Geography Newsletter - Spring 2021

I returned to Boulder to write my dissertation. Initially, I worked at Boulder Bookstore, and later I taught geography and environmental conservation courses at Front Range Community College, CU Boulder Continuing Education, and Metropolitan State College. My first tenure track job at Illinois State University was an incredible luxury: I had an office with a desk and a phone! I lived outside of town in a tiny village called Carlock that boasted a gas station, a post office, and a cemetery with separate sections for Democrat and Republication affiliations. 

A few years later, I had an interview at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana just down the road from Bloomington-Normal. My interview was spectacular! A massive snow storm caused a historic power outage on campus, and I dropped my car keys in the toilet of the restroom where I had breakfast with the Department Chair, Bruce Rhoads. They hired me. I enjoyed three years of invaluable mentorship. With sanctions on Azerbaijan recently waived, I was able to get a National Science Foundation grant to study how oil wealth and conflict in Azerbaijan are (and are not) connected. I made several trips to Azerbaijan and worked with colleagues there to conduct interviews. 

At the University of Kansas, a joint position in Geography and Environmental Studies opened up. I made the move to Lawrence, Kansas in 2004. I finished my project in Azerbaijan and I returned a few times to the South Caucasus. I began teaching and writing about genocide, and I also returned to an earlier interest in climate issues, this time with a critical, social science perspective. 

By this time, I was navigating a path to tenure and the journey of motherhood with two young children. The tenure clock is not designed for a woman’s body, I’m just saying. 

My first book, Environmental Politics: Scale and Power, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010.  For that book, I approached some common, environmental topics such as climate change, oil and energy, food security, garbage and waste, toxins, etc. through a geographic lens to consider how these themes are shaped by different forms of power and how they involve multiple spatial scales. 

Simon Dalby and I edited a book, Reframing Climate Change: Constructing Ecological Geopolitics (Routledge 2015) in which we invited social scientists to offer critical insights into how we tend to misunderstand our changing environment. Contributing authors for that project wrote about environment-induced migration, how we mis-analyze connections between climate change and conflict, new ways to think about climate activism, and how geopolitics shape the IPCC’s presentation of scientific information. 

Meanwhile, I served as Director for KU’s Center for Global and International Studies for four years, and I am now serving as Director of KU’s Environmental Studies Program. Our program includes faculty from the physical and social sciences as well as the humanities, and we have over 200 undergraduate majors. This year is the 50^th anniversary of Environmental Studies at KU; I am the first female Director. I am also the first female to achieve the rank of Full Professor in the history of the Geography and Atmospheric Sciences Department at KU. 

I am serving as the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Councilor for the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Region and as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the AAG. Both of these positions are great opportunities to promote new perspectives and voices in our professional organization. During the past year of pandemic circumstances, I have been working with Ken Foote and Mark Revell on two webinar series hosted by the AAG. One track focuses on early career development issues, and the other track considers leadership issues. The panels we have organized have brought together a lot of useful insights from thoughtful colleagues across the country -- just when we need them the most. 

Looking back at my time in the Geography Department at CU Boulder, I have fond memories of Gary Gaile’s lectures, his wall of exotic air sickness bags, and his shelf of international snow globes. I learned a lot from the legendary Jack (& Pauline) Ives. I hope Jim Westcoat has forgiven (or forgotten) our shenanigans as grad students. I am thankful I got to experience sledding the snow fields in Rocky Mountain National Park during field trips when I was a graduate teaching assistant for the intro physical geography class. 

In July 2018, he found himself in the cab of another U-Haul truck with two cats and his partner driving cross-country to Gainesville, Florida to begin a position as tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Center for Latin American Studies at University of Florida. Since arriving at UF, Correia has been conducting research on mega-infrastructure projects and environmental change in the South American Gran Chaco with field research in Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. With support of a Fulbright Flex Scholar award, he is preparing the next phase of this research on a multi-year field analysis of road construction and plantation geographies in Paraguay’s Chaco during 2021-2022. Additionally, Correia coordinates the Center’s Indigenous Studies specialization and is core faculty in the Tropical Conservation and Development program as well as the Masters in Sustainable Development Practice Program. He teaches graduate and undergraduate seminars on environmental justice, political ecologies of development, and human rights in Latin America.

In addition to this work, he collaborates with colleagues at UA to facilitate a multi-year interdisciplinary working group with Indigenous and Afro-descendant activist intellectuals from across Latin America. To date, the project that has resulted in four conferences and will inform an edited volume written with and by workshop participants. As a 2021 American Council of Learned Societies Fellow, Correia is currently completing his first book Disrupting the Patrón: Unsettling Racial Geographies in Pursuit of Indigenous Environmental Justice. The training in political ecology, critical development geographies, science studies, proposal writing, and teaching that Correia received during his studies at CU were instrumental in preparing him for a career in academia. 

