The Geography Department, like the seasons, continues to change. We are pleased to have the opportunity to introduce new hires, such as Deanna Cervantes who has taken a position in the department dealing with purchasing and travel, Kai Lu who is our new Computer Network Technologist, and Professor Martin Raubal who arrived in January and will begin teaching Geography 184c, Geographic Visualization, this spring. A particularly warm welcome goes out to Martin, who left his native Austria and traveled over 10,000 km and crossed the Atlantic to come and join us in Santa Barbara. The Department also continues a process of renewal and is currently interviewing for a new position in Geomorphology, in which the pool of applicants was one of the largest we have ever seen, including some truly remarkable scholars. Change even walks the halls, insofar as the Geography administration will be moving from the third floor of Ellison, where they have been for more than 20 years, to the first floor. This will be a true test of our geographic skills – can the professors and students navigate a new set of floors and halls to find the support staff that have been so critical to our success? I am confident that we can! This move is only the first of many–eventually the entire Geography department will move to Phelps where we can, as a group, be a single department under one roof. While a great deal remains to be done, including the planned renovation of Phelps, we are confident that our geography will improve and that the Department will finally gain the space it merits. Finally, we are pleased to announce the success of our first visiting graduate student open house, in which prospective graduate students were invited to UCSB Geography and given a chance to meet faculty and tour the campus and area. The open house concluded with a barbecue at my house, where prospective students and a selection of faculty and graduate students were given the opportunity to eat tasty tri-tip, barbecued chicken, grilled vegetables, numerous delectable side dishes (including Dan Montello’s famous beans), and home made chocolate chip ice cream. By most accounts, the evening was a success, although a rousing game of volleyball using a blow up model of the Earth did end with the destruction of our home planet.
While many changes have occurred, the department remains committed to excellence in instruction, research, and service. Many of our faculty have taken significant positions in University governance, most notably Dr. Joel Michaelsen who is now the Chair of the Academic Senate. Two events were particularly important this winter: the Program Review Panel (PRP) review and National Research Council (NRC) survey of graduate programs. The PRP review is a process in which all aspects of the department, from undergraduate teaching and graduate training to extramural funding and staffing and facilities, are evaluated. Every department on campus undergoes this process, typically every 8-10 years, to obtain a better sense of how well the department is doing and what it could do better. It is a very time consuming process, but is a critical aspect of self-evaluation and independent assessment that ensures that we remain on track to provide excellence in education. This winter, the Geography department finished the process and appears to have come through with flying colors. Improvements will be needed, most notably in instructional computing and modest changes in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, but the overall review of the department, staff, faculty, and students was glowing. At the same time, the department also participated in the NRC survey of graduate programs. This is a national program that also occurs more or less every 10 years. The NRC survey is critical in that it provides an overall evaluation of graduate programs nationally. In the previous survey, the department did quite well, being ranked 4th in the nation for Geography and achieving the highest NRC ranking of all UCSB departments. This time around, it is our goal to become the top ranked department in Geography. While important components of the survey remain to be completed, the department did well, including a 100% return rate for faculty surveys, far above the national average. Overall, UCSB did quite well, with a 93% return rate, in large part thanks to the efforts of our Dean of Graduate Education, Gail Morrison.
With these final words I would like to wish our newest hires the best, and I know we all look forward to another wonderful spring in Santa Barbara.
Sincerely
Dar Roberts
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