News & Events
Featured Events
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- MGIS Orientation
- 8/22/2008 10:00 AM
- Location: Blegen Hall, 445
News
Congratulations to Eric Sheppard who was recently named a Regents Professor of the University of Minnesota. The Regents Professor position was established in 1965 by the Board of Regents to recognize the national and international prominence of faculty members. It serves as the highest recognition for faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good.
Eric is described by his colleagues as a "towering intellect, a universally admired educator and a highly respected leader." His contributions are recognized globally and have transformed the core understanding of the space economy, urban transformation, regional development, globalization and geographic science. He is credited with bringing the university's Department of Geography to a top-three national status. Considered to be one of the worlds leading geographers, he is the author of cutting-edge graduate and undergraduate textbooks, which have become key sources in classrooms around the world. His contributions to the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change have made him a vital part in internationalizing the university. He has helped organize numerous international conferences and has been a keynote, plenary lecturer or invited lecturer in more than 130 conferences or universities across the globe. With his students, he is considered a successful advisor and a trusted mentor.
Recurring Events
Coffee Hour
Fridays, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., Blegen Hall 445
For a half century, the Department of Geography has hosted Coffee Hour, the longest-running speaker series at the University of Minnesota and among Geography Departments in the United States.
On Friday afternoons, geography students and faculty, other colleagues from throughout the University, and visitors gather to hear the speaker, exchange ideas, and enjoy a snack with colleagues.
Ralph Hall Brown Day
Held each spring, Brown Day brings together friends and colleagues for a noon time potluck lunch, an afternoon lecture by a prominent visiting Geographer, and an evening banquet that celebrates the achievements of the past year, and recalls our history, which spans over three-quarters of a century.
The day is named in honor of Ralph Hall Brown, eminent faculty member in our department from 1929 to 1948, and author of Mirror for Americans (1941) and Historical Geography of the United States (1948).
The evening program includes an awards ceremony that recognizes the achievements of our undergraduate and graduate students. It also offers news from colleagues afar, entertainment and humor, and the results of our annual photo contest.
Recent Ralph Hall Brown Memorial Guest Lecturers
- William E. Doolittle, Erich W. Zimmermann Regents Professor in Geography, Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin
- Victoria Lawson, Professor, and Thomas L. & Margo G. Wyckoff; Endowed Faculty Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Washington, and Past President of the Association of American Geographers (2004-05)
- Professor Glen P. McDonald, Professor and Chair, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, "Glimpses of time past and time future from the last woods on earth: Historical biogeography of the circumpolar boreal zone and its role in global climate change" (2005)
- Professor Karl B. Raitz, University of Kentucky, "The Rock Fences of Kentucky's Bluegrass" (2004)
- Professor Judith A. Carney, University of California-Los Angeles (2003)
- Yi Fu Tuan, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, "Sense of Place: Its Relationship to Self and Time" (2002)
- Dr. Thomas J. Wilbanks, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2001)
- Michael F. Goodchild, "Scales of Cybergeography" (2000)
- David Harvey, "Spaces of Utopia" (1999)