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DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

PROGRAM REVIEW SELF-STUDY

December, 2008

Mission Statement: Geographers study physical and biological environments, human societies and their interactions across space and time, utilizing both natural science and social science perspectives. We seek to analyze the processes, spatial patterns and consequences of human-environment interaction. We use maps, fieldwork and geospatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to solve real-world problems at all spatial scales, from local to global.

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Brief history of the program

Geography has been part of our institution since its establishment as the State Normal School at San Francisco in 1901. Anna Doris, educated at the University of California and Columbia University, was the first long-term geography instructor. Hired in 1922 as Supervisor of Visual Instruction (cartography and map interpretation) and Assistant Professor of Geography, she taught human geography, economic geography, geography of the Americas and “The New Point of View in Teaching Geography,” as well as Introduction to Geology and Physiography. In 1935 the State Normal School became San Francisco State College, with a liberal arts curriculum and a Social Science Department offering instruction in the fields of Economics, Geography, Government, History, and Sociology. Walter A. Hacker, educated at the University of Vienna, joined Anna Doris in 1937 as an instructor in Geography and Geology. Doris and Hacker established a Geography major and minor in 1947; Doris retired the following year and was replaced by Lyle E. Gibson as Assistant Professor of Geography. SF State moved to the Lake Merced campus in 1952, initiating a period of rapid staff expansion. Professor Alfred Sumner arrived in 1953, Walter Olson in 1955, and Astvaldur Eydal in 1959. Geography became an academic department and offered its first graduate course in 1961. It occupied part of the Business building until 1965, when the new Department of Geology moved to the School of Natural Science and the Department of Geography moved to its present location on the second floor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. The 1960s brought ten new tenure track faculty to the department: Jean Vance (1962); John Leighly, Richard Hough and Robert Picker (1963); Max Kirkeberg and Roy Gordon (1965) and Georg Treichel (1966.) The Department numbered nine faculty by the

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inauguration of its Master of Arts program in 1966 and reached its current size with the hiring of Hans Meihoefer and John Westfall (1968) and Roger Crawford (1969.) From 1970 until 1986 the Geography Department saw a succession of full-time lecturers in physical geography but only one tenure-track appointment, Steve Pease (1975.) Pease’s death while on sabbatical in 1984 initiated a new hiring wave. His replacement, Mark Schwartz was hired in 1985 but resigned in 1987. Nancy Wilkinson was hired in 1986; Jerry Davis followed in 1988. Establishment of an MA Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning and the CSU-GIS Specialty Center brought opportunities for further hiring, including Trish Foschi (1990) and Barbara Holzman (1992.) Larry Foster stepped down as Dean of the Graduate Division to join the Department that same year. The death of Department Chair Jean Vance that summer began a wave of attrition, as faculty hired in the 1960s retired in succession. Hans Meihoefer was the last member of this cohort to retire, stepping down at the end of 2006-07 (although he continues to serve as a Lecturer on occasion.) The past ten years have brought gradual stabilization at twelve T/TT lines, although the department continues to re-evaluate hiring priorities in our rapidly evolving field. We have generally enjoyed prompt replacement of faculty who retired or resigned and have been awarded several new tenure track lines. Qian Guo joined the Department in 1998 on a new line established to help internationalize the SFSU curriculum. Scott Greene arrived in 2000 to occupy a new position in Climatology but resigned after one year under family pressure to return to Oklahoma; Andrew Oliphant replaced him in 2002. Ellen Hines, hired in 2001 on a line in GIS, was on research leave from Fall 2006 through Spring 2008. Jeffrey Bury, hired in 2002 as Foster’s replacement, accepted a position at UC Santa Cruz in 2006; a replaced search was authorized in AY 2007-08. Jason Henderson arrived as a retirement replacement for Roger Crawford in 2003; XiaoHang Liu and Edna Wangui arrived the same year to occupy new TT lines. Wangui left for a tenure track position in Ohio in 2006 and was replaced by Courtney Donovan in 2007. Jennifer Blecha and Leonhard Blesius also arrived in Fall 2007 as retirement replacements for Hans Meihoefer and Trish Foschi, respectively.

Department leadership has featured three long-term chairs over the past three

decades, including Hans-J. Meihoefer (1974-79 and 1992-97), Jean Vance (1980-92) and Nancy Wilkinson (1997-present.) Roger Crawford served for one year (1979-80.) Wilkinson is at the end of a fourth three-year term and the department has agreed, in consultation with Dean Joel Kassiola, to use the Bury replacement search to secure an outside Chair.

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1.2 Brief synopsis of previous program review recommendations

The recommendations from our most recent program review self study, completed in 2000, are shown below, together with subsequent outcomes in italics.

Curricular Recommendations

• Maintain momentum in developing an outstanding program in GIS, resource management and applied environmental geography. We have continued to develop in these areas, with several subsequent tenure track hires maintaining existing courses and developing new curricula in these areas.

• Explore the potential for developing a Masters concentration in Geographic

Information Science. Progress on this initiative was interrupted by the demands of multiple faculty searches and a series of sabbaticals and research leaves. A proposal for submission to the Chancellor’s Office has been prepared this Fall.

• Revive Geog 815: Seminar in Geographic Techniques and Geog 810: Seminar

in Climatology and offer these courses in a two-year rotation. Both of these courses are currently scheduled in a two-year rotation.

Faculty Recommendations

• Seek tenure track positions in marine resources, sustainability studies and

urban applications of GIS during the next five years. Subsequent hiring opportunities secured expertise in these areas, as well as others.

• Examine ways to compensate T/TT faculty for WTU overloads caused by

thesis advising, as well as to provide assigned time or other support for faculty writing major grant proposals. We have been unable to accomplish this due to exogenous forces, including limited department resources and our desire to maintain a high quality program. This is an issue we believe needs to be addressed at the SFSU campus or CSU system level.

• Seek funding to video-archive offerings of particularly important courses by

retiring faculty. We were unsuccessful in this, but SFSU’s DIVA (Digital Visual Archive) project has begun with Max Kirkeberg’s San Francisco collection.

• Support University initiatives to enhance the affordability of housing for new

faculty as an essential aid to faculty recruitment and retention. No such initiatives have come to the department’s attention, although we continue to stress the importance of progress in this area.

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Student Recommendations

• Continue to exercise selectivity in graduate admissions to sustain dramatic improvement in Masters students’ academic quality and degree completion. We have continued to require a 3.25 gpa and GRE scores of all applicants and find the preparation of students much improved

Resource Recommendations

• Seek the approval and funding of a full-time Lab Manager position for the

Geographic Analysis Teaching Lab, HSS 290, to replace the existing half-time position. In an effort to secure the necessary support for the department, we agreed to pay for half of this increased salary; the position is now a dedicated line under joint supervision of the Department and BSS Computing.

• Continue to seek additional space. The most immediate need is for a 25-30

seat classroom equipped with work tables, map drawers and map racks for courses in geographic techniques, resource management and environmental planning. We secured additional classroom space in HSS 275; this space provides tables and map racks but lacks such essentials as storage drawers, enhanced AV support and a wireless connection.

1.3 Summary of how program meets University-wide standards

Table 1: Thumbnail of University-Wide standards met Indicator Standard How standard is met Page where this

is discussed

University-wide standards

3.0 ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Evidence of Prior Academic Success

2.75 GPA and Higher 100% of admitted students

have gpa’s of at least 3.0;

most have 3.25 or better.

9, 17

3.2 Evidence of Competent Writing

GRE, GMAT, GET

Other:

100% of applicants submit

GRE scores; those who

score below 4.5 on AW

must take a writing class

9, 17

3.3 English Preparation of Non-Native Speakers

TOEFL, IBT, IELTS 100% of admitted non-

native students meet

SFSU TOEFL standards.

9, 18

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4.0 PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Number of course offerings

2 graduate courses/semester Avg of 3.8 grad courses

per term for past 5 yrs 14, 18

4.2 Frequency of course offerings

At least once every 2 yrs 69% met this requirement;

one seminar was not

offered and will be banked

14, 15, 18

4.3 Path to graduation Published map leading to

graduation in 5 yrs @ ½

time attendance

Cycle of seminars is

posted on the web;

individual plans developed

on advisement. 71% of

students finished in 5 yrs.

