The 73rd Annual SEDAAG Meeting will kick off today November 18, 2018, in Johnson City, TN at the Carnegie Hotel and Millennium Center. Featuring attendees from ten southeastern states, the two-day conference will feature poster and paper presentations, the World Geography Bowl, award presentations, a banquet, and keynote speech by leading international expert in weather and climate and the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia Dr. Marshall Shepherd. Below is the program at a glance.

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

SEDAAG Executive Officers recently announced results of the 2018 elections. The following officers will begin their new terms following the conclusion of the 2018 SEDAAG meeting in Johnson City, TN, November 19, 2018:

Vice President (and conference program chair): Bill Graves – University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Secretary (and web editor): Shrinidhi Ambinakudige – Mississippi State University.

Georgia State Rep: Amy Potter – Georgia Southern University.

Mississippi State Rep: Jerry “Joby” Bass – University of Southern Mississippi.

North Carolina State Rep: Shane Canup – University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Tennessee State Rep: Kelsey Ellis – University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Virginia State Rep: Stephanie E. Zick – Virginia Tech.

We wish to thank all the teams which were involved in the nomination process, preparation and administration of the ballot, and verification and validation of the election results. Great teamwork.

Congratulations to the new officers and we look forward to seeing everyone in Johnson City, TN.

Francis Koti – Secretary

For

Joann Mossa – President

Renowned meteorologist Dr. Marshall Shepherd will be the keynote speaker at the 73rd annual SEDAAG meeting which will be held November 18-19, 2018, in Johnson City, TN at the Carnegie Hotel and Millennium Center. Dr. Shepherd is a leading international expert in weather and climate and is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Shepherd was the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS), the nation’s largest and oldest professional/science society in the atmospheric and related sciences. Dr. Shepherd serves as Director of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Atmospheric Sciences Program and Full Professor in the Department of Geography where he is Associate Department Head. Dr. Shepherd is also the host of The Weather Channel’s Award-Winning Sunday talk show Weather Geeks, a pioneering Sunday talk podcast/show and a contributor to Forbes Magazine. Dr. Shepherd is the 2018 recipient of the prestigious AMS Helmut Landsberg Award for pioneering and significant work in urban climate and in 2017, he was honored with the AMS Brooks Award, a high honor within the field of meteorology. Ted Turner and his Captain Planet Foundation honored Dr. Shepherd in 2014 with its Protector of the Earth Award. Prior recipients include Erin Brockovich and former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Read full biographical sketch here.

The following new officers have been elected and will begin their terms at the conclusion of the 2016 SEDAAG meeting. Terms will last through the end of the 2018 SEDAAG meeting. Thank you to all who participated in the SEDAAG election.

Vice President: Lynn Resler
Secretary: Francis Koti
Georgia State Representative: Larry Kleitches
Mississippi State Representative: Chris Fuhrmann
North Carolina State Representative: Kathleen Schroeder
Tennessee State Representative: Yingkui Li
Virginia State Representative: Caitie Finlayson

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: OFFICERS

The following positions are open and will begin 2-year terms at the close of the 2016 annual meeting:

Vice President

Secretary

State Representatives: Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

 Please send nominations for OFFICERS by August 15, 2016 to John Rodgers, at (jcr100@msstate.edu).

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: SPECIAL AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) An extensive record of research and publication in scholarly journals, books, and other appropriate formats; (2) A record of excellence in teaching and advising as evidenced by teaching awards, students advised, and other appropriate measures; (3) A record of service contributions to the individual’s educational institution in the form of administrative positions, committee work, and community contact; (4) A record of support to the geography profession whether through formal services to international, national, or regional organizations or informal work in the public domain.

Research Honors Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) A significant record of quality research and publication in scholarly journals, books, and other appropriate formats. This record may reflect the cumulative work of several years or the publication of important contributions in a shorter period of time; (2) Evidence of research leadership at both an institutional (college, university, industry) and organizational level (professional associations) where scholarly papers are presented and students and colleagues are advised.

Outstanding Service Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) Evidence of exceptional professional commitment to geography at any level, including service to professional organizations; colleges and universities; primary and secondary education; local, state, or national government; private business and industry; (2) Examples of worthy contributions include but are not limited to appointed or elected professional offices, journal editorships, professional organization committees, speaking or otherwise providing leadership in a variety of public forums, and publication in the popular press.

