President of GIS for Rand McNally) will present "A Small Slice of India from an American's Perspective" on Wednesday the 14th at 5:30 in LA2-109.

Ms. Tori Wilson will present "Opportunities for Service in the Peace Corps" as part of our Week's Jobs in Geography Colloquium. Her talk will be at 6:30 on Tuesday the 13th, in LA4-108.

Geography is also conspicuously involved in International Education Week, which runs at the same time as Geography Awareness Week. Dr. Bipasha Baruah will serve as moderator (along with Ms. Tina Matuchniak of English) of the film "The Namesake" (about the Ganguli family's migration from India to New York and its varying accommodation with and reaction to its new culture). The film and discussion begins at 7 pm in the Student Union Beach Auditorium. Mr. James Woods will present "A Photographic Safari to East Africa" to the International Education Brown Bag on Wednesday at noon in FO3-002 (the Multicultural Center).

The Geography Student Association will host one of its famous Cultural Nights Out on Friday, 16 November, at Sophy's Fine Thai and Cambodian Restaurant in Long Beach. For more information, please contact Mr. Dan Yoho at dansyoho@yahoo.com.

And, of course, we are hosting the fifth annual Geography Photo Contest! The deadline for photo submission has been extended to Thursday, 8 November. The photos will be displayed outside along LA4. Visitors get to vote for their favorite photos in several categories. The winners will be announced at the Geography Luncheon at noon in the Chartroom! For more information, please contact Dr. Dmitrii Sidorov at dsidorov@csulb.edu or Mr. James Woods at jwoods@csulb.edu.

Here's the program, so you can get the word out (and remember which event is where and when): https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/GAW07.html

Hot Topics in Water Quality Policy in California

The Department of Geography participates in the Environmental Science and Policy bachelor's degree program. There is a special event in ES&P 300 (environmental law and policy, taught by Dr. David S. Beckman, Senior Attorney & Director, Coastal Water Quality Project Natural Resources Defense Council), which might be of interest to Geography majors and minors: a special panel on water issues in our State. It will be held on Wednesday, 7 November, from 4- 7:45 p.m., in SSPA 104.

The panel of invited speakers includes:

• Frances Spivy-Weber, State Water Resources Control Board Member
• Howard D. Gest, Burhenn and Gest, Counsel to the County of LA
• Daniel Cooper, Esq., Founding Partner, Lawyers for Clean Water, Inc.

No RSVP is required -- just come on by! If you have any questions, please e-mail prog-esp@csulb.edu or call (562) 985-8097.

Thanks to Dr. Suzanne Dallman for the heads-up!

Welcome to Fall 2007 from the New Department Chair!

The Department of Geography is pleased to announce that it has a new chair! Dr. Vincent Del Casino has begun a three year term on 27 August, taking over from Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue. Congratulations (to BOTH!)!!!

We Have a New Faculty Member

Dr. Suzanne Dallman is joining us this fall as Assistant Professor of Geography. She is a hydrology and water resource management expert, which will build the Department's strength in environmental and physical geography. She is teaching GEOG 440/540 this fall, "Land and Water Environments," as well as GEOG 140. Welcome aboard!

Mr. Scott Eckhardt Is the CSULB Nominee for Best Thesis in the West!

Mr. Scott W. Eckhardt is the campus nominee for the annual Western Association of Graduate Schools Outstanding Thesis Award!!!

All Kinds of Changes around Here

Returning students will find the physical layout of the Department changed around quite a bit this semester. The BIG news is we have moved the instructional computer lab over to the air-conditioned LA5-352. LA4-207 will be a contract mapping facility, drop-in lab for those projects you just can't get through in assigned lab time, and an instructional lab for small, specialized classes. Not only that, but we've been given some office space on the second floor of FO2 (the building at right angles to LA4 on the east side of the building). Several faculty have moved over there, and there have been some faculty office moves within LA4. Some of these moves will be temporary, because we've had to evacuate parts of LA4 for seismic retrofitting, which is supposed to go on this fall.