15, 18, 27

4.4 Course distribution on GAP

Proper distribution of grad,

paired & undergrad courses

100% meet the previous

requirement, many meet

the increased requirement

16, 18

4.5 Class size Enroll 8-30 and 5-15 for

seminars

69 % of seminars had 5-15

students; the remainder

have exceeded this goal

16, 18

4.6 Number of graduates

5 graduates per year

average over 5 yr

10 graduates per year over

the past 5 years (7 in

Geography + 3 in RMEP

Concentration)

16-17, 18

5.0 FACULTY REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Number of Faculty in Graduate Program(s)

Minimum of 2 11 19 5.2 Number of Faculty per Concentration

Minimum of 1 11 in GEOG, 9 in RMEP 19-20

1.4 Summary of present program review recommendations

Curricular Recommendations

• Maintain momentum in developing and delivering an outstanding program in

Geography, focusing particularly in the areas of urban geography, geographic information science (GIScience), physical and biological environments and human-environment interactions.

• Develop a separate MS degree in Geographic Information Science, ensuring

that all required courses can be offered at least once a year.

• Propose and develop a new graduate/undergraduate paired course in qualitative research methods to serve as an option to fulfill the Masters-level methods requirement.

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• Find ways to address emerging student interests, such as land management

and meeting the challenges of global climate change.

• Continue to review external offerings in the Resource Management and Environmental Planning concentration; in particular, identify or support the development of courses in environmental restoration.

Faculty Recommendations

• Seek a tenure track position in biogeography as a replacement for Barbara

Holzman’s move to ENVS.

• Seek a tenure track position focused on rural-urban interface environmental issues, conservation, agriculture and open space in Northern California as a replacement for Jeff Bury.

• In concert with Grad Studies and the Academic Senate, pursue compensation

for T/TT faculty for WTU overloads caused by thesis advising. The department would like to grant faculty members a course release for each six completed theses they chair/each 12 on which they serve as a second reader, as possible within the context of department curricular needs.

• Provide assigned time or other support for faculty writing major grant proposals. Encourage graduate student participation in grant writing.

• Support University initiatives to enhance the affordability of housing for new

faculty as an essential aid to faculty recruitment and retention.

Student Recommendations

• Develop a means of ensuring priority registration for graduate students and declared majors in courses required for the major/Masters. Pressure the University to develop a prerequisite check for touchtone registration.

• Work with elected graduate student representatives to create a required field trip or social/orientation activity for incoming graduate students and faculty each year.

Resource Recommendations

• Seek alumni funding for a replacement vehicle for department field trips.

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• Secure a reliable funding stream for computer refresh in HSS 290; urge the Dean and the University to reassert the regular cycle of BSS lab updates funded by Instructional Equipment Funding or other funding sources.

• Secure a dedicated seminar room with tables and chairs to seat about 20.

• Secure funding for graduate teaching assistantships, perhaps from endowments or alumni contributions.

• Maintain the Map Library as a federal map repository.

• Install proper ventilation for the Physical Geography Lab in compliance with

OSHA standards and regulations.

• Continue to encourage faculty to run grants and RRT through the Institute for GIScience.

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2.0 PROFILE OF THE PROGRAMS

2.1 Overview of the programs

The MA programs in Geography meet the academic needs of individuals seeking careers in environmental management and policy, urban and regional planning, Geographic Information Science (GIS/remote sensing) or as academics at the community college level, as well as students who wish to pursue doctoral studies elsewhere.

The graduate curriculum balances breadth with depth. Entering students without

previous work in geography are required to take prerequisite courses in physical and human geography, as well as geographic techniques, plus two upper-division courses selected on advisement.

All geography Master’s students must complete a foundation seminar in the scope

and method of geography, as well as seminars in both physical and human geography (with necessary prerequisites.) Additional seminars and upper-division coursework offer an opportunity for specialization. The most common areas of specialization within the Master of Arts in Geography include the Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning, which affords opportunities for work in affiliated disciplines, and unofficial specializations in geographic techniques, physical geography, urban geography, environmental or land-use history, and environmental analysis.

2.2 The programs in the context of the academic unit The Masters program is a central focus of the Department of Geography. Masters

students are nearly equal in numbers to undergraduate Geography majors, as the growth of our MA programs has surpassed the growth of our majors since the establishment of the undergraduate Environmental Studies programs.

Healthy enrollments in our major courses, including GE and service courses, as

well as long-standing involvement in the Environmental Studies and Urban Studies programs generate sufficient FTE to support our graduate-level course offerings as well as lab-intensive offerings in Geographic Information Science (GIS, remote sensing, field and quantitative methods.)

The MA program is highly valued by department faculty and has been one key to

our ability to secure outstanding candidates in our tenure track searches, although faculty also see uncompensated Masters thesis advising as a workload issue.

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3.0 ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The Department evaluates several modes of evidence from each applicant to

assess their potential for success in the program. These required forms of evidence include transcripts, GPA, GRE scores, a detailed Statement of Purpose and two letters of recommendation. We find that all of these modes of evidence provide useful information about our applicants, many of whom have attended multiple undergraduate institutions and have little or no formal background in Geography.

3.1 Evidence of prior academic success As evidence of prior academic success, the program requires a GPA of 3.25 in the

last 60 units attempted. This is significantly higher than that required by the University. Occasional exceptions are made for applicants with GPAs between 3.0 and 3.24 who completed undergraduate studies several years earlier and have appropriate professional background, strong letters of recommendation, GRE scores and statements of purpose.

No minimum GRE scores have been established, however we find the exam

scores contribute to our overall assessment of applicants’ potential in their identified area of interest. For example, students with quantitative GRE scores below 500 rarely have the background they need for success in GIScience or physical geography.

3.2 Evidence of competent writing

We assess applicants’ writing competence through their Statement of Purpose and their GRE Analytical Writing (AW) score. We accept a score of 4.5 or higher as evidence of writing competence. Students who scored 4.0 or below on the GRE Academic Writing test but otherwise meet program admission criteria may be admitted on Conditionally Classified status and be required to complete a course such as Science Writing 560 or Technical & Professional Writing 400 within the first year of study.

3.3 English preparation of non-native speakers

Non-native speakers of English are required by the University to submit TOEFL scores as evidence of English language competency. The Department only admits applicants who appear ready to undertake graduate seminars based on their TOEFL score, GRE Analytical Writing (AW) score and Statement of Purpose.

3.4 Overview of program admissions policy

Applications are accepted for both Fall admission (due April 1) and Spring admission (due November 1.) Applicants must satisfy all University requirements. In addition, the Department requires applicants to submit a Statement of Purpose, two letters of recommendation and GRE scores.

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The full faculty is invited to review applications; the graduate committee has this task as a central focus. Admissions decisions are reached by consensus at a meeting on or about May 1 (for Fall) and December 1 (for Spring.) We deny incomplete applications at this time, and in deciding whom to admit we weigh all supporting evidence: GRE/TOEFL scores, gpa, letters and faculty comments on an applicant’s performance in any classes they have taken in the department. (A number of our applicants were not Geography majors as undergraduates and undertake foundational coursework before they apply.) We also discuss the program faculty’s ability to support and advance each applicant’s academic interests. Our admission policies have brought us diverse graduate students from local, national and international backgrounds; we find that our review method has yielded increasingly competent students. Application numbers continue to be as high as we’d like; we are only able to accept about 60% of applicants due to limitations in resources and staffing. Because we are able to select the most qualified students and balance student interests with faculty expertise, we are satisfied with our admissions policy.

Table 2: Applicants to the programs, students admitted, and enrollment yield

Applicants admitted:

MA in Geography

% admitted

Applicants Admitted: MA: Conc in RMEP

% admitted

Total admitted

(as % applicants)

2001-02 18 / 37 49% 6 / 9 67% 24 /46 52%

2002-03 19 / 26 73% 5 / 6 83% 24 / 32 75%

2003-04 15 / 25 60% 9 / 11 82% 24 / 36 67%

2004-05 20 / 33 61% 9 / 15 60% 29 / 48 60%

2005-06 13 / 21 62% 15 / 24 63% 28 (62%) 62%

2006-07 15 / 24 63% 12 / 22 55% 27 (59%) 59%

2007-08 19 / 33 58% 10 / 17 59% 29 (58%) 58%

Admissions generally yield an appropriate number of enrolled students. We were unable to obtain official enrollment yield from Grad Studies but have observed that it ranges widely and seems to be inversely related to the health of the regional job market. Re-tooling in geography, resource management, environmental planning and/or GIScience is an attractive opportunity for many well-educated but under-employed individuals in difficult economic times. Yield also varies with the availability of funding at other institutions, as our higher standards enhance the likelihood that students we admit will be offered funding elsewhere. Despite the unevenness and unpredictability of enrollment yield, we have generally been able to compensate with Spring admissions for occasional surges or shortfalls in Fall enrollment yield.

