An essential factor in the UCSB Department of Geography’s rise to national and international fame in the 21st Century was the far sightedness of its early mentors. When the Department began, planning was generally done year to year; now it encompasses strategic, long-range goals which are re-visited and fine tuned during annual faculty retreats. At the January 2001 retreat, the faculty hammered out a new vision which reconfirmed the Department’s emphasis on science and technology, its use of cutting edge GIS and spatio-temporal research, and the expansion of the interdisciplinary nature of Geography.