Student Scholarships

The Department of Geography is delighted to publicize the recipients of our student scholarships:

• Eileen Johansen Scholarship: Mr. Kentaro Iwamoto
• Burton Anderson Scholarship: Mr. Brian Nagy
• Rodney Steiner Award:
  • Mr. Ernesto Sanchez
  • Mr. Brian Nagy

Student Honors

The Department of Geography is very pleased to announce the following student awards:

• Outstanding Graduating Senior: Ms. Sharon Michelle Lynch
• Distinguished Undergraduates:
  • Ms. Sharon Michelle Lynch
  • Ms. Aregnaz Mooradian
• Distinguished Graduate Students:
  • Mr. Scott Eckardt
  • Ms. Janet Troeger

College of Liberal Arts Exceptional Achievement Awards

The Department of Geography is very proud to announce that three of its advanced undergraduates earned the CLA Exceptional Achievement Award: Ms. Jessica N. Jaynes, Ms. Devon T. Nelson, and Mr. Patrick R. Weber. This award recognizes outstanding scholastic achievement throughout a student's academic career at CSULB. Congratulations!

Mr. Scott Eckhardt Has Won Outstanding Thesis Honors!

Mr. Scott W. Eckhardt has been awarded the CLA Outstanding Thesis Award for his 2006 thesis, "Assessment of wildfire frequency and coastal sage scrub vegetation dynamics in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California," chaired by Dr. Paul Laris and read by Drs. Chris Lee and Chrys Rodrigue. This is only the second time that a Geography thesis has received this distinction in the 51 years that we have had graduate work (the last time was last year, when Dr. Mike McDaniel's 2005 thesis was given this award. Lightning DOES strike twice in the same place!)! Congratulations on this well-earned award!

Ms. Julienne Gard's Thesis Wins the National Jacques May Prize

Ms. Julienne Gard was named the 2007 winner of the Jacques May Prize, which honors the best thesis in medical geography. This is a national award given by the Medical Geography Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers! Ms. Gard is presently working on her Ph.D. in geography at USC. Her thesis was chaired by Dr. Vin Del Casino and Drs. Christy Jocoy and Ray Sumner.

Dr. James A. Tyner Wins the Glenda Laws Memorial Award

Dr. James A. Tyner, son of our own Drs. Judith Tyner and Gerald Tyner, and alumnus of our program (B.A., 1989) was named the 2007 winner of the Glenda Laws Memorial Award. This award is administered by the Association of American Geographers and endorsed by members of the Institute of Australian Geographers, the Canadian Association of Geographers, and the Institute of British Geographers. The annual award and honorarium recognize outstanding contributions to geographic research on social issues. This award is named in memory of Glenda Laws, a geographer who brought energy and enthusiasm to her work on issues of social justice and social policy. Dr. Jim Tyner does work on the interconnections among gender, race, ethnicity, migration, and urbanism. This is the second time a Beach geographer has won the Glenda Laws Award: The very first recipient of this award was Dr. Vincent Del Casino! In the four years of this award, one Beach faculty member and one Beach alumnus have won it! This speaks volumes about the commitment that our program seems to instill in Beach geographers not just to understand the world but to change it and improve the lives of others.

Los Angeles Geographical Society Presentations

The Los Angeles Geographical Society hosted its fifth annual special student research symposium on 4 May 2006. Three graduate students represented Geography @ The Beach this year:

• Mr. César Espinosa presented "ArcIMS -- An Advanced Logistics Concept Project for Strategic Mobility 21"
• Mr. Kevin Flaherty presented "Understanding Housing Need in San Francisco"
• Mr. Simon Wright presented "The Volcanoes and Earthquakes of Japan: An Interactive Map"

Jobs in Geography Colloquium

The Department of Geography hosted a "Jobs in Geography Colloquium" event on 26 April 2007 entitled, "Teaching Geography in the Community Colleges: But ... How Do You Get a Foot in the Door?" The colloquium was given by:

• Prof. Kim Hatch, M.A. in Geography at CSULB, representing Physical Geography and Environmental Science in the Physical Sciences Department at Long Beach City College.
• Prof. Irene Naesse, M.A. in Geography at SDSU, representing Geography in the Social Sciences Department at Orange Coast College.