Excellence in Teaching Award: Nominations are invited for the newly established SEDAAG Excellence in Teaching Award. The award acknowledges sustained excellence and creativity in the college classroom. Nominations from current and former students are especially welcome. Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) Exceptional commitment to effective geography teaching; (2) Record of efforts to help diffuse excellent geography teaching beyond one’s immediate classroom (teaching-related publications, workshops, web sites, textbooks, etc.); (3) Recognition of teaching excellence by department, school, or other organizations; (4) Support of teaching excellence via student evaluations or comments.

Merle C. Prunty Student Scholarship: The Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers annually awards the Merle C. Prunty Scholarship to an outstanding undergraduate student from our region with the objective of encouraging talented undergraduate students to pursue professional careers in geography.  Eligibility: Applicants must currently be juniors or seniors and enrolled as geography majors (or geography minors) in a college or university located within the Southeastern Division. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in pursuing a professional career or the clear potential to pursue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Applicants are evaluated by the SEDAAG Honors Committee on the basis of scholastic record and professional promise.

Notification: Award recipients will be named at the Honors Banquet at the 2016 Division meeting in Columbia, South Carolina. All applicants will be informed of the outcome by e-mail.

Application Materials: Materials submitted in the application must include: (1) A cover letter that includes a summary of educational background and academic honors; (2) A full CV of the candidate; (3) Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant’s qualifications; and (4) One copy of each undergraduate transcript inclusive of college course work through Fall 2015 for Prunty Scholarship.

All nomination materials will be accepted ELECTRONICALLY. Send nominations for AWARDS with FULL CV of candidate and 3 letters of support in the body of an email and/or attached as MS Word or PDF documents by August 15 to John Rodgers, at (jcr100@msstate.edu). Dr. Rodgers also encourages submission of names of deserving award recipients and their potential nominators.

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the 2016 World Geography Bowl at the AAG annual meeting in San Francisco.

Hannah Gunderman, University of Tennessee
Alejandro Molina, UNC Greensboro
Robert Jessee, Concord University
Andrew Berens, Georgia State University
Zuri Gurganious, North Carolina Central University
Steven Fernando, University of Mary Washington

The SEDAAG team took first place at the event, beating out teams from the other regional divisions. Way to go!

We would like to recognize the following individuals who received awards at the 2015 SEDAAG meeting in Pensacola. Congratulations!

Lifetime Achievement Award: Kavita Pandit, University of Georgia

Research Honors Award: Deepak Mishra, University of Georgia

Outstanding Service Award: Doug Gamble, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Excellence in Teaching Award: Michael Pretes, University of North Alabama

Merle C. Prunty Scholarship Award: Kati Perry, University of Southern Mississippi

John Fraser Hart Award: Best PhD Student Paper Pete Akers, University of Georgia

Best Masters Paper: Helen Rosko, University of Tennessee

Best Graduate Student Poster: Jessy Van Horn, East Carolina University

Best Undergraduate Student Poster: Elisa Sperandio and Katie Testerman, Concord University

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION

Applicants for the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition must be members of SEDAAG and submit the online submission form with their basic contact information by the Friday, September 11, 2015 deadline. Please select as the submission type ‘Undergraduate Poster’ and provide the title of your project. Abstracts DO NOT need to be submitted until Friday October 16, 2015 to Dr. Phillip Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.edu. See directions below.

 Eligibility: 

To be eligible to participate in the undergraduate student poster competition, the undergraduate student must have been enrolled in a geography program and in residence at the sponsoring department at the time his or her research was conducted. The sponsoring department must be located within the SEDAAG region. Master level students who have graduated since completing their research may present their posters at the first SEDAAG meeting following their undergraduate graduation.

Posters should represent original research. Maps, illustrations, and other audiovisual materials should be designed and constructed by the student author. No multiple authored posters will be accepted. Posters should consist of undergraduates as the sole author (supervisors and other students involved in the research can be mentioned on the poster, however only one student can author and present each poster).

All topics broadly related to geography may be entered and will be ensured of a critical and impartial evaluation.

