M AC A L E S T E R AC A D E M I C U P DAT E2 0 1 8 FA L L

Geography Macalester’s nationally and inter-nationally recognized Geography Department is unusually broad in scope for an undergraduate liberal arts college. The department leads students through an exploration of urban and regional planning, human-environment geography, cartography, geographic information science, and population and socioeconomic development in various regions of the world. Students may major or minor in geography and non-majors may take a specialized minor focused on geographic information systems (GIS).

Faculty and StaffThe department’s faculty members serve as academic advisors and each year teach approximately 575 students, including nearly 101 majors and 27 minors in about 29 courses (not including independent projects and internships).

Laura Smith, associate professor and chair, teaches Metropolitan Analysis, Regional Geography of the U.S. and Canada, Statistical Research Methods, and a senior seminar in transportation geography. She also teaches the Urban GIS seminar that connects the class with a community-driven project. Her research projects have focused on mortgage foreclosures in the Twin Cities and on issues of American Indian land ownership.

Holly Barcus, professor, is a population geographer with interests in rural environments around the globe. She teaches Population 7 Billion; Contemporary Mongolia: Livelihoods, Economics and Environments; Introduction to GIS; GIS and Community Partnerships; and a senior seminar on migration and migrants. Her recent projects focus on the intersection between migration, (im)mobilities, and identity among ethnic minorities in rural Mongolia and the migration-induced changes in ethnic diversity of rural communities in the U.S.

Eric Carter, Edens Associate Professor of Geography and Global Health, teaches Medical Geography, Geography of Environmental Hazards, Geography of Latin America, Health GIS, and a senior seminar in medical geography. His research focuses on the science and politics of public health, disease ecology, international development, and environmental justice, principally in Latin America.

I-Chun Catherine Chang, assistant professor, is an urban and economic geographer with interests in global urbanism, urban sustainability, policy mobilities, and East Asia. She teaches World Urbanization, Geography of Asia, Asian Cities, Urban Ecology, and a senior seminar in global urbanism. Her recent research focuses on the local variegations and global circulations of eco-city policies, financialization of sustainable urbanism production, and the inequality implications of Asian green urban projects.

David Lanegran, professor emeritus, is the coordinator of the Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education (MAGE) and teaches summer courses for K–12 geography teachers.

Kelsey McDonald, visiting assistant professor, is a medical geographer and spatial epidemiologist. She teaches Health GIS, Medical Geography, Introduction to GIS, and Statistical Research Methods.

William Moseley, professor, is a development and environment geographer. He teaches World Regional Geography; People, Agriculture and the Environment; Geography of Development and Underdevelopment; Geography of Africa; and a senior seminar in Comparative Environment and Development Studies. His research focuses on tropical agriculture, food security, environment and development policy, and Africa.

Ashley Nepp, GIS lab instructor, is a GIS specialist with a particular interest in cartographic design and geovisualization. She teaches the lab component for the introductory and advanced GIS courses and Advanced Cartography and Geovisualization. In addition, she manages the GIS computer lab, spatial analysis lab, and works on GIS-related community outreach projects.

Daniel Trudeau, professor, teaches City Life, Qualitative Methods, Political Geography, Urban Geography, and Cities of the twenty-first century. His research focuses on urban governance, processes of racial segregation and integration, and the politics of urban sustainability movements in North America.

Recent Topics CoursesAdvanced Cartography & Geovisualization

Asian Cities

Contemporary Mongolia

Urban Ecology

Honors ProjectsAnna Dolde ’18 (Seattle), “Why Is There Always a Winner and a Loser?: Participatory Insights and Recommendations to Promote Housing Resiliency in the Rondo Neighborhood of Saint Paul”

Julia Morgan ’18 (Seattle), “Correcting for the Inconveniences of Cultivation: Foraging as a Food Source in Southwestern Burkina Faso”

Alex Ramiller ’18 (Portland, Ore.), “From the Neighborhood Up: Neighborhood Sustainability Certification Frameworks and the New Urban Politics of Scale”