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Table 3: Graduate Students Enrolled at 4th

Week Census

F01 S02 F02 S03 F03 S04 F04 S05 F05 S06 F06 S07 F07 S08 F08 GEOG

34 38 40 46 45 50 52 51 49 42 34 31 28 34 30

RMEP

12 10 11 19 20 20 16 19 14 24 26 30 23 25 23

Total

46 48 51 65 65 70 68 70 63 66 60 61 51 59 53

Maintaining an average of about 70 grad students in residence for three semesters,

Spring 2004 - Spring 2005, made for overcrowded seminars and excessive thesis advising loads. The faculty agreed to reduce admissions to a level more appropriate to our ability to offer seminars and support thesis research. The recent reduction in grad enrollment thus reflects an intentional tightening of admissions in the past four years. This reduction has brought our student numbers into better alignment with our faculty resources.

Faculty resignations, faculty leaves and Prof. Holzman’s temporary reassignment

to ENVS have also called for reducing admissions of students with particular research and programmatic interests, e.g. Political Ecology (Bury and Wangui resignations), Marine Geography/GIS (Hines, on leave Fall 2005, AY 2006-07 and 2007-08), Agriculture and Food (Blecha, on leave AY 2008-09) and Biogeography (Holzman, on leave Fall 2007 and on partial reassignment AY 2008-2011.)

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4.0 PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS In order to complete the MA program in Geography, students must take a minimum of 30 units of classes (31 for the Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning RMEP). This includes three core graduate seminars and a graduate methods course. The RMEP program has an additional core course in Environmental Management. In addition to core requirements, students select from a range of both graduate seminars and upper division undergraduate courses depending on their focus and experience. More than half of the units that can be filed on the Graduate Approved Program (GAP) must be graduate courses and cannot include prerequisites or internships. Students must file their GAP before proceeding with their thesis. From Spring 2005, we made it mandatory for students to provide the department with a presentation of their thesis research proposal. This has been guided by faculty but does not constitute any credit hours for either students or faculty. It produces 4-6 presentations per semester. In this section a description of the graduate courses offered is provided as well as historical matrix of course offerings, projected offerings and discussion about current and pending changes to program required courses.

4.1 Number and frequency of course offerings These descriptions of courses are broken into the MA core, techniques and elective offerings. They include the faculty involved and recent frequencies and enrollments. For a breakdown of all graduate course offerings in the past eight years is provided in Table 6 below. MA Core Courses:

• Geog 801 Scope and Method, required of all Masters students in Geography, is

taught annually in the Fall. An extra annual section was added in Spring 2006 to accommodate program growth, but this reduced Fall 2006 enrollment.

• Geog 751 Environmental Management, required of all students in the RMEP

Concentration, is taught every Fall in alternation by Hines and Holzman. Competing demands on their time necessitated the use of a lecturer for this course on one occasion during the review period, but the course went unstaffed in Fall 2007 when Hines and Holzman were both on leave. Its staffing is again of concern with Holzman’s reassignment to Environmental Studies.

• Geog 810 Seminar in Physical Geography is required of all Masters students,

along with an appropriate prerequisite. During the review period we offered three variations of this seminar, each on a two-year rotation: Biogeography (Holzman)

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in even-numbered Springs, Climatology (Oliphant) in odd-numbered Falls (except Fall 2005, when the instructor was on sabbatical) and Geomorphology (Davis) in odd-numbered Springs. Blesius may join this rotation; Holzman seeks to remain available despite her reassignment.

• Geog 820 Seminar in Human and Social Geography is also required of all

Masters students and has been offered nearly every semester during the review period. Four faculty (Bury, Guo, Wangui and Wilkinson) offered variants of this seminar during the review period. Blecha and Donovan joined this rotation, beginning with Donovan in Spring 2008; Blecha’s AY 2008-09 Leave Without Pay resulted in the cancellation of her seminar for lack of replacement funding.

MA Techniques Courses: Students must currently take one of the following, although we often encourage them to take both Geog705 and one of the Geog 702 variants (see explanation below).

• Geog 701/702 Field Methods in Geography. This course was originally an upper division undergraduate course (Geog 602) taught in even years as a Physical Geography variant (by Oliphant) and in odd years as a Human Geography variant (by Donovan.) Since Fall 2007 it has been run as a paired graduate course (Geog 602/702) taught annually in Fall. Beginning this Fall, we offer Geog 602/702 Field Methods in Physical Geography in even-numbered Fall semesters and Geog 601/701 Qualitiative Methods in Geographical Research in odd-numbered Fall semesters.

• Geog 705 Geographical Analysis Methods of statistical analysis and review of

their use in geographic literature; univariate and multivariate analysis, graphical presentation; statistical software.(recently taught by Liu once a year)

MA Electives

• Geog 815 Seminar in Geographic Techniques is an elective seminar in both the MA and the RMEP Concentration and our goal is to offer it every second year. It was offered twice during the review period, by Hines and by Liu. Blesius will join this rotation in Fall 2008.

• Geog 825 Seminar in Sustainable Development is an elective seminar in both

programs that was taught once during the review period, by Guo. Blecha will teach it in the future.

• Geog 832 Seminar in Urban Geography is an elective seminar in the MA

program that was taught twice during the review period, by Guo.

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• Geog 850 Seminar in Regional Geography is an elective seminar in the MA program but has not been taught during the review period. We need to decide who will offer it or consider it for course banking.

• Geog 858 Seminar in Land Use Planning is an elective seminar in the MA and

RMEP Concentration, as well as in the Masters of Public Administration. It has been taught with increasing frequency during the review period, by a Lecturer and then by Henderson. Based on the high level of student interest in planning, it should be offered every two to three semesters, possibly in alternation by Henderson and our new Environmental Geographer.

• Geog/PA 776 Environmental Policy is a newly created graduate level course

based in Public Administration that introduces the scope and theoretical basis of US and selected California environmental policy. Its first offering will be in Fall 2009. It is an elective for students in the RMEP Concentration.

Table 4: Courses offered in past eight years

Number of sections offered (census enrollments for each section)

Course F01 S02 F02 S03 F03 S04 F04 S05 F05 S06 F06 S07 F07 S08 F08

705

1 (10)

1 (11)

1 (11)

751

1 (14)

1 (9)

1 (12)

1 (15)

1 (17)

1 (15)

1 (15)

801

1 (10)

1 (17)

1 (23)

1 (24)

1 (20)

1 (10)

1 (8)

1 (21)

1 (18)

810b

1 (11)

1 (13)

1 (14)

1 (15)

810c

1 (6)

1 (9)

810g

1 (12)

1 (18)

1 (18)

815

1 (7)

1 (14)

1 (11)

820

1 (7)

1 (15)

1 (17)

1 (8)

2 (17, 17)

1 (11)

1 (11)

1 (16)

1 (10)

1 (8)

1 CNX

825

1 (10)

832

1 (8)

1 (8)

850 858

1

(10) 1

(10) 1

(15) 1

(3) 1

(13)

courses 2 2 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 enrolled 24 18 34 44 41 50 57 52 62 50 31 48 40 47 44

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4.2 Path to graduation We have posted a cycle of seminars on the department website and work from this in developing each semester’s schedule (Table 6). These are developed by the Chair through consultation with faculty individually and in faculty meetings. Sabbaticals, resignations and research leaves have not always permitted the delivery of all scheduled seminars. Graduate program advisors develop an individual path to graduation for each new student upon admission to the program and meet with students regularly to revise this plan as the students’ interests or our course offerings evolve.