Evaluation Procedures: 

All posters must be submitted in the correct format and by the deadlines.

Friday, September 11 —online submission form with their basic contact information

Friday, October 16 —Abstract Submission email to Dr. Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.edu

Each poster submitted to the undergraduate student poster competition will be evaluated by the Education Committee for its quality of original research undertaken by the author and for its oral presentation and defense. Education Committee members will anonymously review and judge the posters during the undergraduate student poster competition.

The posters must be prepared with care and treated as one prepares a manuscript for possible publication. Primary criterion will be background outlining related literature, research objective(s)/question(s), research design/methods, results, conclusions, and bibliography. Failure to provide any of these criteria will result in receiving low marks in the judging competition.

The oral examination will focus on the professional quality of the presentation and the adequacy with which questions are answered. It is important that the oral presentations be lively and well-illustrated. In order to leave adequate time for questions, each oral presentation should aim for a 3-5 minute presentation.

The visual evaluation of the poster will include quality, appropriateness, and visual appeal of maps, figures and illustrations. Materials should be legible from a distance of one to three feet with text confined to brief statements. All visual aids should be intelligible and have subtitles. Maximum poster dimensions are 36’ by 48″.

The weight for each category is 30 percent for the written component, 30 percent for the oral defense and 40 percent for its visual acuity.

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Email abstracts to Dr. Schmutz at pschmutz@uwf.eduby October 16, 2015. Submissions received after this deadline will not be accepted for consideration. Additionally, submissions received without SEDAAG registration will not be accepted for consideration.

The subject of your email must read SEDAAG 2015 undergraduate poster competition.

The contents of the email must include all of the following in this order.

• First name
• Last name
• Email
• Institutional affiliation
• Supervisor’s name
• Email address of supervisor
• SEDAAG registration confirmation order number (provided after submitting the online submission form on Sept 11)
• Poster title
• 250-word maximum abstract

A .pdf file of the poster is not required.

As in the incoming editors of Southeastern Geographer, we would like to introduce ourselves and our vision for the journal, and invite you contribute in many ways and sundry to SEDAAG’s flagship regional journal.

It is a privilege and an honor to continue in the footsteps of past editors Jim Wheeler, Derek Alderman, Scott Lecce, Graham Tobin, Robert Brinkmann, David Cochran and Andy Reese. Their hard work and savvy innovations, including the move to quarterly publication, the linkage with UNC Press, the inclusion in Project Muse, and the publication of timely and well-received special issues, have positioned the journal as the most cited regional geography journal out there. We wish to thank the SEDAAG leadership for selecting us to manage Southeastern Geographer for the next four years.

During our editorial term, we look forward to building on the rich history of the journal to expand the journal’s visibility as a site of presentation and debate over what we would think of pluralistically as ‘southern geographies’. To that end, we invite a mix of paper submissions that engage with conditions and events in the ‘south’ (broadly construed) as they relate to processes, flows, and conditions that extend across the country, continent and globe. We also invite ideas for special issues, as well as suggestions for forging stronger links between the journal and SEDAAG’s annual meeting. In short, we look forward, with your help, to continuing the important work of expanding the readership and enhancing the profile of the journal.

About the new editorial team:

Co-Editor Dr. Hilda Kurtz is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, with research interests in alternative food politics and multi-scaled processes of racialization. Hilda is a past member of Southeastern Geographer’s editorial board, currently serves on the board of the University of Georgia Press and is a reviewer for [15] national and international journals. Hilda has been a member of SEDAAG since 2003, serving in a number of elected positions within the organization.

Co-editor Dr. Deepak Mishra is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, with research expertise in the application of geospatial science to monitor vegetation and water resources in the southeastern U.S. Deepak currently serves on the Editorial board of two international journals, GIScience and Remote Sensing and Remote Sensing and is an active reviewer for 34 international journals.

Book Review Editor Andy Walter is an associate professor of geography at the University of West Georgia, with research interests in social justice, food politics and faith-based organizing He has served on editorial board of Studies in the Social Sciences, reviews for numerous national and international journals, and has been a member of SEDAAG since 2002.

