Dear Friends of Geography,
Greetings from the Department of Geography! I write to wish you well and share recent news and highlights. As I write this we are starting an exciting winter quarter.
This academic year we welcome three new faculty - Erin McElroy, Jen Rose Smith and Gretchen Sneegas - and one new staff person, Emily Uemetsu. Erin is an urban geographer who looks critically at housing issues and displacement. They have current research projects in Romania and here in the U.S. Jen is an Assistant Professor in the UW Department of American Indian Studies and is a geographer by training. Her interests are coloniality, race and indigeneity. Gretchen is an Assistant Teaching Professor, offering courses on climate change, food and agriculture, and political ecology. Emily is the department's Undergraduate Academic Advisor and joins us from the Department of Dance, where she will continue to serve as the Student Services Manager while sharing time in the Department of Geography.
Throughout the fall, our search committee has been reading and processing applications for our new Assistant Professor in Health Geography position. Last month we interviewed three exciting finalists for the position, and hope to make an offer to one of them in early 2024. Stay tuned!
We continue to build community after the COVID pandemic has left us all a bit alienated on Zoom and away from Smith Hall. Part of this effort is Professor Suzanne Withers’s “Food for Thought” discussion series. Held during the lunch hour on the first Wednesday of each month, it is an opportunity for faculty, graduate students and visitors to present formative ideas about a research project, updates on ongoing work, or collegial discussions on a topic. It is meant to be an informal forum for discussing developing ideas and in this way it complements our more formal Friday afternoon Colloquium lecture series.
As friends and alumni, you play a crucial role in supporting our community. We are so grateful for your gifts, your involvement in department events and programs, and your efforts to champion geography in your professional and personal communities. Please keep in touch as we are always happy to hear from you!