Rebecca Theobold graduated with a PhD from CU Boulder Geography in 2007 and an MA in 2003. 

Q&A: How political maps are drawn determines how communities are represented at the local, state and national levels. A geography instructor explains how to engage in the process.

Rebecca Theobald, PhD, Geography, CU Boulder, 2007 / MA, Geography, CU Boulder, 2003

For decades, discussions around the wonky, politically-charged and complicated redistricting process have been dominated by politicians, mathematicians and geographers. But technological advances in the digital mapping applications are making the once-in-a-decade process significantly more accessible.

Rebecca Theobald, an assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is on a mission to empower as many people as possible to draw their own political maps to better understand the process and help inform the work of the newly formed Colorado independent legislative and congressional redistricting commissions. 

Colorado voters implemented two amendments — Y and Z — in 2018 that created the commissions that are tasked with redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps with an eye towards fairness and minimizing the potential for gerrymandering. Per law, the commissions are required to host at least 21 public meetings around the state. Due to COVID, those meetings could occur virtually. Members of the public are encouraged to submit public comments to the commission’s website and will soon be able to submit their own maps for consideration.

The entire process remains in limbo because Colorado won’t be receiving the census data necessary for redistricting until Sept. 30 — six months past the usual release date and weeks after Colorado’s new maps are due to the state’s Supreme Court. But for now, the commissions are pushing forward as planned.

Newsline reporter Moe Clark spoke with Theobald this week about how the process has changed over the last decade, how people can best participate in the process, and what’s the criteria for making a “good” map.

Q: How has the redistricting process changed over the last decade?

What really happened between 2011 and 2021 is that open source online mapping tools became available to anybody who has a computer. And that’s what’s really exciting. People now are able to sit down and create their own maps using tools that were previously only available to people in locked rooms or to people who could pay money for them. 

We’re to the point where people on the street are talking about this, not just academics, or lawyers, or people who are kind of wonky about redistricting. That’s pretty cool, in my opinion.

Q: What is legally required in a map? What questions are you asking when you’re creating a map?

So, you have to start with an equal population for all the districts. And then you have to make sure that you are following the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. And then, continuity, compactness and competitiveness. 

But then you start saying, all right, what do we decide is more important, to keep counties and municipalities together? Do we focus on keeping communities of interest together? Where do we start drawing the line? How are your intentions thwarted by geography?

Colorado’s congressional districts, which were last drawn in 2011. (Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions, screenshot)

Q: Could you talk about what a community of interest is?

So, examples of communities of interest include communities that are connected, economically, such as ski resorts or ranching, or defense contractors. 

They can also include geographic areas. So for instance, all of the communities in a particular watershed would be very interested in the quality and quantity of that water community. So they would be a community of interest. 

If there is a particular ethnic or racial heritage of a group. If we think of, for instance, the Five Points community of Denver, that would be considered a community of interest. The historic communities in the San Luis Valley would be a community of interest. Things like that.

Q: Your students recently drew their own redistricting maps. What did you hope they learned from the exercise?

So the course is called “Spaces of Political Geography,” and we look at geography through a variety of different scales. So world, national, regional and local. We also look at it through a variety of topics. So far we’ve talked about changing climate, and we look at other historical, political and geography issues. I really am trying to help them think about these practical aspects of how policies and history and geography all affect the workings of the government.

They all admitted that it took a lot of time, and that they were not necessarily successful in achieving all of their objectives. But they also all agreed that it was a really valuable learning process.

Somebody said this assignment took diligence and objectivity. Another said that they found the project to be frustrating and time intensive and in no way allowed for hasty decisions. Another said that “even if one thinks they have them all figured out, there is always another factor that could be added.”

I wanted them to understand those trade-offs. Because you can have a list of things that you want to be a priority, but it’s a lot more challenging in practice.

Q: You’ve said the more maps that are drawn by members of the community, the better. Why?

First reason for more maps is that it means that more people are invested in the process, and also more prepared to discuss why they would find a map unfair. Every map has a point of view. So, the more maps and the more perspectives the merrier.

It just allows for more sophisticated conversation if you propose a map and then explain why you think it’s fair. You can say, this is the best competitive map that I can find. Or this is the best map that keeps counties and municipalities together. Or this is the map that provides the greatest voice for minority communities. Because those are not going to be the same kind of maps. Those maps look very different. 

