Geography News (geography)

Current MS student Brittany Holmes was recently awarded an Alabama Power Scholarship for $2,187 through the UA School of Mines and Energy Development. This award will help support Brittany’s thesis research. Congrats!

ALABAMA, TUSCALOOSA35487-0322. The University of Alabama, Department of Geography invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Physical Geography beginning August, 16, 2012. Ph.D. in Geography or closely related discipline at time of appointment is required. Candidates must demonstrate research expertise in geomorphology, climatology, or biogeography. The ideal candidate will have a research agenda that contributes to one or more of the department’s broader areas of focus, including human impacts on the environment, coupled human-environment systems, or environmental management. The ability to teach undergraduate and graduate physical geography courses in the area of specialization and supervise graduate student research is required. Applicants must provide evidence of a high quality, independent research capability and be committed to securing external funding. This position is part of our initiative to develop a Ph.D. program specializing in Physical Geography at the University of Alabama.

To apply, go to http://facultyjobs.ua.edu and complete the online application. For further information contact Douglas Sherman, Chair, Department of Geography, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487. Email: sherman@ua.edu. Review of applications will begin January 17, 2012, and will continue until the position is filled. TheUniversityofAlabamais an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, and actively seeks diversity among its employees.

The Department of Geography is excited to welcome Dr. Doug Sherman as our new Department Chair. Dr. Sherman comes from Texas A&M University where he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Geography since 2001. Dr. Sherman is a coastal geomorphologist with an international research agenda. He received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Toronto and was a post-doctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. We are thrilled that Dr. Sherman has joined us at the Capstone.

The Geography family at UA has received an outpouring of support from colleagues around the world. If you wish to help the people of Tuscaloosa impacted by the tornado please visit the following site: http://www.ua.edu/tornadorelief/.

On behalf our this wonderful community we thank you.

To contact the Department of Geography please call 205-348-5047. A list of faculty and staff members with office, phone, and email information is available under the people tab.

The end of the semester policies from the UA College of Arts and Sciences are available here: http://as.ua.edu/home/April%2030,%202011.pdf

Brittany Holmes was recognized with a Dean’s Merit Award. These highly competitive awards are made by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UA and provide an additional $6,000 annually to the stipend of award recipients during their time in the Graduate School. Brittany will join our MS program in Geography starting fall 2011. This marks the first time a MS student has received this recognition. Congratulations!

The Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers was held April 12-16 in Seattle, Washington. Current graduate students Megan Buchanan (Hart), Ian Comstock (Senkbeil), Matthew Harper (Shankman), Rebekah Pine (Hart), and Jacob Richards (Hart) presented research findings at the meeting. Many faculty members also made presentations and/or served on panels.

April 4-8 was Honors Week at the Capstone. The Department of Geography recognized the following students at the undergraduate and graduate student award ceremonies during the week:

Graduate students

Rebekah Pine

Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Ian Comstock

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

Megan Buchanan

Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award

Jacob Richards

Chairpersons Award

Undergraduate students

Heather Black

Outstanding Undergraduate in Environmental Science Award

Barrett Gutter

Outstanding Undergraduate in Geography Award

The following students successfully defended their MS theses during the spring 2011 semester:

Kate Miller (Steinberg)

Ian Comstock (Senkbeil)

Jacob Richards (Hart)

Megan Buchanan (Hart)

Rebekah Pine (Hart)

Several more students are scheduled to defend during the course of the summer for August graduation. Congratulations to all!

Megan Buchanan was selected by the UA Graduate School for the student spotlight for February 2011. This is the first time a MS student has been selected for this recognition. The link is available here: http://graduate.ua.edu/students/mbuchanan.html.