The Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG) Nominations Committee is seeking individuals willing to serve as VICE PRESIDENT and SECRETARY. These positions are two-year terms beginning immediately after our 2020 SEDAAG Virtual Conference in November. We are also seeking STATE REPRESENTATIVES for Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These positions are also two-year terms beginning immediately after the upcoming meeting.

The Vice-President serves as Head of the Program Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee. Please contact the current Vice President, Bill Graves at bgraves@uncc.edu for additional information.

The Secretary serves as a member of the Executive Committee and is responsible for communicating with members through the webpage, newsletter, and email. The Secretary also coordinates the election of SEDAAG officers and elected committees and takes meeting minutes. Updating the SEDAAG website is also a current the duty of the secretary. Please contact the current Secretary, Shrinidhi Ambinakudige at shrinidhi@geosci.msstate.edu for additional information.

State representatives represent their state on the SEDAAG Steering Committee and prepare a state-of-geography annual report for their state. Please feel free to contact Lynn Resler at resler@vt.edu or any of the current state reps for more information.

Nominations are due September 4, 2020. You may nominate yourself or another individual by emailing the nominations committee chair Dr. Thomas Chapman at  techapma@odu.edu. Please provide the nominee’s name, institution, and email address. Nominees will be asked to submit a brief 1 paragraph biography for ballot purposes that includes their involvement with SEDAAG. Members of SEDAAG will then vote for these positions via an online poll. State Representatives will be elected by the voting membership of the respective states.

The Wetland Landscape Ecology lab in the University of Texas Department of Marine Science seeks a postdoctoral researcher interested in the remote sensing of landscape-scale wetland flood and habitat dynamics. The successful applicant will work on a funded project conducted in partnership with Ducks Unlimited. The project goal is to evaluate surface water flooding and other wetland habitat characteristics in the Prairie Pothole region, a depressional wetland landscape in U.S. Great Plains. This project will develop open-source models that can serve as the basis of long-term monitoring and conservation programs by research and non-profit organizations.

The position is a one-year appointment with a possible extension in later years, and has a tentative start date of 1 September 2020. The position is located at the UT Marine Science Institute (www.utmsi.utexas.edu), in Port Aransas, TX, and a possible remote start is negotiable. The Marine Science Institute is situated on Mustang Island, with close proximity to sandy beaches, estuarine habitats of the Gulf of Mexico, and the city of Corpus Christie, TX. The successful applicant will also have access to the resources available at the University at Texas at Austin, such as the Texas Advanced Computing Center (www.tacc.utexas.edu).

Required qualifications: The applicant should have experience in remote sensing analyses, as well as experience programming in the R statistical language. A track record of successful publications and a PhD degree received within the last 3 years in ecology, geography or a related field are also required.

Desired additional qualifications: Experience working with LiDAR, SAR and spectral reflectance data will be helpful for this position, as well as experience with Google Earth Engine, data science and/or reproducible workflows. Past experience researching wetland landscapes will also be useful.

To apply: please send a cover letter outlining your research interests and goals (no more than 2 pages), a curriculum vitae, and contact information for three professional references, including their name, email, phone, and address. These materials should be emailed as a single pdf to Jessica O’Connell (jessica.oconnell@utexas.edu), Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Texas. For more information about the work conducted in my lab, see the web page: www.landscapemodeling.net. Applicant review will begin 25 June 2020 and continue until the position is filled.

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to making a final offer of employment.

June 13, 2020

The Wetland Landscape Ecology lab in the UT Austin Department of Marine Science seeks PhD students to start January 2021. Research in the lab centers around remote sensing of landscape-scale wetland dynamics, and is related to coastal ecosystem resiliency and long-term landscape change. Successful applicants will work on funded projects related to coastal marsh plant phenology and plant productivity modeling, blending together tools from landscape ecology, remote sensing, and data science. Students will be supported with a competitive stipend.

Required qualifications: Candidates must be able to conduct independent research and to work as part of a scientific team. Experience in data analysis, strong quantitative skills, and the ability to work outdoors in a hot, muddy coastal marsh environment are also required. A minimum 3.0 GPA in upper division course work is required for admission to the UT Austin graduate school.

Desired additional qualifications: Experience in wetlands research, remote sensing analyses, programming in the R statistical language, and working with Google Earth Engine, data science and reproducible workflows. A strong background in either ecology or remote sensing and a track record of successful publication are also desired. A master’s degree or relevant experience is also preferred.