Table 5: Projected Graduate Offerings

F08 S09 F09

S10 F10

S11

Geog 601 Field Methods: Qualitative

Donovan

Geog 602 Field Methods: Physical

Oliphant

Oliphant

Geog 705 Geographical Analysis

Liu Liu Liu

Geog 751 Environmental Management

Holzman

Hines

Pending

Geog 801 Scope & Method

Wilkinson

Wilkinson

Wilkinson

Geog 810 Seminar in Biogeography

Pending

Seminar in Geomorphology Davis

Davis

Seminar in Climatology

Oliphant

Geog 815 Seminar in GeoTechniques

Blesius

Blesius

Geog 820 Sem Hum/Soc Geography

Blecha CNX

Wilkinson

Donovan

Blecha

Wilkinson

Geog 832 Sem Urban Geography

Guo

Geog 858 Sem Land Use Planning

Henderson

Henderson

Henderson

Total grad offerings 4 4 5 4 5 4

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4.3 Course distribution on GAP

The department’s grad advisors and grad coordinator review all GAP forms to ensure that they meet program requirements. All students who were awarded MAs during the review period had completed at least 56-60% of their course units at a graduate level, and many had a higher proportion of grad-level work. The core graduate methods course was introduced in Spring 2003) and Geog705 was the sole mandatory course. The idea was to ensure sufficient quantitative skills to complete MA research. We have added paired graduate sections of alternate methods courses, Geog 601/701 Qualitative Methods and Geog 602/702 Field Methods in Physical Geography ensure that all grads have at least 68-70% of their course work at the graduate level. We require all students to complete at least one of these three methods courses, on advisement, but continue to encourage taking both Geog705 and the field methods course most appropriate to their thesis research.

4.4 Class size We reduced the enrollment cap on seminars from 18 to 15 students during this review period. Some instructors still accommodate a few extra students so as not to impede their degree progress (see Table 7.) Geog 801, in particular, has often enrolled more than 15 students; an extra section of this course was offered in Spring 2006 to accommodate a high yield of admitted students, but by Fall 2007 twenty-one students needed the course. Splitting the seminar into three smaller discussion groups helped encourage individuals to participate. Geog 810 and Geog 820 have also exceeded 15 students with some regularity; while frequent offerings could reduce enrollment levels, many students opt to take more than the required number of seminars in these categories.

4.5 Number of graduates We have averaged about 10.4 Masters graduates annually during the review

period, or about one per tenure-track position, despite being staffed below our allocation due to numerous leaves, retirements and resignations (see Table 6.) The production of graduates by the RMEP Concentration is somewhat more volatile, in part because the program’s two advisors and key faculty (Hines and Holzman) were on leave or partial reassignment during the review period.

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Table 6: Number of Program Graduates

Academic Year MA Geog RMEP Total*

2001-2002 4 5 9

2003 2003 5 9 14

2003-2004 9 0 9

2004-2005 7 5 12

2005-2006 6 2 8

2006-2007 7 2 9

2007-2008 6 6 12

Six year Average 6.3 4.1 10.4

*Source: Grad Division; Geography Department records show 5 additional degrees.

4.6 Overview of program quality and sustainability indicators

All program quality and sustainability indicators are positive at this time. Admission requirements are more stringent than for the University as a whole. A composite pattern of information informs the admission decision. Applicants are evaluated according to the following standards:

• Past Performance: a grade point average of 3.25 or better in the last 60 units of coursework attempted, with exceptions occasionally made for applicants with slightly lower GPA’s (still above 3.0) who show promise based on other indicators.

• Suitable prerequisite coursework: admission to classified graduate standing requires a Bachelor’s degree in Geography or completion of core undergraduate work in Geography as well as two upper-division Geography electives.

• Discipline specific essays: a well-written statement of purpose addressing the student’s interest in and preparation for graduate study in Geography, as well as general research interests and probable career goals.

• Letters of recommendation: a minimum of two letters are required. • GRE scores: these are evaluated in the context of other evidence. Strong GRE

scores (600/better in either Verbal or Quantitative) can offset a GPA that is slightly below our standard of 3.25; low scores (below 400) can only be offset by strong GPAs or other evidence of past academic success.

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• Evidence of competent writing: a score of 4.5 or better on the GRE Analytical Writing Component is accepted. Students who receive lower scores are required to complete a course in scientific or technical writing prior to advancement to classified standing.

• English preparation of Non-Native Speakers: We defer to University requirements for these applicants.

Program requirements established by the Academic Senate are also met.

• Number of course offerings averages 4 per semester. We have not dropped below three graduate level courses in any semester during the review period.

• Frequency of course offerings: All courses required for graduation have been offered at least once every two years.

• Path to graduation: A projected course schedule is published on the department website. An individualized path to graduation is developed with each student upon admission to the program and updated at least annually. Based on our course offerings, it is always possible for a student to graduate within 2.5 – 3 years

• Graduate Approved Program: In keeping with Academic Senate policy, at least 58% of the units on the GAP must be from exclusively graduate courses. Another 13% may be from exclusively grad or paired courses. A final 29% of GAP work may include upper division courses or additional graduate courses.

• Class size: Our typical grad course size is well within the recommended size, with no grad or paired course enrollment larger than 25. Our introductory seminar, Geog 801, often exceeds the recommended maximum size or 15, but we have attempted to address this by tightening admission standards, exercising greater selectivity in admissions, and occasionally scheduling an extra section of Geog 801. There is often student pressure to exceed the 15-student cap on enrollment in Geog 810 and 820 as well, but excess enrollment is kept to a minimum.

• Number of graduates: Over the past six years, an average of 10.4 students have graduated annually from the MA programs in Geography.

Faculty requirements are met as well. Eleven tenured or tenure track faculty in Geography hold a Ph.D. degree and all teach in the Masters program. Nine of these T/TT faculty members (Blecha, Blesius, Davis, Guo, Henderson, Hines, Holzman, Oliphant, Wilkinson) have demonstrated expertise in and commitment to the Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning. A full-time faculty member, Nancy Wilkinson, serves as Graduate Coordinator. Program-specific standards relating to University-side Indicators (Category B) are discussed at greater length elsewhere in the body of this self study.

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5.0 FACULTY REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Number of faculty in graduate programs All eleven tenured and tenure-track Geography faculty teach in the graduate program. On rare occasions in the past, sabbatical leaves occasioned the hiring of Lecturers to teach core seminars.

5.2 Number of faculty per concentration Most Geography Department faculty are involved in teaching and thesis advising for both the MA in Geography and the MA in Geography: Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning. Wilkinson is the department’s Graduate Coordinator, processing admissions and graduation paperwork and evaluating the transcripts of entering students in consultation with other program faculty. She and Oliphant are program advisors for both MA programs. (Holzman was the graduate coordinator for the MA in Geography: Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning until her reassignment to Environmental Studies; Hines shared graduate program advising responsibilities for the RMEP program until taking leave for two years in succession.) All Geography faculty teach core and/or elective seminars for both the Master of Arts in Geography program and the RMEP Concentration:

• Blecha teaches a core seminar, Geog 820: Seminar in Human Geography in a two-year rotation and may also teach Geog 825: Seminar in Sustainable Development.

• Blesius will teach an elective seminar, Geog 815: Seminar in Geographic

Techniques, and may join the two-year rotation for the core seminar, Geog 810: Seminar in physical Geography.

• Davis teaches a core seminar, Geog 810: Seminar in Physical Geography, in a

two-year rotation. • Donovan teaches a core option, Geog 701: Qualitative Methods, and a core

seminar, Geog 820: Seminar in Human Geography, each in a two-year rotation. • Guo teaches an elective seminar, Geog 832: Seminar in Urban Geography, and

has also taught two core seminars (Geog 801, Geog 820) on an as-needed basis. • Henderson teaches an elective seminar, Geog 858: Land Use Planning.

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• Hines teaches the RMEP core class (Geog 751: Environmental Management) in a two-year rotation and has also offered an elective seminar, Geog 815: Seminar in Geographic Techniques.

• Holzman has taught the RMEP core class (Geog 751: Environmental

Management) and the core seminar Geog 810: Seminar in Physical Geography, each in a two-year rotation. Her availability for graduate teaching in GEOG during her reassignment to ENVS is uncertain.

• Liu teaches a core option, Geog 705: Quantitative Methods, as well as Geog 815:

Seminar in Geographic Techniques (in rotation.) • Oliphant teaches a core option, Geog 702: Field Methods in Physical Geography,

as well as a core seminar Geog 810: Seminar in Physical Geography, each in a two-year rotation.

• Wilkinson teaches one core seminar, Geog 801: Scope and Method, and another

core seminar in a two-year rotation (Geog 820: Seminar in Human and Social Geography.)