Geography at the Science Olympiad

Drs. Camille Holmgren and Chrys Rodrigue served as Event Captains for the 2007 State Science Olympiad. The Science Olympiad is an international organization that promotes interest in science among K-12 students by creating a tournament competition to foster coöperation and teamwork toward a common goal of mastering various fields of science. CSULB hosted the California State Olympiad on 14 April 2007 after a hiatus of four years. Dr. Holmgren's events were targeted to 6th through 8th graders (Division B) and posed a series of challenges around the theme, "Everyday Weather." Dr. Rodrigue's events were for students in Division C (9th through 12th grades) and focussed on Mars, emphasizing remote sensing. A good time was had by all! To learn more about the Science Olympiad, you can visit http://www.soinc.org.

Ph.D. Program Acceptances

Two of our graduate students and one of our part-time faculty have been accepted into Ph.D. programs! Ms. Nazie Naraghi has been accepted into the doctoral program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Mr. Ryan Goode has been accepted into the joint Ph.D. program of San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara (where Dr. Christopher Carter earned his Ph.D. and where Mr. Norm Carter is nearly done with his). Both graduate students start their studies in F/07. And Ms. Angela Wranic has also been accepted into the Ph.D. program at Texas State University, San Marcos, where she starts this summer. This is an innovative program focussed on geographic education research and it was designed for working education professionals around the country. They are in residence in Texas during the summers and then they take courses through distance education during the regular academic year. Congratulations to each and all of you! This has to be a record for Geography @ The Beach!

Two Graduate Students Fêted at the CGS!

Messrs. Simon Wright and César Espinosa won first and second place, respectively, in the Cartography Digital Map Competition at the California Geographical Society meeting on March 16th-18th in Anza-Borrego. The awards conferred monetary prizes, too, which defrayed their travel. Both graduate students commented about how important Dr. Wechsler's support and help were. Geography @ The Beach Rocks!!!

Dr. Wechsler Wins Award!

The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing has just notified Dr. Suzanne Wechsler that she and Charles Kroll of SUNY, Syracuse, have won the 2007 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographical Information Systems for their paper, "Quantifying DEM uncertainty and its effect on topographic parameters," which appeared in Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing in late 2006. This recognition is accompanied by a $500 check! Outstanding!!!

Dr. James Curtis Has Article Reprinted. For the Fourth Time!

Dr. James Curtis had an article printed as the lead article in the very first issue of the Journal of Cultural Geography back in 1980. This article, "Miami's Little Havana: Yard shrines, cult religion, and landscape," is being reprinted for the fourth time in a scholarly anthology, Southern Crossroads: Perspectives on Southern Religion and Culture, edited by Rodger Payne and Walt Conser, which will be published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2008. This is the fourth article that Dr. Curtis has seen reprinted more than two times! Dr. Curtis has created articles with lives of their own as classics in the field! Congratulations!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah Flown to South Africa

Dr. Bipasha Baruah presented a paper entitled, "Women and multiple vulnerabilities: Opportunities and constraints in landed property ownership for informal sector workers in urban India," this at the international conference, Living on the Margins: Vulnerability, Social Exclusion, and the State in the Informal Economy, which was held at Cape Town, South Africa, from March 26th-28th. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Development Bank of South Africa, USAID, and the National Research Foundation, among others.

Mr. Woods' CSULB Alumni Maps the Focus of an Article in GIS Educator

Mr. James Woods created a stunning set of maps showing the locations and concentration patterns of CSULB alumni for President King Alexander. These were showcased in an article in GIS Educator, entitled "The Geographic Distribution of Graduates: Where Are CSULB Alumni Living?" The article can be accessed at http://www.esri.com/library/newsletters/giseducator/gised-winter07.pdf Congratulations!

Rev. Stinson Discusses Homelessness in Long Beach

Rev. Jerald M. Stinson is pastor of the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, which found itself in the news recently when the Long Beach City Prosecutor's Office sent a letter, ordering it to "abate the existing nuisance" of letting some chronically homeless people sleep on the side and steps of the church building. The church sees this as a legally and morally indefensible breach of the church-state separation and is contesting the Prosecutor's Office. Rev. Stinson will discuss "Homelessness and the City of Long Beach" on Monday, 5 March, 7 p.m. in LA4-104. Thanks to Mr. Woods for arranging this special event.