If you, the map creator, have proposed those and the maps are fair — they’re not squiggly or gerrymandered — then you’re saying, this is the best we can do if this is the criteria in Colorado. Then the commission will be able to have a discussion about that.

The people of the state will also have a sense of how difficult it is to create those maps and will enable us to have a more complete discussion and share slightly different maps that maybe compromise different things. You don’t really see how those compromises play out until you actually make the map. That is why it’s so crucial.

Q: What’s the most important part of this whole independent redistricting process? 

Transparency is key. There is no point in doing this activity with independent commissions unless they are going to be transparent and back up their ideas and decisions. Although the commission is independent, each member of the commission comes with their own set of knowledge and biases.

Having a transparent redistricting process is the basis for people to feel that their representatives are acknowledging their concerns, their needs and their desires for how policies are made and how funds are distributed.

The one piece of advice I would give them is to not leave the map making process solely to the staff on the commission. You do not have to, as a commissioner, create your own map and propose it. That’s not your job. But if you have not gone through the process yourself to understand it, then you will be ill-prepared to comment on and respond to feedback.

I also think it is also extremely important that frankly they get in their cars and go to these different locations they are trying to map out. Colorado is a huge state, with a significant amount of diversity and until you have driven its four corners, you really do not have a good sense of that. 

Q: If someone wants to draw their own redistricting maps, where should they start?

Number one, don’t be intimidated!

If you are somebody who has been following this redistricting discussion and you feel that you have enough information and you are ready to draw your own map, then I would say you should go to Districtr.org or District Builder or Dave’s Redistricting. Any of those sites will guide you through this process.

If you’re just starting to be interested in redistricting, and all you know is the word gerrymandering, then take a step back, look at the historical census data, and look at amendment Y and Z that created the redistricting commission to better understand the redistricting criteria. I’d also suggest using representable.org to create your community of interest, and then move to using geospatial technology.

To learn more about redistricting processes across the country, visit GeoCivics.

Article written by Moe Clark, reprinted from Colorado Newsline (April 9, 2021)

Permafrost degradation is an issue of international concern with major consequences that reach far beyond the Arctic Circle. These consequences are already beginning to manifest themselves. The catastrophic Norilsk fuel spill in late May 2020 is just one of the many recent examples of how permafrost melt damages infrastructure while endangering people and the environment. Although large-scale dramatic events like this one provide an opportunity to show the public how destructive permafrost degradation can be, many scientists, journalists, and individuals writing about the subject are quick to point out that the majority of these concerns are ‘invisible’ threats. Problems such as methane emissions, the slow slumping of soil and erosion, and other consequences of permafrost melt are not readily observable or as easily sensationalized as some of the other climate related issues occurring in other regions of the world. Furthermore, although permafrost melt is an incredibly pressing problem, many people will never see or experience it personally, and they therefore have little concern about it. Throughout my years as a science communicator, I have encountered a general lack of public knowledge about what permafrost is, let alone why it should matter to us if it thaws. With such low awareness and knowledge of the issue, how does the scientific community make these ‘invisible’ threats into tangible concerns for people around the world? I suggest using the power of our own personal experiences to solve this challenging issue and emphasize the potency of storytelling as an educational tool for teaching all types of people about permafrost melt.

Teaching Through Personal Experience

When it comes to complex issues such as thawing permafrost and climate change, it is easy to overlook the value of personal experience as a teaching device. The driving forces behind our warming climate are beguiling, and a scientific specialist such as a geophysicist or a geologist could more than likely find themselves discussing the nuances of climate change until a general audience had long perished or fled from boredom. Although math and science speak compelling truths to those with the proper education to comprehend them, we cannot expect the numbers to have much of an impact on the view of the global public. 

In these situations, it is imperative that one speaks through personal experience with a certain amount of emotional vulnerability. To make the ‘invisible’ threats of permafrost degradation visible, we must discuss the issue from a human perspective and using our storytelling skills.   Most individuals who study science do not just understand the severity of climate change on a mathematical level, but also on an emotional level. They have seen the heavy toll of climate change with their own eyes and felt the heavy weight of its reality upon their shoulders. Scientists must always be willing to communicate at this level, using their experience and humanity as one of their most potent tools in public education. 

 Only after an issue becomes relatable to a person do they have the capacity or interest in learning the science to support it. When I am approached to explain permafrost degradation and why it matters, I tell the story of my first experience with permafrost in the ‘drunken forests’ of Alaska, and how both my own life and the Arctic landscape will both be forever changed by the thawing soil.