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6.0 PROGRAM PLANNING AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROCESS Short-range program planning is a central concern in schedule-building each semester, when upcoming leaves and opportunities are discussed in programmatic context. Longer-range planning accompanies each tenure track request and hiring recommendation, as we strive to keep course offerings and thesis advising capacity in tune with student numbers, student interests and programmatic opportunities/constraints. Quality improvement also arises from the review of course evaluation materials, from informal exit interviews with Masters graduates, and from regular contact with program alumni. Welcoming ten new tenure track colleagues has been a particularly effective incentive for program improvement during the years under review, as each new colleague brings ideas, innovations and critical perspectives from their previous institutions. As they participate on thesis committees, at faculty meetings and in the various departmental subcommittees (Techniques, Graduate), their suggestions have led to some major innovations in our graduate curricula and program requirements. For example, with input from new faculty we have:

1. Developed new position descriptions and justifications for 10 tenure track searches to bring our program into alignment with our own vision, with student interests and with trends in the discipline.

2. Revised existing course curricula and added new courses as program electives.

New/revised courses, include Geog 314 Boundary Layer Climates, Geog 423 Geographic Perspectives on Gender, Environment & Development, Geog 434 Geographies of Health & Health Care, Geog 642 Watershed Assessment and Geog 657 Resource Management.

3. Supported development of cross-listed courses in affiliated departments

(International Relations, Public Administration, Urban Studies and Planning.) 4. Developed a new course (Geog 785 Projects in Teaching Geography) to provide

an opportunity for grad students to work closely with faculty in preparing course materials, designing a lecture and practicing student assessment.

5. Added a core requirement in qualitative or quantitative methods (Geog 701, 702

or 705.) A surprising number of students now choose to take two of these courses, greatly strengthening their qualifications for employment or advanced study.

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6. Implemented a Thesis Proposal Presentation requirement. Proposal presentations are scheduled once or twice a semester to enable all students to receive feedback from a diverse audience of faculty and students as they embark on their research.

7. Standardized first-level graduate literacy assessment via use of GRE scores. 8. Included elected grad student representatives in department meetings, within

contractual and legal constraints, and established a faculty liaison. 9. Greatly enhanced the web presence of the department and the utility of web links

for prospective and continuing students. 10. Created and implemented assessment process (see Appendix 3.) 11. Supported grad students’ desire for a speaker series with a Geography Department

Colloquium that debuted last year and has consistently drawn audiences of 30 or more this Fall.

Program improvement is a continual process, and at faculty meetings we welcome

discussion of ideas. In addition to the changes mentioned above, several new ideas have recently arisen and will be discussed in the coming months, such as:

• Requiring grad students to submit a formal thesis proposal to their committee

upon completion of coursework, within the same semester as submission of the Graduate Approved Program (GAP.)

• Submitting all Graduate Approved Programs (GAPs) to a faculty committee for final review.

• Developing a Publishable Paper option for the Culminating Experience.

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7.0 THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

7.1 Assessment of student learning

During the last cycle of program review, Geography faculty identified the following learning goals and desired learning outcomes for our students:

Learning Goals

1. Students who complete our Master’s programs will demonstrate competence in understanding and critically evaluating geographic literature.

2. Students who complete our Master’s programs will be able to design and

complete an effective graduate level thesis or research project. 3. Students who complete our Master’s programs will be able to communicate

effectively with peers and professionals within their field.

Desired Learning Outcomes

1. Each student completing the program will demonstrate an understanding of broad themes and controversies within both physical and human geography by means of oral and/or written evaluation and discussion of recent and historical geographic literature.

2. Each student completing the program will demonstrate the ability to define a

geographic problem, formulate research goals, conduct library and field research, and analyze/interpret findings using appropriate techniques and principles.

3. Each student completing the program will demonstrate the ability to communicate

effectively with peers and professionals within the field of geography by completing a thesis, research project or research paper of publishable quality.

These outcomes are met throughout the core graduate course curriculum, particularly in core seminars including Geography 801 Scope and Method, Geography 751 Environmental Management, Geography 810 Seminar in Physical Geography, and Geography 820 Seminar in Human and Social Geography.

Assessment Process

Readings, discussions and papers in Geography 801, 751, 810 and 820 cover core themes within geography. Critical article or literature reviews are required in these geography seminars. Faculty periodically evaluate these reviews using a matrix developed by the Literacy Committee (see Table 7 below.)

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Table 7: MA in Geography Assessment Rubric for Seminar Papers (For each item, circle the number at the point on the continuum that best represents the quality of the answer.)

Question/topic not clearly articulated 1-----2-----3-----4-----5

Question/topic clearly articulated

Review is off target 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Review is responsive to question Fails to mention/synthesize findings of previous research, and/or theoretical framework

1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Sets context of previous research/establishes theoretical framework

Fails to identify methods to be used 1-----2-----3-----4-----5

Clearly identifies methods to be used

Excessive use of direct quotations 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Uses direct quotations sparingly and effectively

Inadequate/inaccurate citations 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Citations are appropriate, accurate, sufficient Ungrammatical 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Grammatical

Poorly punctuated 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Well punctuated

Words poorly chosen, rambling 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Words clear & well-chosen, succinct Disorganized, hard to follow 1-----2-----3-----4-----5 Logical structure and sequence Adapted and revised from http://education.indiana.edu/~ist/programs/quals/rlitrev.html

Students are required to make at least one presentation per graduate course on

their own research or professional literature they have reviewed. Presentations are evaluated by faculty and student colleagues.

Each incoming student must satisfy the first-level graduate literacy requirement

and must then submit a Proposal For Culminating Experience indicating at least two committee members from the tenure track Geography faculty. The department requires each student to present his/her culminating experience proposal at a special session for graduate students and tenure track faculty; these presentations will also be assessed using a matrix that is still under development. Faculty and students provide unofficial feedback to proposal presenters, and the final thesis or a research project and oral examination are completed in consultation with a committee of at least two T/TT faculty members.

Required courses are reviewed regularly by the Graduate Committee to confirm

that course and program objectives are being met. Completion rates for graduates are compiled annually. Additional information for assessment of program outcomes derives from alumni feedback at annual meetings; from Master’s alumni accepted into doctoral programs; from the number of awards our Master’s students have won for presentations at regional and national meetings; and from the number of grants and awards for research provided to graduate students.

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7.2 Advising

Wilkinson is graduate coordinator for the department, meeting with prospective applicants, evaluating program applications in consultation with the Graduate Committee, and providing summer advising for new students. Oliphant took on this role in AY 2007-08 because of the need for more specialized MA program advising in physical geography. All department faculty serve as thesis advisors within the general MA program. Holzman recently resigned as graduate coordinator for the MA in Geography: Concentration in Resource Management and Environmental Planning. Wilkinson and Oliphant will share this role. She will teach its core course Geog 751 Environmental Management this year; we anticipate that Hines will teach it in the future. All department faculty serve as thesis advisors within the RMEP concentration.

7.3 Writing proficiency First-level writing competence is assessed during the admission process through examination of each student’s Statement of Purpose and GRE Analytical Writing (AW) score. We accept a score of 4.5 or higher as evidence of writing competence and require students who score 4.0 or below to complete a course such as Science Writing 560 or Technical & Professional Writing 400 within the first year of study. Second-level assessment of writing competence occurs during seminars and is certified with the completion of the Culminating Experience (thesis or research project.)

7.4 The culminating experience The faculty of the Department of Geography and Human Environmental Studies

take graduate thesis research very seriously, and most of us would list supporting graduate students as a major reason why we chose to work here. We are increasingly pleased with the quality of Masters theses submitted to the department and encourage our students to present papers & posters at conferences. At the same time, we need to continually identify ways of improving the culminating experience, and since our last review we have put in place specific improvements and are looking to do more.

The Department has two useful existing documents available online at our

website (http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/gradhandout.htm): • “How To Get Your M.A. In Geography,” which explains the entire process of

getting the degree, from initial contact with the Department through completion and filing of a Culminating Experience.

http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/gradhandout.htm�

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• “Your Culminating Experience in Geography,” that focuses on the Culminating Experience and progresses from composing a committee, to proposal development, to thesis/research paper production, to defense/oral exam, and finally to submission.

We have identified enhancements of our culminating experience process within the existing approved process outlined in the SFSU Bulletin and related documents such as those listed above. These enhancements, either underway or in the process of being implemented, include:

• Using the existing course, Geog 896: Directed readings in Geography to mentor students as they prepare a literature review leading to the thesis proposal.

• Requiring a formal Thesis Research Proposal of all students. The proposal

must represent the student’s own thinking and must be written by the student. All specialized terminology must be defined, and the intellectual underpinnings of the research and its significance must be clearly articulated. The Proposal must include a title; a background statement placing it in the context of previous research in the field, identifying deficiencies in understanding to be addressed by the proposed research; clearly stated goals and objectives; a detailed discussion of research design and methodology; identification of the potential significance of the research; discussion of progress to date and a detailed schedule for completion; and a list of key references.