Dr. DeVerteuil Discusses Homelessness in Los Angeles County

Dr. Geoffrey DeVerteuil, from the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of Manitoba, gave a talk, entitled, "Moving beyond the punitive/post-welfare city? Causes, management, and experiences of homelessness in Los Angeles County," on 13 February 2007. Thanks to Dr. Vincent Del Casino for arranging this special event.

Ms. Julienne Gard Returns as Guest Speaker

Ms. Julienne Gard recently completed her master's degree here at The Beach and has begun doctoral studies at USC. She returned as a guest lecturer on the 26th of February to give a presentation, entitled, "Tomorrow's City: The creation of Lakewood and its continuing story." Thanks to Dr. Ray Sumner for arranging this special event!

Mr. Woods Is in the News Again

Mr. James Woods' maps of the distribution of CSULB alumni were the subject of a front page (above the fold) headlined article in the Long Beach Press Telegram on Saturday the 10th of February. The article by Mr. Kevin Butler is entitled, "CSULB maps out financial future. Education: President targets alumni across the nation in a major fundraising drive." It will be accessible for a short while at http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_5204990

Ms. Wranic Has an Art Exhibit at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach!

Ms. Angela Wranic, Lecturer in Geography at The Beach, is also an artist, working primarily in the scratchboard medium. An exhibit of her artwork will be held at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach from 3 February through 16 March. The artist's reception will be on Sunday, 11 February, 1-3 p.m. The Nature Center is at 7550 E Spring St., which is between Studebaker and the 605 freeway on Spring St. Twenty percent of proceeds will be going to El Dorado Nature Center.

• To learn more about Ms. Wranic's art, please visit http://wranics.artspan.com/
• To learn more about El Dorado, please click here.

Visitors from the AAG

Dr. Beth Schlemper, Research Fellow of the Association of American Geographers, and Dr. Jan Monk, Professor Emerita, University of Arizona, gave a "Jobs in Geography" colloquium on 6 February 2007, entitled "Career Planning: You and the AAG," which discussed how geographers at all levels from baccalaureate students to Ph.D.s can formulate a career development plan that will allow them to pursue both their interests and their values and then monitor their progress through measurable steps. They also discussed the many career development resources of the Association of American Geographers.

Dr. Carter Wins Rotary Grant!

Dr. Chris Carter, Lecturer in Geography at The Beach and Associate Professor of Human Geography at Long Beach City College, has just learned that he has received a $22,500 Rotary Grant for University Teachers. He will use the grant during his sabbatical from LBCC, from Spring 2008 through Fall 2008. The goals of his grant project including teaching in the Geography Department at the University of La Serena, Chile; developing online collaborative exercises to link geography students in Chile with geography students in Long Beach; offer a seminar series on changing ethnic patterns in Southern California, trade between Long Beach and Chile, and the community college model of higher education in Californial. Congratulations!

Boldly Going Where No Geographer Has Gone Before: Taking Mars into the Geography Classroom

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue is offering what looks like the very first Geography of Mars class! The class is going through the history of Mars exploration, the basics of remote sensing as applied to spacecraft sent to Mars, the physical landscapes of Mars, the Martian weather and climate, and how Mars affects the human imagination. To learn more about the class, please visit its home page: http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/mars/.

Geography Welcomes Three New Students during SOAR Winter Transfer Day!

Dr. Chrys Rodrigue met with three new Geography majors during the winter SOAR Transfer Days, 10 January 2007. We are very pleased to welcome and introduce the following new majors!

• Ms. Janice Kentala (Golden West College), who is interested in cultural geography and environmental geography
• Mr. Oscar Gallardo (El Camino College), who is interested in physical and environmental geography
• Ms. Melissa McNerney (Long Beach City College), who is interested in GIS

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

Geography Students Make Presentations

Two Geography students, Ms. Aregnaz Mooradian and Ms. Devon NelsonDrs. Christy Jocoy and Vincent Del Casino had funded through METRANS. The title of the presentation was "Homelessness, public transportation, and limitations of individual mobility in the City of Long Beach, California"

Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day

The Department of Geography and the Geography Student Association co-hosted yet another extravagant celebration of geography in National Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day:

• Monday, 13 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Mr. Paul Perret made a presentation, "Men and Masculinities in Gender and Development Programs: A New Way Forward?," from 2:30-3:30 p.m., The Pointe at the Pyramid. This event was a contribution to International Education Week, which coïncides with Geography Awareness Week.
• Tuesday, 14 November:
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Mr. Paul Renner, noted photographer, presented a slide presentation on the national Week theme: Africa. His presentation was entitled, "African Photographic Safaris," LA4-102, 11-11:45 a.m.
  • Fourth graders, Lowell Elementary School, will be our guests during this presentation
  • Third graders, Lowell Elementary School, were our guests for a flume demonstration and a water pollution modeling session, LA4 walkway and the LA4 quad, near LA4-100, 11-12
  • Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance Ensemble, performed djembe drumming and dancing in the University Student Union open area in the middle of campus, Lowell Street Elementary guests attended this event, too.
  • Geography Student Association film showing: "Tsotsi," 5-7 p.m., Multicultural Center, FA3-03
• Wednesday, 15 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Geography Student Association bake sale, 11a.m. - 2 p.m., LA5 by walkway
  • Film showing: "Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night," 9:30-10:45 a.m., Anatol Conference Center (AS-113), hosted by Dr. Bipasha Baruah's South Asia course and co-sponsored by the Yadunandan India Studies Center, and the South Asia Subcommittee, and International Education Week
  • Dr. Thomas Blaschke, Professor of Geography and Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, and Director of iSPACE, Austrian Research Centers made a presentation for GIS Day and for International Education Week: "Google Earth puts Geography on the Desktop ... but What's Behind It? Remote Sensing in a Nutshell" (3:30-5 p.m., Faculty Development Center, 5th floor of the Library)
• Thursday, 16 November
  • Geography Photo Contest, LA4 walkway, all day
  • Dr. Amy Glasmeier, The E. Willard Miller Professor of Economic Geography, Pennsylvania State University, made two presentations:
    • "Mapping Economic Despair in Long Beach California: Technical Challenges and Policy Opportunities," the Week Plenary, 11 a.m. -12:15 p.m., Multicultural Center
    • "Activism and Professionalism: Antipathy or Accommodation?" the Week "Jobs in Geography" presentation, 6-7 p.m., LA4-100
  • Film showing: "Water," 7-9:30 p.m., Huntington Room, University Student Union Room 224, hosted by Dr. Bipasha Baruah, Associate Director, Yadunandan India Studies Center, and co-sponsored by the South Asia Subcommittee, for International Education Week
• Friday, 17 November
  • Community College Geography Luncheon, Chartroom, 12-1:30 p.m., RSVP to Dr. Chrys Rodrigue, rodrigue@csulb.edu or (562) 985-8432
  • Announcement of Geography Photo Contest winners at the luncheon

Dr. Baruah Sponsors Another International Education Week Event

Dr. Bipasha Baruah showed the film, "Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty," and then moderated a discussion afterwards for the campus International Education Week, the Yadunandan India Studies Center (of which she is Associate Director), and the CSULB South Asian Subcommittee. The film and discussion took place on Tuesday, 17 November, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in the Anatol Conference Center (ELIB-113 aka AS-113). This event was in addition to the two other films that Dr. Baruah is showing as part of International Education Week and Geography Awareness Week ("Water" and "Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night" -- see above).

A Huge Welcome to Ms. Julie Ortiz!

Ms. Julie Ortiz has just joined the Department as our new Administrative Support Coördinator! She is replacing Ms. Lisa Mikhail, who moved to Ohio in September to pursue an M.S.W. Ms. Ortiz was most recently the ASC for the Department of Human Development, where she managed the job search that brought Dr. Bipasha Baruah to us! She will be replaced in HD by one of our own Administrative Support Assistants, Ms. Wendy Lopez. We wish Ms. Lopez a great new assignment and thank her for helping us bridge the time between Ms. Mikhail's departure and Ms. Ortiz' arrival. And we extend Ms. Ortiz a huge WELCOME!!! We hope you'll be very happy in Geography, working with Ms. Carol Philipp, our morning ASA, and our great cast of characters!

