Announcements

Andy Reese Receives a Lucas Award

Dr. Reese received an Aubrey Keith Lucas and Ella Ginn Lucas Endowment for Faculty Excellence Award for 2013.  The monetary award is for the building of a weather station at the Lake Thoreau Envoronmental Education Center.

Department Hires New Faculty

The department has hired Omar Harvey (Ph.D. Texas A&M University, Geology) and Grant Harley (Ph.D. Tennessee, Geography).  Grant and Omar have settled into the university and Hattiesburg community.  Watch the website for more information on our newest faculty.

Mapping the Long Beach Cemetary

Dr. Holt and a group of geography students from the coast have been busy this summer using ground penetrating radar to map the Long Beach Cemetary.  Most of the burial records for the cemetary were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina; their work is to help rebuild the records.  Thier work can be viewed on WLOX.

Students in the News

• Rick Crowsey successfully defended his dissertation in May; his title Coastal Hurricane Damage Assessment via Wavelet Transform of Remotely Sensed Imagery.  Congratulations to Rick.
• Amber Butler (Geology senior) was awarded the 2012 L.F. Boland Scholarship by the Mississippi Geological Society.  The award included a $1,000 check.
• Stu Hamilton (Ph.D., Geography 2011) received the 2012 Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Student Award for the College of Science and Technology.
• Caleb Smith (doctoral student, Geography) received the William Carey University Faculty Research Award for 2012.

Vanity Fair

You may want to check out some of the cool cartography Derek Watkins (BS '10) is creating.  One of his recent projects is highlighted in Vanity Fair.  Derek is now a graduate student at The University of Oregon and you should check out his site for more cartographical interestes.  Derek brings life to the language of maps.

Association of American Geographers International Education and Geography Project

Mark Miller and David Cochran recently completed a survey and media presentation of the interactions between international travels and research and geographic education.  Have a look at their presentation.

Economic Mapping in Petal

Last month Dr. Miller and 15 geography students joined Petal, MS development managers for a day of mapping the town's assets.  The list included museums, parks, schools, natural resources and historically significant structures.  They worked with the Main Street Association and photographed various economic and cultural assets; they GPS located structures, and helped make rankings of the community's assests for a long-term strategic development plan.  You can read more about it.

FOG - Friends of Geography

Southern Miss and the Hattiesburg community are working on a planned future for Midtown Hattiesburg.  Have a look at their concepts and our ever expanding campus community.

Speak Up For Geography

The National Geographic Society (NGS) is campaigning to accrue 10,000 letters in support of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act (TGIF) by November 18th.  Senator Cochran (MS) introduced the bill and Senator Harper has co-sponsored it.  Geography is recognized as a "core academic subject" but is the only core subject with no federal funding dedicated to advancing the discipline.  The request in TGIF is $15 million.  NGS hs made it very easy to contact our members of congress by clicking at TGIF. 

Geography's 100th Anniversary

The geography program was established at The University of Southern Mississippi in 1912, the same year the school opened its doors to students.  Geography at Southern Miss has been an active discipline for 99 years and next year marks our centennial.  In recognition of that anniversary, the department is planning a year long celebration with a seminar series with invited speakers, release of information pertaining to the history of geography as a science at The University of Southern Mississippi and other public functions to be announced.  In recognition of the anniversary, the department is planning a year-long celebration with a seminar series.  Release of information pertaining to the history of geography as a science at The University of Southern Mississippi and other public functions will be announced.  Please revisit our site to learn more about this centennial celebration.

James Joe Ferguson

September 11, 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11; on that day ten years ago Joe Ferguson was aboard the flight that hit the Pentagon Building.  Joe was a geography alum and worked for the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.  Over the last ten years, the Southern Miss Foundation and the Geography Program have established the James Joe Ferguson Memorial Scholarship.  Joe was passionate about geographic education and Southern Miss.  If you would like to know more about this scholarship, please contact our department chair, Dr. Clifton Dixon.

Upcoming Professional Meetings

Department News and Faculty Updates

Colloquium Schedule

Date:  11.4.2011
Place:  WSB 229
Time:  1:00pm
Speaker: SEDAAG Presentations
Affiliation: USM GHY Graduate Students
Topic: TBA