• Instituting a formal Culminating Experience Proposal Presentation. We have

had this requirement in place for more than two years.

• Instituting a formal proposal-writing course, perhaps co-taught by colleagues with differing research orientations.

• Under advisement of the thesis committee, offering selected top students the

option of preparing the thesis as an article for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Acceptance by the journal would not be required for completion of the degree. The manuscript would also be submitted to the SFSU Library as a thesis, with the necessary reformatting.

• Archiving of theses and their digital datasets in campus repositories such as

DIVA.

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7.5 Overview of student quality indicators

Table 8: Student Demographics, Fall 2008 Program Student Demographics SF State’s Graduate Student Demographics

Ethnicity Female Male Female Male

Number % Number % Number % Number %

Native American 1 3 0 0 14 0.5 9 0.6

African American 0 0 2 6 201 6.7 73 4.9

Chicano, Mexican

American

1 3 2 6 193 6.4 104 6.9

Other Latino 2 6 2 6 192 6.4 83 5.5

Total Asian 4 12 3 9 524 17.3 275 18.3

Filipino/Pacific Isl 1 3 1 3 114 3.8 75 5.0

White Non-Latino 23 68 22 69 1,596 52.8 2,378 52.5

All Other 2 6 0 0 179 5.9 94 6.2

As is the case in most Geography departments, our Masters students are somewhat less diverse than the campus as a whole. We continue to seek diverse applicants as well as resources (such as fellowships) to recruit such applicants when they are identified.

Although it was not required by the Academic Senate guidelines for this cycle of review, in January 2008 we completed an audit of time to degree for students who earned their Master of Arts in Geography or MA in Geography: Concentration in RMEP during the review period. The individual data are presented in APPENDIX B: Master of Arts in Geography, Time to Degree and plotted in Table 9 below.

The wide range of time to degree reflects students’ own life events as well as the ability of the department to support timely completion of the Masters. A good share of the students we admit did not major in Geography as undergraduates and need to undertake a full semester of remedial coursework. The overwhelming proportion of our students work at paid employment off campus during their studies, and many succeed in obtaining the sorts of career positions for which they’ve come back to school before they actually complete their degrees. In many cases, the demands of a new career delay thesis completion for some time.

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Table 9: Time to degree

Years To Degree, 2001-2007

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1.5 2

2.5 3

3.5 4

4.5 5

5.5 6

6.5 7

7.5 8

8.5 9

9.5 10

10.5 11

11.5 12

12.5 13

13.5 14

14.5 15

15.5 16

16.5 17

17.5 18

years to degree

frequ

ency

Students awarded the Master of Arts in Geography during the review period had been in the program from 1.5 to 18 years from the date of admission to the award of degree (Mode = 3.5 years, Median = 4 years, Range = 1.5 – 18 years.) The longest completion time on record is for a student who rose to CEO of a GIS company after advancing to candidacy for her MA, then went on to earn a Masters in another field before completing her degree in our department. She had to repeat some outdated coursework and ended up producing what faculty agreed was an exemplary thesis. Fortunately, we are better able to keep most of our students on track. The modal time to degree during the review period was an acceptable 3.5 years and over 21% of students (14/66) who completed their Masters during the review period were able to do so in less than three years. With continued efforts by faculty, such as once-a-term focus groups for thesis students, implementation of the thesis proposal presentation requirement and the methods course requirement, and various motivational efforts, students’ preparation to successfully undertake thesis work upon completion of their coursework should continue to improve and time to degree should continue to shrink.

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8.0 THE PROGRAM AND THE COMMUNITY 8.1 Professional engagement of students and alumni

Our students apply their geographic training and knowledge professionally through participation in academic meetings (attending and some presenting their works) and taking up various professional internships with government and nonprofit agencies. For example, many undergraduate students who have taken our transportation and land use classes have gone on to find employment in local agencies such as the Municipal Transportation Agency and CalTrans District Office. Many others have found careers in water resources/water pollution after taking our courses in water resources, resource management and watershed assessment. Several graduate students now work in professional planning and consulting (see Appendix F: SFSU Geography MA Program Alumni: Current Employment.) Our alumni are well-represented in all fields related to geographic skills, including planning at federal, state and local levels, environment and resource management, GIS analysis, cartography, consulting, housing development and community food systems. Some of our alumni have gone on to PhD programs and law schools. We encourage our students at the graduate level to expand their professional experiences by incorporating different social research methods as a means of expanding their professional experience and by engaging with diverse professionals in the community. Our faculty, students and alumni are particularly involved in the following organizations:

• Association of American Geographers (AAG): most faculty present regularly at annual meetings. Wilkinson chaired Local Arrangements for the 2007 meetings; Davis, Henderson, Hines, Holzman, and Oliphant led field trips. Several faculty, students and alumni served on the Program Committee for these meetings. Wilkinson now serves on the AAG Council and its Committee on the Status of Women in Geography. For 2008-09, Blecha is Director for the new Animal Geographies specialty group, and a committee member in the Sexuality and Space specialty group.

• Association of Pacific Coast Geographers (APCG): Davis, Donovan, Henderson, Oliphant and Wilkinson have attended and presented during the review period, as well as several Masters and undergraduate students and alumni. Wilkinson has served in a number of leadership roles, including Secretary-Treasurer, Regional Councillor and President.

• American Geophysical Union: Oliphant is a regular presenter at its annual meetings and two students have presented there in the past four years.

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• American Meteorological Society: Oliphant presents regularly in AMS conferences, particularly Agriculture and Forest Meteorology.

• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing: Trish Foschi founded a local chapter and remains active in the organization in her retirement.

• Bay Area Automated Mapping Association: many of our alumni attend monthly BAAMA meetings. XiaoHang Liu and Jerry Davis have also participated.

• California GIS Council: Jerry Davis is the higher education representative to this statewide council, which meets twice a year.

• Community Food Security Coalition: Jennifer Blecha is presenting in a session at the 2008 annual meeting.

• ESRI Users Conference: Davis, Hines, Liu & others attend this annual professional conference for applied GIS; many students & alumni participate annually.

• North American Urban And Peri-Urban Agriculture Alliance (NAUPUAA): Jennifer Blecha is participating in the founding meeting in October 2008.

• University Consortium for GIScience: Jerry Davis is CSU system delegate to the semiannual meetings; XiaoHang Liu had also attended and presented.

8.2 Civic engagement

Our majors and graduate students are actively engaged in community services on and beyond campus, participating in a wide range of activities from on-campus recycling to the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. In both undergraduate and graduate courses, we encourage students to use the methods and critical thinking skills we've studied in class to engage and learn about the political realities of their communities.

In connection with his research focus on local transportation and land use debates, Jason Henderson serves as Vice president of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association and chairs its Transportation and Planning Committee. The HVNA is very active in progressive planning efforts in the neighborhood and city-wide, including the recently adopted Market and Octavia Better Neighborhoods Plan. Henderson has spoken at dozens of public hearings and works closely with the Board of Supervisor. He also serves on the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Proposal and the Citizens Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Housing Element. He has made guest appearances on several radio programs focused on San Francisco planning issues and served as a panelist and presenter at San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR), various neighborhood groups, and local workshops and conferences about planning and transport

Jerry Davis pursues applied geomorphology research to support the enhancement of native fisheries habitat in Sierra Nevada meadows and Bay Area urbanized streams.

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As President of the San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition in Pacifica for nearly 10 years, he has developed an applied research program focusing on erosion and resulting water quality impacts, in support of efforts to restore San Pedro Creek and its important Steelhead fish habitat. The SPCWC works with local citizens, the City of Pacifica, San Mateo County Parks, San Mateo County Resource Conservation District, California Departments of Fish and Game, California Department of Water Resources, California State Water Resources Control Board, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Parks Service and other agencies to implement watershed assessment, restoration and educational programs. Davis also directs SFSU’s Institute for Geographic Information Science, which has most recently engaged in a national GIS data model development for zoos and botanical gardens that will enhance collection assessment, maintenance and development. Barbara Holzman and her graduate students have been involved in community projects and research, advising local agencies on issues in resource management, native plants and animals, and restoration. Major projects include long-term work with the Lake Merced Taskforce, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and the San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks. Her students have also been involved in research with the Point Reyes National Seashore, the US Department of Fish and Wildlife, the US Forest Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, CalFire, and the California Academy of Sciences.

