UK Geography continues to grow and build in strategic areas. Our physical geography program is going from strength to strength. In 2009 Daehyun Kim added his biogeography skills to the mix. Daehyun, together with Jonathan Phillips and Alice Turkington, crafted a strategic plan for the physical program, and we were able to hire Tony Stallins (PhD Georgia; most recently at Florida State University) at the Associate Professor rank, and Liang Liang (PhD University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) as an Assistant Professor. Tony and Liang joined us in August 2011. Tony brings expertise in biogeomorphology and Liang adds his specialty in bioclimatology. Now we have a first rate team in place and we’re excited about what these colleagues can do individually and collectively to further enhance physical geography at UK. 

 

With the retirement of Michael Kennedy (to whom we offer congratulations on 46 years at UK!) we have been able to renew the GIS/geospatial technologies aspect of the department. To that end, with support from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, we have two new faculty in this area. We welcome Associate Professor Jeremy Crampton (PhD Penn State University; most recently at Georgia State University), with interests in mapping, critical cartography, and GIS, and Assistant Professor Matt Wilson (PhD University of Washington), with expertise in GIS and community mapping. Jeremy and Matt have already been working with Jeff Levy to ready the GIS Teaching Lab in the White Hall Classroom Building for a more intense and diverse roster of GIS and related courses at all levels. We are thrilled that UK Geography is now poised to make our own distinctive mark in the world of geospatial technology.