M. Duane Nellis, dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, West Virginia University, has been elected president of the Association of American Geographers, the largest organization of professional geographers worldwide with a membership of more than 7,000. In honor of his election, the colleges Department of Geology and Geography will host a colloquium on Friday, Oct. 25, in G-21 White Hall at 3:30 P.M.

The Association of American Geographers (AAG), with headquarters in Washington, D.C., is a scientific and educational society founded in 1904. The AAG is considered the premier professional organization in geography and provides global leadership in geographic scholarship, geographic education, and the application of geography ideas to real-world problems in business and government.

“With the increased uncertainties associated with our global systems, geography, through its efforts at providing integrative approaches for studying our world, and through its leadership as a discipline in geographic information science (GIS), is growing in its importance nationally and internationally for addressing a range of our worlds issues,”Nellis said.”It is a special honor to be recognized in this way by my professional colleagues.”

Nellis will serve a one-year term as president. His primary goals relate to supporting the AAG s strategic initiatives, which are designed to strengthen partnerships between academic geographers, government, and business, as well as enhance the position of geography in national policy debate.

A native of Spokane, Wash., Nellis spent his youth in northwest Montana and completed his undergraduate degree in geography and earth sciences at MontanaStateUniversity in 1976. He completed his masters degree and Ph.D. at OregonStateUniversity in geography in 1977 and 1980 respectively.

He accepted his first academic appointment as an assistant professor at KansasStateUniversity. He progressed rapidly at KSU , receiving tenure, achieving full professor rank, and becoming chair of the geography department. He later become an associate dean in KSU s College of Arts and Sciences before accepting the deanship in WVU s flagship college in 1997.

An active faculty member in the WVU geography program, Nellis advises graduate students and has taught courses in his areas of expertise. He is recognized internationally for his research using satellite date and geographic information systems to analyze various dimensions of the Earths land surface. His research was funded by more than 50 grants totally more than $2.5 million from sources that included NASA , the National Geographic Society, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nellis has published more than 100 articles, 11 books and book chapters, and presented more than 60 presentations to universities worldwide. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research, including AAG national honors in 2001.

The colloquium, sponsored by the WVU Department of Geology and Geography on Oct. 25, will feature presentations by Richard A. Maston, professor of geology at OklahomaStateUniversity, and Stephen J. Walsh, professor of geography, at the University of North Carolina. Maston will speak on”The Effect of Jackson Lake Dam on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,”and Walsh will present”Causes and Consequences of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics: A GIS Approach.”

Richard Aspinall, program director, Geography and Regional Science Division of the National Science Foundation, in Washington, D.C., will introduce the guest speakers.