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Kansas State University

 

Visiting Scholars and Colloquia

 

The Department of Geography at Kansas State University invites a number of nationally and internationally recognized scholars to our campus each year.  Recent speakers, along with short biographical sketches, are shown below.  A list of past visiting scholars, colloquia and other presentations can be found here. 

Note:  Hyperlinked presentation titles will start streaming multimedia files made using Microsoft Producer, which requires the use of Internet Explorer to view, or Real Audio.

University Visiting Scholars

 

The KSU Department of Geography sponsors, and works closely with the Provost, Vice Provost for Academic Service and Technology, Women in Engineering and Science Program (WESP), and the ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Program to co-sponsor, presentations by world class geography and allied educators and scientists.  Past speakers have included Dr. Keith C. Clarke (University of California at Santa Barbara), Dr. David Maidment (University of Texas-Austin), Dr. Emelio Moran (University of Indiana), Dr. Bill Turner (Clark University), and Dr. Dawn Wright (Oregon State University). 

Recent visiting scholars include:

 

Dr. Ruth DeFries, "Land Use Dynamics in Tropical Landscapes."
September 20, 2007 3:30 p.m. Fiedler Auditorium (Provost Lecture on Excellence in Scholarship)

Ruth DeFries is a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park with joint appointments in the Department of Geography and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center.  Her research investigates the relationships between human activities, the land surface, and the biophysical and biogeochemical processes that regulate the Earth's habitability.  She is interested in observing land cover and land use change at regional and global scales with remotely sensed data and exploring the implications for ecological services such as climate regulation, the carbon cycle, and biodiversity.  Dr. DeFries obtained a Ph.D. in 1980 from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's degree in 1976 from Washington University with a major in earth science.  She is a fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2006.

 

Jack Dangermond, "GIS Vision and Enabling Technology."
March 8, 2007 1:30-3:00 p.m. Fiedler Auditorium (Provost Lecture Series)

Jack Dangermond is the founder and president of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).  Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Redlands, California, ESRI is widely recognized as the technical and market leader in geographic information systems (GIS) software, pioneering innovative solutions for working with spatial data on the desktop, across the enterprise, in the field, and on the web.  ESRI has the largets GIS software install base in the world with more than one million users in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide.  He fostered the growth of ESRI from a small research group to an organization of over 3,100 employees, known internationally for GIS software development, training, and services.  Jack holds seven honorary doctorates from California Polytechnic University - Pomona, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of West Hungary, City University in London, University of Redlands in California, Ferris State University in Michigan, and Loma Linda University Medical Center.

 

Department Colloquia and Other Presentations

 

The Department of Geography also conducts several colloquia and special presentations that are designed to share current research being conducted by visiting researchers, geography faculty, students, and allied scientists.  Forums for these presentations include GEOG 800 Graduate Colloquium and the GTU-sponsored "Brown Bag" series held over the lunch hour. 

Presentations during the 2007-2008 academic year are listed below. 

 

Dr. Lary Dilsaver, "The Evolution of Management of the California Desert."
October 12, 2007 3:30 pm Seaton 132

Dr. Lary Dilsaver is a Professor of Geography in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of South Alabama.  Dr. Dilsaver research interests lie in the history of conservation and land use in North America and Europe.

 

Ben Champion, "Spaces, Places, and Geographies of Local Food in Eastern Kansas:  Uneven Landscapes of Development."
September 26, 2007 1:00 pm Seaton 164H (Geography Seminar Room)

Ben Champion (B.A., 2002, Chemistry, Kansas State University) is a 2003 Rhodes Scholar completing his doctoral research at Oxford University.  He will present a reading of the spaces, places, and scales of local food supply chains in Eastern Kansas with commentary about the geographies of development relationally tie to existing networks.  It is also suggested that the story of local foods as progenitors of environmental and social justice in our food system is complicated through their uneven and disrupted spatial patterns of development and governance.

