November 18, 2022 3:00 PM - November 18, 2022 4:00 PM
Mitchell Hall

Geography Awareness Week 

Geography Awareness Week (GAW) is of great importance to our department, our next generations of geographers, and to the role of geography in our institution. GAW is a great opportunity for outreach and connecting current and past students. At GAW, we showcase how a degree in geography can lead to a multitude of excellent opportunities in research, encompassing everything from physical and human geography to spatial science. By showcasing the possibilities in geography over a week across campus, we increase our ability to recruit new students into geography and train the next generation of geographers that are critically needed for the health and continuation of our discipline.

GAW was largely dormant and a shadow of its former self due to the Pandemic, which greatly hindered our ability to host in-person events and provide the networking opportunities GAW was known for. Therefore, as we come out of the pandemic, our goal is to revive GAW to its former glory; and indeed, this is gearing up to be the largest and most impactful GAW in our department’s history, with major events happening every day of the week.

GAW will run from November 14th – 18th and consist of a diverse variety of outreach events, workshops, the GIS day conference, and the Murphy Lecture.

Friday, November 18th - Murphey Lecture

GAW will end on Friday, November 18th, with the Murphy Lecture, as tradition. Every Fall during GAW, the department hosts the Richard Murphy Memorial Lecture to highlight a prominent researcher from the field. The lecture is funded through an endowment established in honor of the department’s first chairperson, Professor Richard Murphy. This will be the 11th year of Murphy Lectures which started in 2011, representing a continuing and proud legacy. This will include giving out the Richard Murphy scholarship to students that demonstrate excellence in geography.