XiaoHang Liu has worked with The US EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice Program to discuss papers and create internships for our students. She has also collaborated with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to study how to promote physical activity through the built environment. Several of her graduate students have done thesis research related to projects in the Dan Francisco Dept. of Park and Recreational Resources and the SF Department of Health. Andrew Oliphant is collaborating with the San Mateo County on wind energy exploration over county lands with the goal of informing county energy resource accounting and establishing small scale turbines at appropriate county facilities. This involves using synoptic reanalysis data with mesoscale atmospheric modeling to build wind energy potential maps and establishing multi-year wind monitoring sites across the county. Jennifer Blecha has been interviewed regarding raising livestock animals in cities by Equal Time Radio, Food Chain Radio and various newspapers and served as a panelist and discussant for the film “King Corn” at the San Francisco Public Library. Qian Guo has worked with local school districts (San Francisco and Oakland) on teaching geography and history of East Asia, and has been interviewed numerous times on local Chinese media as well as with international journalists.

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8.3 Equity and social justice

Our program draws majors and minors from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds and issues of equity and social justice are central to our program.

For example, in both her teaching and her research Courtney Donovan focuses on how structural and social inequalities operate at different geographic scales. In the classroom setting she seeks to engage students to critically examine how issues such as ethnicity, race, gender, and sexual orientation are significant variables in shaping such inequalities. One of the main exercises she assigns to students is to draw upon what they have learned throughout the semester and come up with solutions to these real world problems.

Jennifer Blecha investigated local food systems and works to enhance inner city access to healthy foods. She is on leave for AY 2008-09, engaged in research with the Local Foods program of a St. Paul, Minnesota non-profit where she is developing "white papers" on such topics as farmer-restaurant networks, Hmong market gardeners and issues of race and access to local organic foods.

Jason Henderson engages in debates over affordable housing in San Francisco and in debates about how to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Such issues are the primary focus of his research and teaching. XiaoHang Liu has mentored graduate students working with the EPA Environmental Justice program and served as a fellow of the SFSU Public Research Institute to study health disparities. She has chaired Masters thesis work on neighborhood health disparity change in San Francisco and on public transit disparities in San Francisco. Qian Guo emphasizes government and institutional impact on underprivileged urban communities in his urban geography class, especially that during the urban renewal era and gentrification, which are part of his past research.

8.4 Internationalization

Our program draws international students not only because of SFSU's location but also because of our established reputation focusing on environment and development related areas of teaching and research.

Several students from Central and South America have come to study in our Masters program. Their research projects have involved issues of concern in their native countries as well as global issues, such as endangered species and climate change. Within the graduate curriculum, students are exposed to global issues and are asked to work with other students on these issues. In Spring 2008, several students in Barbara

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Holzman’s graduate seminar in Biogeography worked on a preliminary assessment of climate change and potential impacts on the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. One of these students traveled to Costa Rica this summer to report on this work.

XiaoHang Liu is a fellow with the BSS China Center and accompanied other fellows on a visit to Peking University, the China Central Party School, and Renmin University to discuss potential collaborations. Liu was a visiting professor at Peking University in Fall 2007 and has collaborated with colleagues from Wuhan university and Peking University on publications. She has given invited talks at Wuhan University and the National University of Geology in WuHan, and served in the CSU study abroad application committee. She has also met with visitors invited by the International Diplomacy Council in Washington D.C.

Qian Guo is a fellow with the BSS China Center and has on-going research in Xinjiang and Chinese western regions. He has cooperative research with specialists and scholars of this region both in China and in the United States, including works that have been presented at conferences and meetings. He was also a lecturer representing the CSU on an environmental management series in Liaoning, China, for government officials. His course, Emerging China, is included in GE (cluster three) and Asia Studies minor programs.

Ellen Hines has been working in SE Asia since 1999, in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, looking at the population/habitat assessment and conservation issues affecting dugongs and Irrawaddy dolphins. For the past six years, she and her students have been mapping resources in Turneffe Atoll, in Belize, looking at manatee and dolphin distribution, and creating a GIS conservation zoning structure of the Atoll as part of an application for Biosphere reserve status by a group of local stakeholders. She also serves as a scientific advisor for several international marine conservation organizations including the Oceanic Society, on the steering committee of the Mangrove Action Project, on the board of directors for Sirenian International and is the president of the Marine Board of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Courtney Donovan seeks to engage and collaborate with international scholars in order to understand international health and immigration, and she encourages students in her classes to draw from their own experiences in order to identify how their own interests intersect with global processes.

Jason Henderson’s teaching has a local emphasis but also offers global comparisons.For example, in January 2008 he visited Accra, Ghana in West Africa for a month to conduct research on transportation and land use and incorporate this into his teaching. He also did a presentation at SPUR on the globalization of automobility, using Ghana as a case study. He has also incorporated my research on Zurich, Switzerland into his teaching. Topics include comparing land use policy in Switzerland to the US, and transit policy in Zurich. Andrew Oliphant actively collaborates with researchers in Europe, New Zealand and Iran and has recently conducted research in Antarctica and Iran.

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9.0 THE FACULTY EXPERIENCE

9.1 Faculty statistics

As a result of numerous retirements and successful tenure track hires during the review period, the Geography faculty is younger, more diverse and more gender-balanced than at any time in the past. Gender is among the most balanced in any Geography department in the country, at 55% female to 45% male. There is a preponderance of junior faculty, with six of eleven individuals at the rank of Assistant Professor and only half as many Full Professors. As shown on Table 10, the modal age category is quite young (35-39 years) and the oldest faculty members are still about a decade away from retirement. Four of eleven Geography faculty were born in other countries (China, Germany, New Zealand.)

Table 10: Faculty distribution by Rank and Gender

Rank Number of Faculty Professor 2 Female, 1 Male

Associate Professor 1 Female, 1 Male Assistant Professor 3 Female, 3 Male Adjunct Professor 1 Female

Table 11: Faculty Distribution by Age

Age Number of Faculty

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9.2 Research and professional engagement of the faculty Geography faculty are professionally engaged teachers and productive scholars in the best tradition of SF State. (Table 13; Appendix C: Faculty Curriculum Vitae.)

Table 13: Faculty Professional Activities – AY 2001-2002 to Present

During the review period, T/TT faculty currently on staff have produced fifty-nine major publications, including three books, ten book chapters, six technical reports, fourteen single-authored papers, and twenty-six joint-authored papers in collaboration with scholars across an array of disciplines, including Biology, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Geoscience, Glaciology, Marine Policy and Management, Meteorology, Political Science and Urban Studies. Our papers and reviews appeared in a variety of leading Geographic and interdisciplinary journals, including:

• Antipode • Boundary Layer Meteorology • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society • Computers, Environment and Urban Systems • Earth Surface Processes and Landforms • Environment and Planning A • Environmental and Engineering Geoscience

Book

Single Author Paper

Joint Author Paper

Book Chapt

Tech Report

Conference Proceedings

Conference Presentations (w/ students)

Grants Applied

Grants Awarded

Other

Blecha

Blesius

2 5 1 1

Davis

5

4 3 4 (3) 9 7

Donovan

1

Guo

2 1 2 10 6 4

Henderson

3 1 20 12 3 3 book reviews Numerous Op eds.

Hines

1

4

2 1 2 25 (10) 30 17 7 research reports, 1 legal brief, ,

3 popular articles, numerous reviews

Holzman

2 1 7 3 3

Liu

8 5 6 11 (1) 3 1

Oliphant

2 9 1 8 15 (3) 13

5 1 Book review

Wilkinson

3 3 1 Book review

TOTAL

3 14 26 10 6 20 100 (17) 77 41 --

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• Environmental Management • Gender, Place and Culture • Geomorphology • International Journal of Geographic Information Systems • International Journal of Remote Sensing • International Journal of Urban and Regional Research • Journal of Agriculture and Forest Meteorology • Journal of Applied Meteorology • Journal of Microbiological Methods • Journal of Urban History • Marine Mammal Science • Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics • Oryx • Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing • (The) Professional Geographer • Remote Sensing of the Environment • Science in China, Series E: Technological Sciences • Transactions in GIS • Urban Geography • Yearbook of Science and Technology • Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie

In addition to these publications, which average more than one per faculty member per year, our faculty have presented 100 conference papers, seventeen of these with student collaborators/coauthors, and twenty refereed publications in conference proceedings, as well as four book reviews and a number of OpEd pieces, popular articles and miscellaneous reports and briefs. Geography faculty have also been active in grant writing and have brought in well over $2 million in grants since 2001, averaging about $310 thousand annually (Table 14; Appendix D: Faculty Honors, Grants and Awards.)