Geography Students off to SCCUR

Two Geography students, Ms. Aregnaz Mooradian and Ms. Devon Nelson, had their abstract approved to give a presentation, "Homelessness, public transportation, and limitations of individual mobility in the City of Long Beach, California," to the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research (which you can learn more about at http://www.sccur.org) on the 18th of November, 2006, at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. They were sponsored by Dr. Vincent Del Casino, with financial assistance from Dr. Gerald Riposa, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, which houses the Department of Geography. Thank you for encouraging and supporting our students!

Geography @ The Beach Descends on Madison, Wisconsin

Dr. Judith Tyner and Mr. James Woods represented The Beach at the annual conference of the North American Cartographic Information Society in Madison, WI, from the 18th to the 21st of October. Also in attendance was alumna (indeed, the College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumna of 2005) Ms. Nancy Yoho, now Vice-President for GIS at Rand McNally/Thomas Bros. Dr. Tyner gave a talk entitled, "Persuasive cartography revisited," while Mr. Woods' presentation addressed (literally) "A geographic analysis of graduates of California State University, Long Beach."

Dr. Baruah Has a Climatologist's Eye for Conference Settings!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah is off to a much warmer conference venue than Madison, WI: She is the invited keynote speaker at the Global Citizenship Symposium at Hawai'i Pacific University this October! Her talk is entitled "Earning her keep and keeping what she earns: Women and grassroots economic movements in India and the Caribbean." While there, she will also give an invited talk at the University of Hawai'i's East-West Center: "Holding her ground: Women and urban land issues in India." Let's hope all the aftershocks have played out!

Dr. Sumner Is Another One of Our Invited Speakers

Dr. Ray Sumner has been invted to give an invited talk, too: "Tasmania: A Wilderness Experience," to the Oasis Institute, which provides lectures and workshops for enriching the lives of senior citizens. To learn more about Oasis, click http://www.oasisnet.org/.

Internship Web Page

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler would like to remind students and faculty to visit the Geography Internship web page, which has been redesigned and is being updated very frequently. There is always a list of new jobs available to students and the current speaker coming up in the "Jobs in Geography" lecture series.

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Conferences ]

 

Jobs

Part-Time Lecturing at CSULB

The Department of Geography at CSULB may have part-time lectureships available for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. For more information on the positions and the application process, please click here.

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Conferences ]

 

Lectures and Field Trips

Visitors from the AAG

Dr. Beth Schlemper, Research Fellow of the Association of American Geographers, and Dr. Jan Monk, Professor Emerita, University of Arizona, gave a "Jobs in Geography" colloquium, entitled "Career Planning: You and the AAG," which discussed how geographers at all levels from baccalaureate students to Ph.D.s can formulate a career development plan that will allow them to pursue both their interests and their values and then monitor their progress through measurable steps. They also discussed the many career development resources of the Association of American Geographers.

Community College "Jobs in Geography" Colloquium

The "Jobs in Geography" colloquium series hosted a panel of two faculty from local community college districts, who explained to graduate students interested in community college teaching how to apply for part-time and tenure-track positions, jobs prospects, and the subtleties that each district looks for. The panel was held on Wednesday, 25 April. On the panel:

• Prof. Kim Hatch, Instructor of Physical Geography and Environmental Science in the Physical Sciences Department at Long Beach City College
• Prof. Irene Naesse, Instructor of Geography, Orange Coast College

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Conferences ]

 

Changes among the Faculty

Fulbright Scholar Joined Our Faculty for Fall 2006!

Dr. Thomas Blaschke spent the Fall of 2006 with our Department as a Fulbright Scholar. It was a tremendous honor for us to host a Fulbright Scholar! Dr. Blaschke is Associate Professor of Geography and Associate Director and Research Manager of the Centre for Geoinformatics of the University of Salzburg, Austria. Several of our faculty have gone abroad as Fulbright Scholars, but this is the first time our Department has hosted a Fulbright Scholar! While here, Dr. Blaschke very kindly agreed to teach in the area of remote sensing and GIS. Wilkommen zu unserer Abteilung, Herr Doktor Blaschke!

New Faculty Member Joining Us in Fall 2006!