Students will join the O’Connell Wetland Landscape Ecology lab. The lab is located at the UT Marine Science Institute (www.utmsi.utexas.edu), in Port Aransas, TX. This is on Mustang Island, with close proximity to sandy beaches, estuarine habitats of the Gulf of Mexico, and the city of Corpus Christie, TX. Graduate students in the Marine Science Department spend most of their time in residence at Port Aransas, but will typically spend a semester or more at the main campus in UT Austin to complete course work and gain valuable teaching experience. Students will also have the opportunity to network with a broad  set of potential collaborators, through interaction with the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-term Ecological Research Project (https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/)

To apply: please contact Dr. Jessica O’Connell directly. Send a cover letter outlining your research interests and career goals (no more than 2 pages), a curriculum vitae, and contact information for three professional references, including their name, email, phone, and address. These materials should be emailed as a single pdf to Jessica O’Connell (jessica.oconnell@utexas.edu), Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Texas. For more information, see the lab web page: www.landscapemodeling.net. Applicant review will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified candidates, including underrepresented groups, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Dear Colleagues,

Given the uncertainties of travel, safety, and budgets in Fall 2020, we announce that our in-person Florence, AL meeting scheduled for November 22-23, 2020 will be postponed to November 2021.  We are disappointed that we will not have an in-person gathering at a time when many of us seek the comfort of community, but feel this decision is in the best interest of our attendees.

We are excited, however, to announce that we are moving to a virtual conference presence for the 2020 SEDAAG Annual Meeting! The board is in the process of gathering ideas about ways to make this online meeting a truly “SEDAAG-style” gathering; we seek to celebrate the strong community of SEDAAG, and especially, to highlight our student members.  We also seek an accessible, economical meeting.

To this end, we encourage your input. What would YOU like to see in a virtual SEDAAG meeting? We seek your general input, but also input on meeting timing, such as preferred dates and days of the week. We understand that the Fall 2020 semester will end at different times for different universities.  We would like to know about any special considerations you may have in light of adjusted university or professional schedules.  Please send your comments/suggestions to Bill Graves (bgraves@uncc.edu), SEDAAG Vice President.

Finally, we can preliminarily announce that our 2022 SEDAAG Meeting will be held in Atlanta, GA! We will provide more information on the 2020 meeting, and all future meetings as information becomes available.

Thanks to All,

Lynn Resler

President, SEDAAG

The results of the Southeastern Regional Councilor election have been finalized and Dr. Selima Sultana  has been elected to the position. Her term starts on July 1, 2020. Currently, she is a Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG). Dr. Sultana is also serving the division as the co-editor of the Southeastern Geographer.

The Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Human Geography, with a specialization in Black Geographies, with an anticipated start date of Fall 2020 or Spring 2021.

We seek scholars whose work focuses on Black Geographies in relation to one or more of the following areas: gender, sexuality and Black feminist thought; environmental racism, environmental justice and political ecology; political and economic geographies; health and well-being; agriculture and food systems; or Black placemaking and community-building. We are especially interested in scholars with expertise on the Black experience in the American South, or on the transnational connections between the Black diaspora in the US and other parts of the world.

Applicants must hold a PhD in geography (or a closely related field) by the time of appointment, and will demonstrate evidence of (or the potential for) excellence in research, teaching and student mentoring. Applicants will be expected to maintain an active research program with the potential for external funding, develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in their areas of expertise, as well as supervise both masters and doctoral students.

The Department of Geosciences currently has 19 tenured or tenure-track faculty, five clinical professors, and four full-time instructors and awards B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Within the department, there are four areas of disciplinary emphasis: Geology, Geography, Geospatial Science, and Meteorology. In addition, the department maintains close relationships with a variety of other research centers and interdisciplinary programs elsewhere on the Mississippi State campus. More information about the Department of Geosciences is available on our website: www.geosciences.msstate.edu.

Candidates may apply on-line by submitting a cover letter (including statements of research and teaching interests), a curriculum vitae, and a list of three references with contact information through the Mississippi State University HRM website: http://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/cw/en-us/job/499785?lApplicationSubSourceID=. The position will remain open until filled; however, the review of applications will begin April 13, 2020.  For questions about the position or the application process, please contact search committee chair Shrinidhi Ambinakudige at shrinidhi@geosci.msstate.edu.

MSU is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, gender identity, status as a U.S. veteran, and/or any other status protected by applicable law. We always welcome nominations and applications from women, members of any minority group, and others who share our passion for building a diverse community that reflects the diversity in our student population.

SECOND CALL: SEDAAG is soliciting nominations for the AAG Regional Councilor from the Southeastern Division. The Regional Councilor position, chosen by AAG members in the Southeastern Region, is a 3-year term that begins on July 1, 2020.  The Regional Councilor takes part at both the AAG and SEDAAG meetings.

Eligibility: AAG members residing within the Southeastern Division; Must not have been an AAG employee for three years from end date of employment.