Table 14: External Grants to SFSU Geography Faculty, 2001 – present

Year # Grants Awarded Total awarded 2001-02 8 $ 407,155 2002-03 4 29,500 2003-04 6 628,134 2004-05 3 57,900 2005-06 4 209,988 2006-07 2 7,500 2007-08 7 830,760

Total 34 $ 2,170,937

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Professor Trish Foschi also brought in numerous grants to SFSU’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies prior to her retirement in the middle of the review period.

9.3 Supervision of culminating experiences Graduating ten or eleven Masters students annually with eleven faculty on hand and a requirement of two faculty per committee should yield a workload averaging about two thesis committees per faculty member per year. Actual thesis supervision is less uniformly distributed (see Table 15.) The evolving balance between student interests and faculty expertise, the departmental practice of allowing students to recruit their own committee members, and frequent faculty leaves have contributed to uneven participation on committees. We have encouraged new faculty to exercise caution in taking on thesis committee roles during their first years, and so the average number of culminating experiences completed per year correlates loosely with faculty rank (see Table 15.) Many theses are aligned with interest in GIScience and resource management (see Appendix A: Masters Theses and research Projects Completed ... 2001-2008.)

Table 15: Culminating Experience Committees # completed MAs (# chaired)

Faculty 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Avg/Yr (chaired)

Davis 1 5(1) 6(3) 4(1) 4(1) 4

5(1) 4.1 (1)

Foschi* 0 2 1(1) 1(1) 1(1) 1

NA 1 (0.6)

Guo 0 2 1(1) 4(3) 1(1) 1(1)

5(1) 2 (1)

Henderson NA NA 0 1(1) 3 0

3(1) 1.4 (0.4)

Hines** 0 2 2 3(3) 1 1

3(2) 1.7 (0.8)

Holzman 4(4) 6(5) 1(1) 2(1) 3(3) 2(2)

2(2) 2.9 (2.6)

Liu*** NA NA 0 2 2(2) 1(1)

2(1) 1.4 (0.8)

Oliphant*** NA 1 1 1 0 1(1)

2(1) 1 (0.3)

Wilkinson 5(4) 7(7) 4(1) 6(2) 3(2) 4(3)

8(5) 5.3 (3.4) *Foschi retired in Spring 2007 **Hines was on leave for 5 semesters during the period under review ***Liu and Oliphant were each on leave for one semester during the review period

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Newer faculty (Blecha, Blesius and Donovan) are all on thesis committees but have not yet participated in any Thesis or Research Project defenses. Two additional faculty who arrived and resigned during the review period (Bury, Wangui) each served on one or more Culminating Experience committees at the time of their departure.

9.4 Discipline-specific standards for teaching graduate courses

We avoid using part-time faculty to teach geography graduate courses because we strive to maximize graduate students’ exposure to faculty eligible to serve on their culminating experience committees. Only one graduate course (Geog 751) was ever taught by a part-time faculty member during the review period, and this was staffed by a PhD who had taught several upper-division courses in the program with great success.

9.5 Interdisciplinarity Geography has close relationships with several other programs. We offer cross-listed graduate courses and seminars with the departments of International Relations (IR/Geog 735) and Public Administration (Geog/PA 858.) The RMEP Concentration curriculum explicitly encourages cross-disciplinary work. Most department faculty have cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests that shape their research and teaching, and most have developed close relationships with individuals in other programs around campus. Our faculty often admit grad students in other disciplines to our upper-level courses and seminars and, in turn, have often served as readers on Culminating Experiences in other departments and programs. For example, during the review period Davis has served on thesis committees in Geology, Biology, Cinema and Museum Studies; Hines in Biology; Holzman in Leisure Studies and Public Administration; Oliphant in Meteorology, and Wilkinson in Women Studies, Public Administration, and Consumer & Family Studies. Several members of our faculty serve in various advisory roles for the Environmental Studies program (Hines, Holzman, Henderson, Oliphant, Wilkinson) and three have served on hiring committees for other departments, including Urban Studies (Henderson), and Environmental Studies (Holzman, Wilkinson.) Wilkinson also serves on RTP committees for Public Administration and Criminal Justice Studies; Holzman served on the RTP committee for Environmental Studies. The Geography Department has a long-standing tradition of interdisciplinary research. Crawford and Foschi (both now retired) had long-term relationships with SFSU’s Romberg Tiburon Center. Davis works with colleagues in biology on funded watershed research and with colleagues at UC Davis and elsewhere on GIS development for public botanical gardens. Hines works with marine scientists from a number of disciplines on issues relating to marine mammal conservation in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Holzman engages in work on urban open space. Liu has worked with colleagues in Urban Studies and SFSU’s Public Research Institute (PRI) on initiatives investigating public access to social services and is a charter member of SFSU’s China Policy Center.

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Oliphant collaborates with international research teams on ecology, glaciology and dust storms.) Finally, our newest tenure track colleagues all have interdisciplinary backgrounds and research interests – for example, Blecha’s MA is in Anthropology and Blesius has worked in Geosciences.

9.6 Overview of faculty quality indicators The faculty of the Department of Geography & Human Environmental Studies serves the mission of the program and ensures its academic excellence.

• The graduate program advisors are well qualified, attend grad coordinator briefings and are recognized as competent. Wilkinson has served as the department’s grad coordinator for about 16 years; Oliphant has begun to share these duties.

• All tenured and tenure track Geography faculty participate in the graduate

program. All have Ph.D. degrees in Geography or, in one case, in a closely related field. No adjuncts have taught in the program during the review period.

• The faculty has a remarkable dedication to responding to student needs.

Examples of special accommodations include offering nearly all seminars in the evening hours, conducting Special Studies/Directed Readings to enable grad students to pursue topics of interest beyond the scope of our regular curricula, and collaborating with faculty outside our program and even outside our University to build culminating experience committees that support students’ research.

• Ours is a diverse faculty. In addition to a gender balance rare in academic

departments of Geography, with six female and five male T/TT faculty, our colleagues represent an impressive degree of diversity in nationality (4 of 11 are foreign born: two in China, one each in New Zealand and Germany.) Three openly GLBT faculty (including one retiree who still comes to work almost every day) help support the development of a community of tolerance.

• Geography Department FTES has increased during this review period and now

averages about 280 plus 15-20 FTES in cross-listed courses. This translates to an SFR of about 25:1, a bit lower than the average in our college. SFR is reduced by the relatively small average size of our upper-division GIScience classes (GIS, remote sensing, cartography, field methods), which are in turn limited by the size of our lab (23 workstations) and the amount of supervision required by students learning these demanding activities.

• All faculty members are responsible for teaching 3 courses per term; assigned

time, leaves without pay and sabbaticals have reduced the workload for several of our colleagues during the review period. In addition, each serves on an average of 2.4 completed culminating experience committees annually.

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• Faculty are active in professional development. Most pursue active research agendas and several actively and successfully pursue funding to support their own research as well as Masters students’ thesis work.

• Faculty are engaged scholars, with individual and joint-authored publications in a

numerous respected, peer-reviewed journals. They collaborate with scholars in an array of disciplines, across local, national and international scales.

• Faculty are engaged in community service within San Francisco and beyond.

• The program recognizes and honors faculty contributions through the RTP

process. Special accomplishments are also announced and celebrated at faculty meetings and once-a-semester graduation festivities. The department also does its best to support faculty travel to conferences, and to accommodate funded leaves and course releases.

• The University also recognizes and honors faculty achievements. Three of our

faculty (Hines, Liu and Oliphant) received SFSU Presidential Sabbaticals during the review period. One (Holzman) was awarded Faculty Leave With Pay (sabbatical leave.) Three received SFSU Faculty Affirmative Action Awards (Hines, Liu, Wangui), one (Oliphant) received a Vice President’s Assigned Time Award, and several faculty received SFSU summer stipends (Blesius, Henderson [3], Liu [2] and Oliphant [2].) Liu was also awarded a two-year RIMI Fellowship and the CSU Wang Family Stipend.

• Our faculty have also received awards at the regional and national levels.

Wilkinson received the California Geographical Society’s Outstanding Educator Award in 2006 and the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers Distinguished Service Award in 2007. Jeff Bury (now at UC Santa Cruz) received a