Xing Gao ’17 (Claremont, Calif.), “Can Global Health Governance Contend with Transnational Corporate Activities? A Case Study on the Chinese Tobacco Industry”

Delia Walker-Jones ’17 (Reno, Nev.), “Conference of the Birds: Iranian Americans, Ethnic Business, and Identity”

Geography

Special OpportunitiesStudents often assist faculty members with professional research. One recent project was to develop a neighborhood profile for use as a base for planning for future development. Students also collaborated with faculty to study the revitalization potential of inner-city commercial corridors in the Twin Cities. Another student worked with a faculty member to study food deserts in Cape Town, South Africa, and another studied migration and changing religious landscapes in Mongolia.

Numerous geography majors have collaborated with faculty on presentations for professional conferences such as the Midwestern Undergraduate Geography Symposium. In addition, honors students presented their honors research at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in New Orleans.

Students in Regional Geography of the U.S. and Canada have taken trips to Thunder Bay, Ontario, and the Minnesota Iron Range to examine the resource-based economy of the boreal forest region. Rural Landscapes and Livelihoods students explored small towns and their economies in rural Wisconsin, including tours of dairy farms and apple producers.

Honors and AwardsThe National Council for Geographic Education Award for Excellence of Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding senior majoring in geography.

The David A. Lanegran Award in Geography is presented annually to senior geography majors in recognition of their significant contributions to the community life of the department.

The Hildegard Binder Johnson Prize is presented annually to academically outstanding junior geography majors.

Study AbroadAt Macalester, all students are encouraged to study abroad. Geography majors may take part of their junior year abroad anywhere in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America. Geography faculty members have recently directed study abroad programs in Botswana and South Africa.

InternshipsAnna Bebbington ’19 (Worcester, Mass.), Instituto de Montaña, Peru, summer intern

Henry McCarthy ’19 (San Diego), The Nature Conservancy, GIS and field intern

Emily McPhillips ’19 (Hingham, Mass.), NARAL Pro-choice Minnesota, development intern

Julia Bayer ’18 (West Hartford, Conn.), NASA DEVELOP, summer intern

Lynda Chao ’18 (Stockton, Calif.), Met Council, local planning intern

Lee Guekguezian ’18 (Newton, Mass.), City of Minneapolis, GIS and data analysis intern

Hannah Shumway ’18 (Baraboo, Wis.) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, GIS Intern

Jessie Del Fiacco ’16 (Spooner, Wis.), Water Legacy, communications and development intern

After MacalesterLee Guekguezian ’18 (Newton, Mass.) is pursuing a master’s degree at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

McKenzie Maidl ’18 (Ely, Minn.) is a data analyst and planning intern at Metro Transit in Minneapolis.

Elizabeth Roten ’18 (Spring Hill, Tenn.) is a data scientist and cartographer research intern with the Metropolitan Council, Minneapolis.

Alysha Alloway ’17 (Cabin John, Md.) is pursuing a master’s in geographic information science at the University of Minnesota and working for the City of St. Paul’s Office of Technology and Communications.

Dorothy Moore ’17 (Oak Park, Ill.) is a teacher with New York Public Schools.

Spencer Nelson ’17 (Liberty, Mo.) is a graduate student in geography at McGill University in Montreal.

Gage Garretson ’16 (Camp Lejeune, N.C.) is a U.S. Ambassador & Fellow, Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals, through the U.S. State Department, in Berlin.

Jordan Lim ’15 (Cupertino, Calif.) received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Malaysia, and is currently employed by National Geographic as a program specialist in Washington, D.C.

Anoushka Millear ’15 (Seattle) is a fellow at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.

Ben Schwed ’15 (New York) is a transportation planner at the New York City Department of Transportation while pursuing a master’s in urban planning at NYU.

VisitorsRecent invited speakers sponsored by the department include Judy Carney (UCLA), Kathryn Grace (University of Minnesota), and Karen Seto (Yale).

Updated August 2018

macalester.edu/geography