Dr. Bipasha Baruah will began teaching here in Fall 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from York University in Canada, specializing in gender and development; the informal sector of the economy; microcredit programs; urban poverty; and housing and water issues in India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean. Her doctoral studies were funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research council, which is a very signal honor. She has served as a gender expert on CIDA's Eastern Caribbean Economic Management Program and as a liaison between local civil society organizations and multilateral funding agencies on a United Nations field mission in East Java, Indonesia. Part of her position here entails serving as the Associate Director of the Yadunandan Center for India Studies, where she helps CSULB faculty mainstream Indian content into their classes and curricula.

New Faculty Member Joined Us in Fall 2006!

Dr. Deborah Thien began teaching here in Fall 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from Edinburgh University in Scotland, specializing in feminist geography; the geography of emotions; uneven social geographies of health; health and well-being in remote, rural communities; and qualitative research methods. She focusses particularly on the high latitude rural areas of Scotland (e.g., the Shetland Islands), northern Canada, and New Zealand (where she was an International Exchange Scholar). She is exploring the theme of (social) isolation for research topics in rural California and urban Long Beach and looks forward to resuming her work on New Zealand, too. She is the recipient of a Commonwealth Scholarship, a very prestigious and very subtantial award, to pursue her doctorate in Scotland, and she is right now working on a post-doctoral research and teaching project at the University of Northern British Columbia.

New Faculty Member Arrives in Fall 2007!

Dr. Suzanne Dallman will begin teaching in Fall 2007. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA, specializing in hydrology and watershed management. She has been working with the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council for the last several years, where she has taken a particular interest in the use of waste water for aquifer recharge and evaluating whether this might pose pollution or disease risks. She will eventually be teaching such courses as Land and Water Environments, Watershed Processes and Management, Land Use Planning, Introductory Physical Geography, and some GIS courses, as well as developing a new course in Environmental Impact Assessment. We are very excited that she will be joining us this fall!

Graduate Advisor

Dr. Christopher Lee is the graduate advisor. His office is in LA4-205, and he can also be reached at (562) 985-2358 and clee@csulb.edu.

Undergraduate Advisor

Dr. Paul Laris is the undergraduate advisor. His office is in LA4-101E, and he can also be reached at (562) 985-1862 and plaris@csulb.edu.

Internship and Extension GIS Certificate Program Director

Dr. Suzanne Wechsler is the Director of the Internship Program and the GIS/Cartography Certificate Program run through University College Extension Services. Her office is in LA4-206E, and she can also be reached at (562) 985-2356 and wechsler@csulb.edu. She will be on sabbatical this fall, and so we won't run GEOG 492 as such this fall. Students can do an internship and receive credit for it in the spring or, alternatively, work with a particular faculty member to do an internship in the fall and receive credit in the fall through that faculty member's GEOG 497 listing. The Extension GIS Certificate will continue under the leadership of its co-director, Mr. Woods.

[ Jobs ] [ Talks ] [ Changes ] [ Conferences ]

 

Upcoming Conferences and Calls for Papers (by month of conference)

June 2007

Southern California Academy of Sciences

SCAS will hold its annual meeting at CSU Fullerton this year, from June 1st through June 2nd. Abstracts are due 1 May. For more information, please visit http://scas.jsd.claremont.edu/annual/annual.html

ESRI International User Conference

The ESRI International User Conference will be held in San Diego from the 18th through the 21st of June. It will be immediately preceded by the ESRI Education User Conference from the 16th-19th of June. For more information, please visit http://www.esri.com/events/uc/ and http://www.esri.com/events/educ/.

October 2007

Association of Pacific Coast Geographers

The Department of Geography at CSULB is proud to announce that it is hosting the 2007 APCG meeting from the 17th through the 20th of October. More information is available at https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geography/apcg/.

April 2008

Association of American Geographers

The AAG will be holding its annual national meeting from the 15th through the 19th of April in Boston (hope you get your taxes in!). For more information, please visit http://aag.org/annualmeetings/2008/index.htm

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This news page is for everyone in the Department -- students, faculty, staff, and alumni. If you would like to tell folks about your accomplishments or notify us of something you think we'd like to know about, please contact Dr. Rodrigue (rodrigue@csulb.edu) or LA4 206D and she'll get your news up here.

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This document is maintained by Geography Webmaster: rodrigue@csulb.edu