g t upsilon newsletter march 20awarded to a college senior to use toward graduate school expenses....

GAMMATHETAUPSILON NewsletterMarch2020

GammaThetaUpsilonInternationalGeographicalHonorSociety

Interesting Times by Susy S. Ziegler, President Hmmm. My column two months ago was titled Foresight in 2020. Even with

decades of training as a geographer I did not have the foresight to predict that we would be in an ever-shifting, world-changing situation with COVID-19. Because we cannot meet face-to-face, I invite you to attend a virtual GTU Business Meeting on April 9 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time/10:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time to hear updates on GTU and share your chapter’s successess and concerns. Instead of meeting with you in person at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Denver, you may link to a Zoom videostream. You will be able to email questions and comments ahead of time or during the meeting. The login link and email address will be available closer to the event, and we will post the directions on the GTU Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GammaThetaUpsilonInternational/ Email me now at [email protected] to request that I send you the connection information when it is available. We hope that you will join the GTU Executive Committee at this annual event…but remotely to play it safe. Read on to learn about the open position of Comptroller, initiate reports, GTU scholarships, heartfelt words of gratitude from our 2019 scholarship recepients, a call for submissions to The Geographical Bulletin, the secret to happy chapters, and the regularly featured Historian’s Column. As an esteemed geographer whom I met two decades years ago is fond of saying at times when the situation just boggles the mind, “To quote the saying in the fortune cookie, ‘May you live in interesting times.’” These are indeed interesting—if not also profoundly challenging—times.

Comptroller Nominations Sought by Michael Longan, Past President, and the GTU Nominations Committee The GTU Nominations Committee seeks candidates for consideration as nominees for the position of Comptroller. This is a volunteer position with a term of five years beginning in January 2021. If you are interested in being nominated for comptroller please send a curriculum vita and a letter of interest to nominations committee chair [email protected]. The nominations will be presented to the GTU Executive Committee at a virtual meeting on April 9, 2020, and electronic voting will follow according to the process specified in the GTU Bylaws. The Comptroller oversees the financial management of GTU, including general accounting, yearly budget preparation, creation of financial reports, overseeing the filing of taxes, and acting as the liaison in managing GTU’s investment portfolio. The Comptroller may engage the services of professional accountants for some tasks. The Comptroller works closely with the Executive Secretary to process new memberships. Familiarity with budget management, spreadsheets, and financial management software will be helpful. The incoming Comptroller will have the opportunity to learn about the position from the outgoing office holder during a seven-month transition period. If you believe that you have the talents and resources required, the Nominations Committee hopes that you will consider serving GTU as Comptroller, a position that is integral to the functioning of GTU. I look forward to hearing from you.



Initiate Reports and Coronavirus by Burrell Montz, Interim Executive Secretary I wrote what follows this paragraph before the coronavirus emergency and am leaving it here for future reference. With respect to the current situation, I have already been in touch with Chapter Sponsors about sending signed initiate forms and membership fees to my home address (3414 Dunhaven Dr., Greenville, NC 27834) until things get back to some semblance of normal. In addition, if you would like the certificates to be mailed to you at an address other than your office address, please let me know. However, WE CANNOT MAIL THEM INDIVIDUALLY TO INITIATES. They must come as a package to you. Now on to describing the normal process!! In the GTU newsletter a few years ago, then Executive Secretary James Lowry explained the process of processing initiate reports at this time of year when it gets very busy in the GTU office. I think the information bears repeating, and I have “borrowed” much of what he wrote then (with his permission). Most of our chapters induct new members in the spring—more often than not in March or April. On a daily basis now I am receiving initiate reports through email (from Chapter Sponsors submitting the form through the GTU website), but I cannot process them until I receive the signed report along with a check made out to Gamma Theta Upsilon to cover the membership fees. I use the emailed information as a heads-up as to what will be coming so that if I don’t receive the other materials in snail mail in a reasonable amount of time, I will typically contact the Chapter Sponsor. Remember, I am a faculty member and, like all GTU Executive Committee members, I volunteer my time to GTU. I try to get

