3 Letter from the Department Head Dear Alumni and Friends, Another amazing year has come and gone, with so many more memories created along the way. In May, we celebrated as students received their diplomas. One of our graduating seniors, Jackie Harsha, was recognized as the Orange Gown Graduate for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Each college selects one student for this special recognition. Jackie wore the orange cap and gown, carried the college banner into the ceremony, and was the first to receive her diploma at the CAS graduation ceremony. Jackie completed three bachelor’s degrees in Geospatial Information Science, Geography, and Spanish. In addition to earning minors in International Studies and Aerospace Studies, she also managed to complete the GIS Certificate. She recently took her oath as an Officer in the U.S. Space Force and became the first Space Cadet from OSU. We also received news that Abbi Lesnick, a May graduate and Global Studies major, was awarded a prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award. She will soon travel to Germany to begin that work. In the fall, CAS also recognized Karen Morgan (B.S. Geography 1985) as the Distinguished Alumna from our department. Over the past year our faculty have had research grants supported by NASA, USDA, NSF, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the National Park Service/Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, and USGS. The pace and productivity of research remain strong and these various projects support many graduate and undergraduate students, giving them excellent experience with fieldwork, including a variety of data collection methods from interviews to drones. Likewise, our graduate students have been very active in presenting their research at regional and national conferences. This year we had students attend and participate at the following conferences: SWAAG, AAG, Ecological Society of America, American Geophysical Union (AGU), Conference of Latin American Geographers, the Environmental Data Science Summit, and Oklahoma South Central Arc Users Group (OKSCAUG). Additionally, we were one of five departments selected to participate in the inaugural program by Career Services to create paid internship opportunities on campus, and Cartography Services hired a Geospatial/Mapping Intern. This fall we look forward to the arrival of a new faculty member, Dr. Rory Hill. He is presently Senior Lecturer and Wine Business and Innovation Program Coordinator at the Eastern Institute of Technology in New Zealand. He obtained his Ph.D. in Geography and the Environment from the University of Oxford, and brings expertise in the globalization of food, sustainability in food and farming, and connections between wine regions, wine tourism, and sense of place. Some folks are also moving on, including Carissa Gabilheri, who helped maintain our social media this year, and professors José Torres and Peter Crank. We appreciate all of their hard work and collegiality while with us. There is one additional change to note: By the time you receive this, my time as Department Head will have ended. It has been such an honor to have served this department and to have met and connected or reconnected with so many of our alumni. Nevertheless, it is time for me to pass the baton. In July my colleague, Dr. Jon Comer, will take the reins as Interim Department Head. As always, take care and send us your news! Sincerely, Alyson Greiner
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