Please send any nominations for REGIONAL COUNCI​LOR to SEDAAG Nominations Chair, Tom Chapman (techapma@odu.edu) by February 17, 2020. Nominees should submit a Biosketch that outlines any prior commitment to AAG and SEDAAG. Eligible voters comprise all AAG members in the Southeastern Region.

Description of Position:

If you are curious about what a Regional Councilor does, John Kupfer, the current Regional Councilor for the Southeastern Division, describes the position from his personal experience, below. If you know of qualified and interested candidates, please touch base with them to gauge their interest and commitment.

The primary role of the Regional Councilor is to serve on the AAG Council, which is comprised of the AAG President, Past President, and Vice President, as well as National Councilors elected by the entire AAG membership and Regional Councilors elected by each of the AAG regions. The Council serves as the governing body of the AAG, establishing committees and determining Association policies and procedures. As Councilor, you will be involved in appointing Editors, Assistant Editors, and Editorial Boards for the AAG’s journals, approving the organization’s budget, and developing, implementing and supporting new projects. You will likely be asked to serve on ad hoc committees associated with AAG initiatives, and you will have the opportunity to serve as liaison to a range of AAG Committees. Regional Councilors are also eligible to serve as AAG Secretary or Treasurer. In short, you’ll get to learn a lot about how the AAG works and have input that really can make a difference in the success of our organization.

Within SEDAAG, the Regional Councilor serves on the Executive and Steering Committees and thus has a role in shaping our organization’s activities and policies. You will get to review, comment on, and approve SEDAAG’s budget and any proposed financial initiatives, help to select upcoming meeting host sites, and be involved in the selection of editors for Southeastern Geographer. As with the broader Council responsibilities, it’s your chance to make a difference in the direction and success of SEDAAG.

So, your first question is probably: How much time will this take up? Regionally, the Councilor makes a short verbal report at SEDAAG’s annual meeting about important AAG activities that could affect the region, and prepares a brief report on the region that is submitted to the AAG Council at our spring meeting. We transact some business by email and phone, as well. All told, these responsibilities are fairly minor. For AAG Council, you are expected to attend two Council meetings annually, one in the fall (November, in recent years) and one in the spring (which takes place at the AAG Meeting site immediately prior to the start of the meeting). Council meetings entail an afternoon arrival and brief meetings and dinner on Day 1, a full day of meetings on Day 2, and meetings until noon on Day 3. I also served on an ad hoc committee for the Professional Geographer and a Presidential taskforce on the state of AAG regions, among other things. Most notably, I also was a member of the Search Committee to select the new AAG Executive Director following Doug Richardson’s retirement. Some assignments are fairly minor; others can be more time consuming. You have some control over how involved you get, but you need to be aware that you will serve in your role as Councilor for 3 years.

Given that, your second question might be: What do I get out of it? Primarily, you get to contribute to AAG and SEDAAG and work with a bunch of interesting people, including not only other Councilors and several AAG Presidents, but also the Executive Director, Meridian Place staff, and AAG members from around the world. I’ve made a number of good friends and professional contacts through my service, and I feel that I’ve helped the organizations in some fairly fundamental ways. I also understand better why some things work the way that they do. By the way, there is no honorarium, but AAG does cover all of your expenses for Council Meetings.

Finally, you might be wondering: Do I really have anything to contribute? The answer is almost unequivocally: “Yes”. Council needs a diverse range of viewpoints to function well. That means scholars from not only different specializations across geography, but also perspectives from people of diverse backgrounds and varied academic institutions. Many of the regional Councilors with whom I’ve served come from ‘teaching’ institutions, and the reality is that such settings make up a huge percentage of our membership. Council isn’t really about your research background – it’s about how you can contribute to helping AAG and SEDAAG better serve our members.

If you have additional questions about the position or John’s experiences, please feel free to contact John directly at: kupfer@sc.edu.

 AAG President David Kaplan will be speaking at the SEDAAG Honors Banquet on Monday, November 25th, 2019.

The title of his talk is

Expanding the Community of Geography

Two field trips are planned for the SEDAAG 2019 meeting.

1. Walking Tour of Downtown Wilmington, 10:00AM-Noon Sunday November 24, 2019: walk through downtown that highlights historical landmarks, regional history, and current planning and geographic issues of Wilmington.  To sign up email Liz Hines directly (hinese@uncw.edu).
2. Wrightsville Beach, 10:00AM-1:30PM Sunday November 24, 2019: review changing Wilmington urban environment on drive to beach; at beach observe and discuss beach landscape and current development issues.  Lunch at local restaurant (participant pay for lunch).  To sign up email Joanne Halls directly (hallsj@uncw.edu).

Both of these field trips will meet at the front entrance of the Hotel Ballast at 10AM, Sunday November 24 and are weather permitting.

Doug Gamble
Professor and Chair
Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences
UNC Wilmington

2019 SEDAAG Final Program