The Sobering Sight of a Drunken Forest: My First Experience with Permafrost Thaw

I had my first personal experience with thawing permafrost in spring 2018. As I was wrapping up my associate degree in geography, I made the spontaneous decision to embark on my first trip to the Arctic Circle. In previous years, my interest in the Arctic had grown from a childhood fascination into an area of major scientific interest. As an undergraduate studying climate change and physical science, the Arctic was a huge topic of discussion in my classes, and I found myself deeply and regularly contemplating this ‘strange and far away’ land. I was, at times, admittedly curious as to why I had formed this obsession for a place I had never even seen, but that didn’t stop my fascination from growing. By the end of two years at my beloved community college, I was ready to see the Arctic for myself. A cheap plane ticket was all the enticement I needed to make it happen, and on a chilly night in early April, I found myself on a redeye flight to Fairbanks, Alaska. Sprawled across an empty row of seats, I felt like scientific royalty living in a world of possibilities as we flew north into the night. I would be paying off this excursion until the near completion of my B.A. from CU Boulder two years later, but despite the consequences, I knew it would all be worth it just to see the Arctic for myself. I was unprepared, however, for how deeply this experience would both inspire and haunt me for years to come. 

My first day in Fairbanks I awoke invigorated, despite the few hours of sleep I had been able to steal that morning. By mid-April, the days of Fairbanks, Alaska become quite long, and the city already is experiencing fifteen-hour days. For me, every hour of daylight felt like an opportunity to explore. I awoke that morning, got dressed, grabbed my camera, and left my hotel room ready to experience the city, Alaska, and the gateway to the American Arctic. 

Drunken Forest

When visiting a new city or place, I rarely make plans about what I want to see or explore. I try to open my heart and my mind to whatever the city may have to offer, and I tend to drive or walk around with no agenda until something catches my interest. My first morning in Fairbanks was no exception, and I set out unsure of where the day would take me. My little hotel was located very close to a 2,200-acre waterfowl refuge named Creamers Field, and it was not long before it had caught my attention. Within minutes of leaving the hotel, I found myself parking my rental car and wandering one of the Refuge’s nature trails. My experience in Creamers Field would be my first encounter with the Boreal Forest, as well as the first time that I would see for myself the unsettling havoc that permafrost thaw can have upon the landscape.

I spent hours exploring the trails that day, and I would ultimately start each morning of my time in Fairbanks with a walk through Creamers Refuge. It was always incredibly peaceful. I encountered no more than a few other individuals and one very friendly dog during all my morning walks there. I was enthralled by the beauty and tranquility of the forest. I took pictures of anything that caught my eye and experimented with the blue-grey light of the cold, cloudy mornings. It did not take long before I noticed the odd, bending trees that were drooping sideways all along the trail. I remember thinking they looked like ‘rainbow trees’ and proceeded to refer to them as such to myself. With a now woeful ignorance, I found the little trees to be incredibly endearing and funny, and they became one of my favorite photographic subjects along my morning walks. 

On my first walk along the trails, I simply spent my time taking photos and soaking in the scenery. My next few days on the trail, however, the geographer within me took over. I bought several identification guides and maps at the local Barnes and Noble and began to educate myself about the forest. By the end of my short time in Fairbanks, I was able to identify most of the trees along the trail as well as the birds that fluttered through their branches. Beginning with my second walk through the forest, I stopped and took the time to read the informative signs posted along the trails and talk with any friendly local willing to chat. It was over these several days that I would come to learn that these bizarre, drooping trees were not just an eccentric quirk of the forest, but an ominous sign of regional warming, degrading permafrost, and the changes that were threatening all of the world’s Boreal forests. 

I came to learn both the name for these trees, as well as what caused their unique shape. A waitress at a local restaurant told me they were called ‘drunken forests,’ which is appropriate in a grimly funny way. The description is quite astute, and the warped trees do look rather drunk in comparison to their proud, upright brothers and sisters. So, what had caused their odd malformation? I was shocked and embarrassed to learn that all of the quirky ‘rainbow trees’ had bent into these positions because they were, in fact, dead: victims of our warming climate and thawing permafrost. The soil was changing, and the ancient forest that stood around Fairbanks had become inhospitable for many of the trees that had been flourishing there for years. As permafrost thaws, the soil around it erodes, sinks, and buckles, killing trees throughout the forest. As I walked, I began to realize these dead trees were everywhere. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of them just in the small stretch of forest I had explored, and who knew how many others elsewhere. This realization caused the sense of humor I had once felt about the trees to give way to a gut-wrenching humiliation. My whimsical, serene walks became morose and somber, and in a matter of days I felt I had fallen in love with this beautiful place just in time to watch it perish. My first day walking the Boreal forest trail I shed a tear for its overwhelming splendor, and on my final day walking the trail I fell to my knees and wept for it in mourning. I felt my own heart bending and breaking with the birch trees. It was in this moment, alone with tears freezing upon my cheeks that cold Alaskan morning, that I decided to focus my own studies upon Arctic studies. I wanted to understand permafrost degradation on a deeper level, but more importantly, I knew I had to spread the word and help others understand it as well. I took as many pictures as my memory cards could store and flew home that evening ready to tell the story with my camera that the trees were forced to tell with their lives.