Editorial Assistant Claire Bolton is a doctoral candidate in human geography at the University of Georgia. Claire’s research investigates social justice organizing in Atlanta. Claire brings seven years of relevant professional and academic experience to her work for the journal, including editing work for the National Consumer Law Center, the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee.

Editorial Assistant Nancy O’Hare is a doctoral candidate in physical geography at the University of Georgia. Nancy brings experience as a field ecologist to her work applying remote sensing and GIS to natural resource management issues in coastal Georgia. Nancy is well-versed in the process of producing peer-reviewed and other research publications.

Spanish Translator Adriana Rincon Villegas is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia who holds a 2009 law degree from the Universidad  Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogota, Colombia. Her research examines processes of transitional justice in Colombia. She served on the editorial team of the journal Anuario Justicia y Razon, published by the school of Law at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University.

Again, we look forward to managing Southeastern Geographer for the next four years, and invite comment, discussion, and ideas for further enhancing the profile of one of the discipline’s most significant regional journals.

Best wishes,

Hilda, Deepak, Andy, Nancy, Claire and Adriana

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS #1: OFFICERS

The following positions are open and will begin 2-year terms at the close of the 2015 annual meeting:

• President
• Treasurer
• State Representatives: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina and West Virginia

Please send nominations for OFFICERS by September 15, 2015 to John Rodgers, at (jcr100@msstate.edu).

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS #2: SPECIAL AWARDS

Lifetime Achievement Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) An extensive record of research and publication in scholarly journals, books, and other appropriate formats; (2) A record of excellence in teaching and advising as evidenced by teaching awards, students advised, and other appropriate measures; (3) A record of service contributions to the individual’s educational institution in the form of administrative positions, committee work, and community contact; (4) A record of support to the geography profession whether through formal services to international, national, or regional organizations or informal work in the public domain.
Research Honors Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) A significant record of quality research and publication in scholarly journals, books, and other appropriate formats. This record may reflect the cumulative work of several years or the publication of important contributions in a shorter period of time; (2) Evidence of research leadership at both an institutional (college, university, industry) and organizational level (professional associations) where scholarly papers are presented and students and colleagues are advised.
Outstanding Service Award: Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) Evidence of exceptional professional commitment to geography at any level, including service to professional organizations; colleges and universities; primary and secondary education; local, state, or national government; private business and industry; (2) Examples of worthy contributions include but are not limited to appointed or elected professional offices, journal editorships, professional organization committees, speaking or otherwise providing leadership in a variety of public forums, and publication in the popular press.
Excellence in Teaching Award: Nominations are invited for the newly established SEDAAG Excellence in Teaching Award. The award acknowledges sustained excellence and creativity in the college classroom. Nominations from current and former students are especially welcome. Nominees for this award should meet the following criteria: (1) Exceptional commitment to effective geography teaching; (2) Record of efforts to help diffuse excellent geography teaching beyond one’s immediate classroom (teaching-related publications, workshops, web sites, textbooks, etc.); (3) Recognition of teaching excellence by department, school, or other organizations; (4) Support of teaching excellence via student evaluations or comments.
Merle C. Prunty Student Scholarship: The Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers annually awards the Merle C. Prunty Scholarship to an outstanding undergraduate student from our region with the objective of encouraging talented undergraduate students to pursue professional careers in geography.  Eligibility: Applicants must currently be juniors or seniors and enrolled as geography majors (or geography minors) in a college or university located within the Southeastern Division. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in pursuing a professional career or the clear potential to pursue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Applicants are evaluated by the SEDAAG Honors Committee on the basis of scholastic record and professional promise.

Notification: Award recipients will be named at the Honors Banquet at the 2015 Division meeting. All applicants will be informed of the outcome by e-mail.
Application Materials: Materials submitted in the application must include: (1) A cover letter that includes a summary of educational background and academic honors; (2) One copy of each undergraduate transcript inclusive of college course work through Fall 2015 for Prunty Scholarship; (3) Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant’s qualifications.

All nomination materials will be accepted ELECTRONICALLY.

Send nominations for AWARDS with FULL CV of candidate and 3 letters of support in the body of an email and/or attached as MS Word or PDF documents by September 15, 2015 to John Rodgers, at (jcr100@msstate.edu). Dr. Rodgers also encourages submission of names of deserving award recipients and their potential nominators.