 

Craig Beech, "The Role of GIS in Transfrontier Conservation." 
September 20, 2007 11:30 am Seaton 164H (Geography Seminar Room)

Craig Beech is the GIS manager of the Peace Parks Foundation, the people behind the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas in Africa, which joins countries in cross-border conservation efforts. The countries involved include South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Lesotho, Zambia and others. This is a significant development in Africa with far-reaching implications for conservation, land use options, political science and geographic science, international trade, and biosecurity concerns such as possible impacts on important diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease. GIS was and is used throughout the process of transfrontier conservation planning and implementation.

 

Dr. Milton D. Rafferty, "Henry Schoolcraft's Tour of the Wilderness Ozarks, 1818-1819."
September 14, 2007 4:00-5:00 pm Big 12 Room, KSU Student Union

Distinguished KSU Geography Alumnus Dr. Milton Rafferty (B.S., Geography, 1959) is a Professor Emeritus of Geography at Missouri State University.  Dr. Rafferty served as a geography faculty member at Missouri State from 1966-1972 and as head of the Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning from 1972 until his retirement in 1996.

 

Dr. Maureen Reed, "The Geography of Environmental Care:  Management Regimes in Canadian Biosphere Reserves."
February 1, 2008 3:30-5:00 pm Big 12 Room, KSU Student Union

Dr. Reed is a Professor of Geography and Acting Director of the School of Environment and Sustainability at Saskatchewan University.  Here research interests include community-based ecosystem management, sustainability of rural communities, and feminist and gender-based analysis.  Co-sponsored by the K-State ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Project, Gamma Theta Upsilon, and the Department of Geography.

 

Ms. Antoinette Satterfield, "Tutorial on the KSU Online Catalog."
February 15, 2008 3:30-5:00 pm Seaton 132

Ms. Satterfield is an Assistant Professor and Government Documents Librarian at Hale Library.  Sponsored by the Department of Geography.

 

Dr. Kavita Pandit, "Building a Globally Engaged University:  A Vital Role for Geographers."
February 29, 2008 3:30-5:00 pm Big 12 Room, KSU Student Union

Dr. Pandit is the Past President of the Association of American Geographers and Senior Vice Provost of the State University of New York.  Sponsored by Gamma Theta Upsilon Beta Psi Chapter and the Department of Geography.

 

Dr. Larry Rodgers, "Reading the Dustbowl:  Other Views from Literature, Art, Photography."
March 7, 2008 3:30-5:00 pm Seaton 132

Dr. Rodgers is a Professor of English and Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Kansas State University.  Sponsored by the Department of Geography.

 

Dr. Stephen Walsh, "Land Use Dynamics and Drivers of Change along the Equator:  Examples from the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Galapagos Islands."
March 28, 2008 3:30-5:00 pm Little Theater, KSU Student Union

Dr. Walsh is a Professor of Geography at the University of North Carolina with interests in coupled human-natural systems and land use/cover dynamics in the frontier environment of the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon, the Galapagos Islands, and in rural Nang Rong District, Northeastern Thailand.  Sponsored by the Department of Geography.

 

Dr. Paul Cloke, "Rural Turns:  The Search for New "Rurals" in Geography."
April 22, 2008 4:00-5:30 pm Big 12 Room, KSU Student Union

Dr. Cloke is a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Exeter with research interests in social and cultural geographies of rurality, nature-society relations, ethics and care, and landscapes of spirituality.  Co-sponsored by the K-State ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Project and the Department of Geography.

 

Dr. Paul Starrs, "On Transhumance."
May 1, 2008 2:30 pm Big 12 Room, KSU Student Union

In addition to this public seminar, Dr. Paul Starrs will be this spring's guest speaker at the annual GTU/Geography Banquet.  Dr. Starrs is a Professor of Geography at the University of Nevada-Reno who teaches cultural and historical geography.  He also works on a variety of topics associated with the geography of the so-called "New West.".  Sponsored by Gamma Theta Upsilon Beta Psi Chapter and the Department of Geography.