Arctic walk

What Causes a Drunken Forest?

If I tell this story well, and especially if I have the time to show some pictures, there are almost always follow-up questions. Talking about my personal experience tends to lead directly into scientific inquiry, and people are instantly eager to know more about what causes permafrost thaw and drunken forests. A quick geology lesson is wonderful for further nurturing this curiosity, as well as giving whoever you are speaking to a slightly deeper understanding of the issue.

The relationship between Boreal forests and Arctic permafrost is ancient and variable. Throughout Earth’s history, the temperature and climate of the Arctic (as well as the entire globe) has varied, but the trees of the Boreal forests we see today have evolved within a very cold Arctic environment. These trees have adapted to a climate in which the permafrost beneath them has remained frozen for hundreds to thousands of years. Although there are a multitude of factors that cause ‘drunken forests’ to occur naturally, such as changes in the water table, increasing global temperatures are driving increased melting in the Boreal soil. This increased rate of melting is causing boreal trees to bend and buckle much faster and at a larger scale than previously observed. Boreal forests cannot withstand the extreme rate of soil erosion, sinking, and root disturbance they endure due to permafrost degradation. They eventually bend and succumb to the thawing soil, leaving their malformed remains as an eerie wake up call for those paying attention. The beautiful forests throughout the global north are falling victim to this thaw, and we are just barely beginning to understand the severity of the situation. Some of the current research involved in understanding ‘drunken forests’ are looking at the specific soil conditions that may contribute to their formation, as well as remote sensing by NASA to see how they may be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, causing higher global temperatures and driving the melting to intensify.

Conclusion

By sharing my personal experiences and offering emotional vulnerability in science communication, I have been successful at invoking interest and curiosity in permafrost thaw among many different people. I encourage any person who may find themselves teaching others about seemingly abstract scientific concepts, particularly those involving climate change, to use their own experience as a way to make the concept more relatable. Using your own story, you can paint a picture that teaches someone how to care about climate change before inspiring them to understand it. It is our job as scientists to spread passion and curiosity as well as knowledge.

It does not stop there, however. These personal experiences and the scientists who share them must also work to elevate the stories and struggles of Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, who have a deep connection with the land and have been experiencing climate change firsthand for many decades. The Indigenous people of the Arctic are currently on the front lines of climate change, and Indigenous cultures, traditions, and livelihoods are directly threatened by permafrost degradation. The power of personal storytelling must also be a tool to spread the stories and knowledge of Indigenous peoples, whose experiences are invaluable in deepening the understanding of Arctic issues.

We must keep our eyes and ears open in all situations, looking for the learning lesson amidst the painful truth. In order to make a once invisible problem become visible, we must often retract the scope through which we see our own realities. Do not be afraid to teach about science with emotional honesty.  As Isaac Asimov once said, “Your assumptions are your window on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”

Aerial shot of Arctic mountain landscape

Michelle Stewart, Executive Director, Yampa Valley Sustainability Council

Michelle O. Stewart, Ph.D. 2014, is currently the Executive Director (ED) of Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC), based in Steamboat Springs, CO. YVSC is guided by the mission "to serve as a resource and catalyst for building a sustainable community in the Yampa Valley region." As ED, Michelle is responsible for strategic planning, financial growth and management, program development, staff management, and overall organizational function. Michelle uses her teaching, research, mentoring and grant-writing skills on a daily basis to develop programs, partnerships and education that bring sustainability-related knowledge to action at the community level. The organization's priority areas span Climate Action, Waste,

Galen Murton (Ph.D. 2014), Assistant Professor, Geographic Science Program, James Madison University

It was great to see and reconnect with many CU Boulder Geography alumni, graduate students, and faculty at the Annual Meeting of the AAG in April. Despite the very different nature of this year’s event being entirely on Zoom, I was again reminded of the vastness of the CU Geography network and the amazing work that this community does. 

