West Virginia University geography professor Kenneth C. Martis has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 James and Arthur Gabriel/Gabriel Brothers Faculty Award.

Martis is a faculty member in the Department of Geology and Geography in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU .

The award, presented to Martis at the Eberly College Weekend of Honors Ceremony April 21, was established by James and Arthur Gabriel, founding partners of Gabriel Brothers, Inc., a Morgantown-based discount clothing business.

The Gabriels, both of whom earned WVU degrees, intend that the prize should encourage, support and reward faculty endeavors�€especially teaching�€that focus on America and American society and culture.

Martis earned a bachelors in secondary education from the University of Toledo, a masters in geography from San Diego State University and a doctorate in geography from the University of Michigan.

Martis has been on the faculty of WVU s Department of Geology and Geography since 1975 and won the first WVU Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award in 1986.

He has published six award-winning historical atlases, all of which blend history, political science and geography to give a unique analysis and picture of Americas political history. He is currently working to place the text from his first two books online as free reference materials.

His most recent book,The Historical Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: 1788-2004,is the first book in American history to map the election results from every county in every presidential election in the United States.

In 2006, the atlas was named Best Single Volume Reference in Humanities or Social Sciences by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers. It was also selected for inclusion in the Library Journals 2006 Best Reference List.