initiate reports processed as quickly as I can, which of course depends on the number that I have in front on me. Please recognize that at this time of the year, it may take about 3–4 weeks from the time initiate reports are put in the mail to me until certificates and cards are shipped directly from the printer. That may soon stretch to 4–5 weeks and then 5–6 weeks, but please know I am working to get the reports processed and your certificates and gold cards ordered as quickly as I can. There are several simple ways to know if the initiate report and membership fees have been received at the Executive Office. When I receive a report and process it, I immediately email a completed copy back to the chapter sponsor. That same day I also update the chapter map (http://gammathetaupsilon.org/chapters.html). Zoom in on your area and, if your chapter has a green symbol, it is active. If red, it is inactive. Click on the symbol and it will give you your institution, chapter name, and, most importantly, the date of induction reported on the most recent initiate report received. If that date doesn’t match your records, it means the report you think was sent was either never sent or lost in the mail. Please take a look at the map and if you think it is wrong, it means we are missing an initiate report. The map is up-to-date. One other practical fact is that GTU’s long-standing practice is to update the name of the Chapter Sponsor on record only after a signed initiate report and fees are submitted by a new Sponsor for that chapter. This approach maintains continuity of record keeping. It is important to submit regular initiate reports to maintain status as an active chapter. Some GTU chapters submit initiate reports twice per year to build and keep momentum. I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me at [email protected] or [email protected].



2020 GTU Scholarships by Jimmy Wilson, 1st Vice-President Gamma Theta Upsilon holds a scholarship competition each year. Each GTU scholarship is designed to support the education of GTU

members. The deadline is not until June 1, but we hope that applicants will start soon to line up the materials and letters of recommendation that they will need to submit a complete application packet. A total of five awards of $1000 each are available. Four scholarships are awarded to undergraduates, and one to a continuing graduate student: • The Maxfield, Richason, and Rechlin Scholarships are awarded annually to a junior or senior with career or graduate school aspirations. • The Buzzard Undergraduate Scholarship is awarded to a college senior to use toward graduate school expenses. • The Buzzard Graduate Scholarship is awarded to a continuing Master’s or Ph.D. student. Criteria, instructions, template for the cover page, and timeline are available at our GTU website. https://gammathetaupsilon.org/scholarships.html Applications should be emailed no later than June 1, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. U.S. Pacific Daylight Time to [email protected]. Questions about applying for scholarships may be directed to GTU 1st Vice-President Jimmy Wilson at [email protected] or 419-772-2608. If you are a student and a member of GTU, we encourage you to apply. (Please make sure to allow time to secure your two letters of recommendation, which are due by the same June 1 deadline. Faculty members must email their letters directly to Dr. Wilson.) The GTU Scholarship Committee looks forward to reading about the accomplishments and

contributions of GTU undergraduates and graduate students who will continue their geography education next year as they prepare to be part of the next generation of leaders in geography. Thank-you Notes from 2019 GTU Scholarship Recipients Ready to be inspired? With thanks to 1st Vice-President Jimmy Wilson for compiling these notes, we are pleased to share with you the words of last year’s GTU scholarship recipients as they reflected on what a difference this honor has made. As you will read, the future of Geography is in good hands. We appreciate these five awardees for taking the time to share such thoughtful sentiments. 2019 Maxfield Scholarship: Lindsey Kurtz I want to thank GTU for the Maxfield Scholarship awarded to me in 2019. This scholarship has helped tremendously with the added costs of out-of-state tuition and the never-ending demand for supplies in a design program. It has allowed me to focus my time and efforts on learning new skills in my Master of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Oregon. Although I am no longer in a geography program, spatial understanding is in every project I work on, and I continue to see the importance of knowledge in geographical information systems (GIS). I am truly grateful for the continued support from GTU in my new role as a graduate student and hope to continue to advocate for more spatial education within my program.



2019 Rechlin Scholarship: Christopher Jarrett

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Gamma Theta Upsilon for the Rechlin Scholarship that I was awarded for the Fall semester of 2019. It is truly an honor and a blessing to be recognized amongst so many fantastic scholars in Geography. Representing the

Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at East Carolina University is not something that I take lightly, and none of this is possible without their unwavering support. This prestigious award isn’t just for me, but rather for all of the professors and students alike that challenge and encourage each other daily in our small, tight-knit department family. I am thankful for the financial stability that this scholarship helped provide for me…allowing me to pursue further education and continue my research in the Geography Master’s program at ECU. I am forever thankful for GTU’s generosity, and am greatly humbled and motivated by this achievement. Because of GTU, I was able to make a dream a reality. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. 2019 Richason Scholarship: Seth Kannarr

I am grateful to have been bestowed with the Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU) Richason Scholarship! It is very meaningful to receive recognition for my work and dedication towards my coursework and research in the Geography field, as well as in my involvement with Southern Illinois

University Edwardsville’s Department of Geography. My time with the Geography Club and Gamma Lambda chapter of GTU at SIUE enabled me to take up this opportunity, and I am very thankful for my community of faculty and peers that helped me become a successful undergraduate student! The generosity of scholarships like these provide great opportunities for many students, and I am proud to be part of Gamma Theta Upsilon for this reason! Thank you GTU! 2019 Buzzard Undergraduate Scholarship: Holly Roth