Indeed, one of the most valuable post-graduate experiences I’ve had – and continue to have on a pretty regular basis – is the opportunity to collaborate with friends and colleagues from Guggenheim at conferences, workshops, classrooms, and fieldsites around the world. Beyond the annual rendezvous at AAG, this includes organizing and co-chairing panels at conferences such as the Association for Asian Studies, the Annual Conference on South Asia, Dimensions of Political Ecology, and the Himalayan Studies Conference; it is always exciting and motivating to reconnect and share research interests with both students and faculty at these kinds of events. When on the road abroad (back when we could do that – and hopefully we can do so again soon), impromptu and planned meetings with fellow PhD alumni in places like Singapore, Chengdu, and Munich have provided invaluable orientations on first visits to many new places. Over the past couple of years, I’ve also been fortunate to participate in workshops with Emily Yeh and Tim Oakes not only in Colorado but also Germany, Austria, and Nepal; the conversations we’ve continued in these venues are a helpful reminder that my dissertation project did not end with a nerve-wracking defense on campus some years ago but has instead evolved into a productive relationship of collaborative thinking (but still with a healthy dose of critique, too). 

Ongoing connections with CU Geography also go well beyond the confines of academic-oriented dialogue; interaction with alumni working as applied geographers in a variety of positions across both the public and private sectors is also a consistent reminder of that which we do – writing the earth and attending to much of what goes on (and below, and above) it. In my own experience, workshops and meetings at Esri in Washington, DC and data on wildfire hazards during increasingly devastating seasons reinforces the expert knowledge and exceptional resources that this community comprises – something that I am ever grateful (and impressed!) to be able to call upon. From the Political Geography Specialty Group of the AAG to leading scientists in Colorado at NOAA, NCAR, NREL, CIRES, USGS, and an alphabet soup of other research laboratories, we are everywhere!

I am happy to remain familiar with CU Boulder Geography and hope that you are, too. Get involved, stay connected, and keep in touch! And I’ll come say hi at Guggenheim next time I’m in town as well.

Eric Lovell, ESRI

After spending 2012-2018 interpreting the delicate, sometimes convoluted intersection of Science and Technology Studies and Political Ecology, I departed academia only to find myself at the beck and call of a technoscientific giant often associated with the discipline of Geography – Esri. I am on the Nonprofits & Global Organizations team at Esri, where I support the US Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID implementing partners, and humanitarian affairs NGOs with integrating GIS into their enterprise IT systems. From advising on the latest field data collection tools to managing unstructured data (like oral narratives related to livestock mobility), I still put on my geographer’s cap to help organizations develop their spatial literacy and understandings about how GIS can be used in everyday business operations. When I am not at work, I escape to my home states of West Virginia and Pennsylvania to bike backroads and forage for ramps (wild leeks) and other Appalachian delicacies. Despite missing the camaraderie of the graduate seminar, I have come to embrace the life of a cyborg in all its glory.

Lynn Staeheli with Nel Caine and Marco Antonsich (CU geography PhD 2007) in Como, Italy 2006.

Arriving in Boulder in 1989, Lynn was promoted to Associate Professor in 1996 and Full Professor in 2003. Her courses initially were in urban geography, research methods and political geography but connected to her quickly-growing interests in feminist geography, she switched her teaching to that subject in the early 1990s. Working closely with Vicky Lawson at the University of Washington and Susan Clarke in CU’s political science department, Lynn was one of the early pioneers of feminist geography with numerous articles from the mid-1990s that are now seen as classics. She brought a feminist perspective to field work on democratization struggles in Colorado (and later in the UK, Lebanon, South Africa and Bosnia). Public space access was a collaborative research project with fellow CU geography faculty member, Don Mitchell, culminating in the book The Right to the City (2003). Comparative work on immigration in the US and the UK, working with her former student Caroline Nagel, resulted in a series of prominent articles in the 2000s. When she left CU in 2006, first for the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) and later, the University of Durham (UK), Lynn continued to expand her network of friends and colleagues in feminist geography across the world. Her role as an editor of Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography in its early years was key to fostering this supportive circle of colleagues, students and friends. Its scope and magnitude became evident with the wide expression of sadness and loss when news of her death became known.

As well as her Geography department appointment, Lynn was an active member of the Program on Political and Economic Change in the Institute of Behavioral Science at CU from her first year in Boulder.  Housed in an old parsonage on Broadway, (now demolished for a new hotel conference complex), the group was energized by a NSF grant in the late 1990s that saw 10 geography PhD students funded and supported in a ‘globalization and democracy’ graduate training program. Lynn brought an emphasis on participatory actions by marginalized groups to the subject and debated vigorously with other faculty from economics, political science and geography about the meaning and practices of democracy. The decade before she left CU was an affirmation of her pioneering interests in feminist geography and a time of increased visibility in national and international venues. She advised many students who have prospered academically and served on numerous additional PhD dissertation committees.

Lynn was sadly and fondly remembered in a double session at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting (via Zoom) on April 10 2021. Attended by over 100 friends, colleagues and former students, the sessions were marked by both personal reminisces of Lynn’s support of early career women faculty and by her feisty engagement with political geography. Four former CU advisees (Dan Trudeau, Pam Martin, Caroline Nagel and Meagan Cope) made presentations about Lynn’s contributions and legacy and numerous other informal testimonies and laudations were spontaneously given. A special section of Political Geographyedited by Caroline Nagel is planned for later in 2021 devoted to Lynn’s legacy in our discipline.

Lynn is survived by her husband Nel Caine, a retired CU geographer, and by her sons Dan and Topher, as well as a grandson, Barrett. 

Waleed Abdalati testified to Congress for the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. 

Waleed Abdalati

On April 15, 2021, Professor Abdalati testified in a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The hearing was titled “Making the Case for Climate Action: The Growing Risks and Costs of Inaction.”

While Dr. Abdalati spoke to the underlying physical mechanisms of climate change, their current expressions, and future implications, other witnesses included the city manager for Tybee Island in Coastal Georgia, who talked about the challenges they face in confronting sea level rise; a lawyer from Mississippi, who spoke to the ethnic and racial inequities associated with climate change; and an economist, who spoke to the social costs of climate change. 

Dr. Abdalati remarked, "hearing these different perspectives on climate change really drove home the geographic dimensions of climate change in a very powerful way, as well as the critical role that geography serves in meeting these challenges.”

Also see information about the hearing and Dr. Abdalati's testimony

Holly Barnard

Holly Barnard Awarded Boulder Faculty Excellence in Leadership & Service Award for 2020-2021

Chosen from amongst many excellent nominees, Professor Holly Barnard was selected as a recipient of the BFA Faculty Excellence in Leadership and Service Award this year. 

She was jointly nominated by the Department of Geography and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) for her leadership in advancing justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in both units, across the CU campus, and beyond. In addition, Professor Barnard has also taken on numerous leadership roles in the discipline, through the American Geophysical Union and through her past service as Lead Program Manager for the Hydrological Sciences Program at NSF. 

Additionally, Dr. Barnard was also recently honored for her efforts to promote diversity by the Arts & Sciences Council of the College of A&S.

Emily Yeh Winner of the 2020-2021 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award

Emily Yeh

Yaffa Truelove

Yaffa Truelove Wins Best Urban Studies Article 2020

The Urban Studies Best Article is awarded by the editors to the authors of the most innovative and agenda-setting article published in a given year. Eleven articles were shortlisted by the editors from those published in print copy in 2020. Urban Studies Journal is an international journal for research in urban and regional studies.

Dr. Truelove's article, Disambiguating the southern urban critique: Propositions, pathways and possibilities for a more global urban studies, has been voted by the editors as the Urban Studies Best Article for 2020. In agreement with the publisher, SAGE, they will be allowing Open Access to the article on the journal’s website.

Katherine Lininger

Katherine Lininger

Professor Katherine Lininger was part of a team given a CU Outreach Award for the outreach proposal, “CU Restoration Ecology Experimental Learning Program”, by the CU Boulder Outreach Awards Committee. The effort was led by Tim Seastedt, professor emeritus of INSTAAR and EBIO, and also included Professor Sharon Collinge from the Department of Environmental Studies.  The project builds on three years of work, partnering with the non-profit Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV). WRV uses service-learning and education programs to help local youth build relationships with nature. Over 70% of the youth engaged in the program come from low-income, minority, or at risk populations. As a result, underserved youth will have access to the many benefits of a connection to nature and will be able to explore potential careers in environmental sciences and see their own capacity to make a positive impact.

Their team was selected from amongst a very competitive pool of 40 applications. 

Morteza Karimzadeh

Morteza Karimzadeh awarded RIO Seed Grant

Morteza Karimzadeh and Terra McKinnish were awarded the CU RIO Seed Grant for the project entitled  “Recovering from a Pandemic: Unraveling Neighborhood Geographic Disparities in Consumer and Business Behavior in 2021”.

They will use foot-traffic data to identify business patrons’ residence neighborhoods and the level of recovery in consumption by residents living in those neighborhoods as characterized by different sociodemographic, political and economic conditions.