I am honored to have been selected by the GTU Scholarship Committee to receive the 2019 Buzzard Undergraduate Scholarship. This award helped me cover the costs of university fees, which allowed me to prioritize my

Master’s studies in Geography–Climatology and campus involvement over finding additional employment. I strongly believe that this award has also helped me develop new professional connections throughout the GTU community, as I was invited to serve as a Student Outreach Assistant for the Great Plains–Rocky Mountain Region, and on the GTU Nomination Committee. This scholarship has also afforded me the time to focus more on my work in monitoring evaporation from reservoirs in the Colorado Front Range, and on my department and the Alpha Psi GTU chapter, which I have been working to reactivate at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I am forever grateful to be a part of the GTU community. I have found geographers to be some of the most enthusiastic and welcoming people in academia, as well as other domains, and I am proud to work alongside them. Thank you again for this incredible honor, and for welcoming me into the geography community with open arms.



2019 Buzzard Graduate Scholarship: Sam Nielson

I am deeply grateful for the GTU Buzzard Graduate Scholarship that I received in 2019. Returning to graduate school after working full-time for several years, and with a family in tow, has not been the easiest financially. But Gamma Theta Upsilon's generosity with the Buzzard Scholarship made it much easier to devote

more energy to completing my dissertation on immigrant integration in Belgium. GTU is a fantastic organization and one that I am proud to be a part of since 2005. The scholarships program is invaluable, and it has had a meaningful impact on me during both my undergraduate and graduate years. As I move forward in my career and work with geography students, I will remain close to GTU and encourage all of my students to do the same. Thank you GTU! Call for Papers by Casey D. Allen, Editor of The Geographical Bulletin The Geographical Bulletin extends a call for papers for the upcoming Volume 61, Issue 2 (November 2020). We publish on any geographical topic, and particularly welcome emerging scholars and students. This May's upcoming issue features the topics of geotypes of rice growing areas in Colombia, geoarchaeology in Pennsylvania, Medicaid in Nebraska, and spatial analysis of urban crime, plus a book review of Thinking Continental. Author Instructions, Submission

Guidelines, and Editorial Policy can be found at: https://gammathetaupsilon.org/geographical-bulletin.html. Please also consider a submission for the Geographical Reviews and Essays section, currently published each May. Topics can “...include content such as fieldwork reports, reviews of emerging trends in the discipline, and retrospective/reminiscences (e.g., "looking back" on old geographers, revisiting old theories/ paradigms).” The Geographical Bulletin also welcomes suggestions (and guest editorship) for a special issue. For example, the previous special issue, The Geographies of Star Trek (May 2017, volume 58, Issue 1) arose from an AAG session, and was organized by three guest editors. Topics are open for discussion and, pending review of articles and editorship, the special issue could be published either November 2020 or May 2021. Please contact me at [email protected]. An Active Chapter is a Happy Chapter by Randy Bertolas, Outreach Coordinator Fans of Dr. Who, Star Trek, or even Stewie & Brian can attest to one immutable fact about the academic universe: Time moves at a faster rate during the second half of any semester. That’s why there is no time like the present to make certain your GTU chapter operations are running smoothly. It takes a department to run a chapter. Certainly, a chapter benefits from support by multiple faculty members and the chair. Student members serving as officers can help with planning and conducting chapter activities. With GTU initiation season here (but maybe not happening as



planned because of social distancing), advice from any of our helpful GTU executive committee members on how to celebrate new members even from afar is only an email away. Always feel free to consult with us—that’s why we’re here! Did your chapter host a speaker, participate in community service, or conduct an initiation during the current academic year? Share out with the class by posting a pic with a blurb at our GTU Facebook page. Inspire other chapter members as well as your own. Help promote geography by submitting a minimum of two posts per year on the Gamma Theta Upsilon International Facebook page. Assign the task to a tech-savvy chapter officer. Not only do we welcome updates on chapter news and activities, but also these posts are one of the steps toward making your chapter eligible for earning an Honors Chapter award: https://gammathetaupsilon.org/chapter-awards.html#honors We will again be hosting the annual GTU Initiation Photo Contest, although we understand that not everyone could hold a ceremony. Plan a virtual Earth Day celebration if you cannot meet in person! Our crack team of impartial judges will examine all submitted photos from GTU chapters and will award a 36” inflatable beach ball globe to the chapter with the most engaging initiation photo, courtesy of the Geographic Educators of Nebraska. Why exert effort toward GTU activities when that time-sensitive editing work is burning a hole through your laptop? Simple. To build department strength, promote the profile of geography, and ensure student engagement and interest. The payoff to your program is prodigious. Recall the immortal words of Canadian prime minister William Lyons Mackenzie King: “If some countries have too much history, we have too much geography. Though no one can have enough GTU in their life.” [Editor’s note: Did he really say that part about GTU, true as it may be?]

Be sure to post about your chapter activities on our official GTU International Facebook page. Don’t be dismayed if your post doesn’t immediately appear in the feed. We restrict access to genuine GTU content so as to avoid uploading of unsavory advertising from unscrupulous bots. We regularly monitor the site and upload posted content ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/GammaThetaUpsilonInternational/

Historian’s Column by Dawn M. Drake, Historian As promised in the last edition of the Historian’s Column, I am going to focus on a specific article in the inaugural

issue of The Geographical Bulletin from August 1970. This article was taken from a speech made by Dr. Eugene Van Cleef at the 1969 Association of American Geographers meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For those who are not familiar with the name, Dr. Van Cleef was a geographer at the Ohio State University. He is recognized as having taught the first urban geography course in the United States. In 1970, Dr. Van Cleef endowed an award through the American Geographical Society, the Van Cleef Medal, in honor of his wife Frieda. According to AGS’ website, “He established the medal to honor ‘scholars who have done outstanding original work in the field of urban geography, preferably, though not necessarily, in applied rather than theoretical aspects.’” The speech, printed in Volume 1 of The Geographical Bulletin, was entitled “My Reminiscences Concerned With American Geography” and is a treasure trove of stories from a man who was there when the science of geography became a discipline that people pursued at four year universities in the United States.



The speech begins with Dr. Van Cleef stating that he was the first student specialist in geography to complete the four year curriculum that the University of Chicago established in 1903. He ruminates on the fact that despite the recognized importance of geography in the universities of Europe, it was viewed as a subject for grade schoolers here in the US, relegated to the status of ABCs and 123s, at that time. Among academics in major universities, geography was viewed with skepticism. It is strange that 50 years later we seem to be re-entering this mindset where administrators are skeptical of the necessity for geographers, even as our importance grows with pressing issues like global pandemics, climate change, and a worldwide immigrant crisis. Dr. Van Cleef continues to discuss the founding of the Association of American Geographers (as it was known at the time of founding, and this speech) in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. He discusses the early days when membership was limited to only the most scholarly of practitioners. He then bemoans the slackening of membership criteria in the 1930s that allowed membership to swell to as many as 6,000 people. Today there are over 12,000 members of AAG. As one continues to read Dr. Van Cleef’s reminiscences, themes familiar to all geographers appear. What is geography? Is geography a science? How can we make people understand the importance of geography? Surprisingly he is rather critical of the early days of the discipline, condemning the decision for geography to be labeled a social science instead of an earth science, as well as the willingness of many to allow the word “environmentalism” to creep into the discipline. These are all still common struggles for geographers. It is the last point that perhaps will strike many as disconnected from geography today. Dr. Van Cleef felt that the incorporation of the word “environmentalism” trivialized geography. Today, many geography departments rush to lay

claim to that word before other programs can, usually as a means of cementing geography’s importance in daily life. To Dr. Van Cleef, these decisions weakened geography. He seems to imply that had geography not gone down these paths in the early days that the discipline might sit alongside other sciences in importance and prestige today. As I think about this history, I am mixed in my thoughts. Does building bridges like this weaken or strengthen geography? The reality for many universities is that programs need to be cut to accommodate decreasing revenues from low enrollment and smaller government contributions. Geography is often a target, perhaps due to low graduation rates or perhaps due to administrators who do not understand the importance of the discipline. We as geographers all know what the arguments against this narrative are: That geography is a discovery degree that few students declare as a major at the outset. That geography is increasingly relevant and GIS and spatial analysis are hard skills expected in more and more fields. But I also suppose that while making those arguments, I cannot help but stop and wonder if Dr. Van Cleef was right. If geography had not made the decisions it did early in its inception as a college discipline, would we be on the same level as biology and chemistry today? Dr. Van Cleef continues on in his reminiscences. In fact, I am only about a quarter of the way through his speech with what I have discussed here. When we return to campus in the fall, after having all survived the academic disruption of COVID-19, I will continue on, celebrating 50 years of the Geographical Bulletin and examining the words of Dr. Van Cleef. Share Your Chapter News Send your news to [email protected] with the subject line of GTU Newsletter or share it at https://www.facebook.com/GammaThetaUpsilonInternational/.

g t upsilon newsletter march 20awarded to a college senior to use toward graduate school expenses....

Documents