The 2021 Research & Innovation Seed Grant program resulted in 16 new grants with approximately $700,000 being awarded to CU Boulder faculty across disciplines, with each grant providing up to $50,000 in funding.

Heide Bruckner

MeatOut Day: Heide Bruckner Interviewed on Colorado Public Radio

In February, word started to get out that Gov. Jared Polis has proclaimed the 20th as MeatOut Day. The day, which was started in 1985 by the Farm Animals Rights Movement, is meant to encourage non-vegetarians to consider moving toward a plant-based diet.

Heide Bruckner's research involves the intersections of food and identity. “Meat has always been politicized and meat-eating tied to a lot of perceptions of American identity and masculinity, especially here in the American West,” she said.

Dr. Bruckner favors the idea of a MeatOut Day, as a way to introduce people to the idea that they can reduce the amount of meat in their diet without becoming a full vegetarian.

“There is a large area in between that all-or-nothing approach that we really should explore,” she said. “Realistically, one day isn’t going to radically shift perception, change behaviors or reduce meat consumption. But I do believe it can provide an opening for some to consider the role that meat plays in their diet.”

The governor’s office notes that Polis issues numerous proclamations each year celebrating the state’s agricultural sector, including Colorado Ag Day, Farm Bureau Day, and Rocky Ford Cantaloupe Day. But that has not stopped the criticism. After word of the proclamation got out, several state Senators spoke out against MeatOut Day on the chamber floor.

John O'Loughlin: Ukrainian Resident’s Divided Views on the Donbas Conflict

John O’Loughlin

On February 12, 2015 the Minsk II accords left the Donbas region territorially divided with the Ukrainian government controlling the western side and two separatist entities controlling the eastern side. O’Loughlin and his research team conducted a survey on both sides and they found drastically different opinions regarding the war in Donbas.

On the eastern side, they found trust in the authorities to be higher among residents; however, on the western side, they found trust in the authorities to be much lower among residents. Their survey also shows that residents disagree on the future status of Donbas as an autonomous region. 

The team also made a research presentation on the results at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Eurasian and Russian Studies in February; the video of the talk is available on Youtube. 

Mykael Pineda Awarded UROP Grant

Mykael will be using GIS mapping technology to determine the accessibility of seedling planting sites by foot and reports she is "grateful for the opportunity and optimistic about what the future holds!"

Anila Narayana Awarded UROP Grant

The aim of this research project is to determine how participation in urban gardens impacts food insecurity and mental health in underserved Denver communities, as well as to understand spatial patterns between food deserts and mental health services in the area.

Zac Clement Awarded UROP Grant

The project aims to get a better grasp on how undergraduate students have experienced housing insecurity throughout the past year, which he'll be using to write his Geography honor's thesis.

Jessica Voveris Wins the Thompson Award First Prize in the Graduate Memoir category

Jessica's essay, "Into the Lab but Born Out of the Frontier: A Scientist's Journey Growing Up in the American West," can be read in its entirety in the News & Events section of the Geography website.  It was awarded first prize in the Graduate Memoir category. 

Xiaoling Chen received an SWG Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research

Xiaoling is a PhD student in Geography. She is advised by Dr. Tim Oakes. She also received generous support for her field research from the Geography Department through the Jennifer Dinaburg Memorial Research Award and the Solstice Graduate Research Award, and from CU Boulder through the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant award and the Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences (CARTSS). 

Shruthi Jagadeesh Wins Graduate Part Time Instructor Appreciation Award

A PhD student of Geography, Shruthi received an MA from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020. Her interests include Political Ecology, development, indigenous communities, and conservation. She is advised by Mara Goldman. 

Jessica DiCarlo Receives 2021 Summer Graduate School Fellowship

Jessica is a PhD candidate in Geography. She received her Master's degree from the University of California Berkeley in 2016. Her interests span critical development studies, political ecology, and infrastructure studies. She is advised by Dr. Emily Yeh, Professor and Chair of the Geography Department.

With the generous support of donors and the CU Boulder community, the Graduate School offers awards, grants, and fellowships that support the outstanding research, creative work, and teaching of our graduate students. 

Phurwa Dhondup Published in Geoforum Journal

Based on research in Humla district in northwest Nepal, the article challenges the “infrastructural orthodoxy” that posits the region’s food insecurity to be the direct result of geographical remoteness and the lack of a motorable road.  Instead, it analyzes how road building can increase vulnerability rather than resolving food insecurity, leading to the proletarianization of wage workers and increased dependence on distant markets for the reproduction of local social lives.

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