Geography Convention
The South 啵啵直播秀 State Geography Convention is the longest running student organized and sponsored annual meeting in the United States. Approximately 10 eminent academic and applied geographers from around the region, the country and Canada are invited to make presentations at the conference each spring. The Convention also features social activities, a Gamma Theta Upsilon initiation and an awards banquet. Field trips are provided on occasion.
The 56th Geography Convention will be held Thursday, April 3 through Friday, April 4, 2025. The goal of the convention is to gather current students, alumni of the Geography Department, academic and applied geographers from around the region and share knowledge and enthusiasm for geography through professional presentations, discussions and social activities.
Schedule and Information
Day 1 - Thursday, April 3 (Student Day, Volstorff Ballroom, University Student Union)
Student poster and paper presentations starting at 9 a.m.
6-9 p.m. - Social at Old Firehouse, 310 4th St., Brookings, SD 57006
Day 2 - Friday, April 4 (Volstorff Ballroom, University Student Union)
8:55 a.m. - Welcome, Ashton Koch, Geography Club President
9 a.m. - Dr. John (Jack) Schmidt, Utah State University
Title: The 21st Century Water Crisis on the Colorado River, Dr. Lee Opheim Lectureship
10 a.m. - Dr. Martin Mitchell, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Title: U.S. Federal Lands and the National Park System, Dr. John Fraser Hart Lectureship
11 a.m. - Dr. Saru Saraswati, South 啵啵直播秀 State University
Title: How Resource Access Roads Impact Carbon Dynamics in Northern Wetlands?
noon-1 p.m. - Lunch
1 p.m. - Dr. Andrew Husa, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Title: Place Attachment and Residential Decision-Making among Urban and Rural South 啵啵直播秀ns, Dr. Edward P. Hogan Lectureship
2 p.m. - Dr. Joan Bunbury, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Title: Reconstructing environmental conditions following deglaciation in three regions of North America
3 p.m. - Dr. John Heppen, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Title: The Middle East, Michigan, and the 2024 Election: Connecting Political Geographies
4-5 p.m. - Break
Day 2 - Friday, April 4 (Woster Alumni Hall, 815 Medary Ave., Brookings, SD 57007)
5 p.m. - Happy Hour
6 p.m. - Dinner
6:30 p.m. - Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp, President, American Association of Geographers, University of Kentucky
Title:鈦 Geographical imaginations and the politics of writing: The work of metaphors in migration research
7:30 p.m. - Student and Alumni 啵啵直播秀s
8:15 p.m. - Closing Remarks by Ashton Koch, Geography Club President
Convention Origins
Convention Origins
Convention History excerpts from:
Origin of the South 啵啵直播秀 State Geography Convention
by Edward P. Hogan
Geography as an academic discipline was reestablished in the curriculum at South 啵啵直播秀 State University (SDSU) in February 1967. Under the authority of the South 啵啵直播秀 Board of Regents of Education, South 啵啵直播秀 State University was authorized to offer a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. The number of geography majors grew to 15 by the spring of 1969. At that time, a party was held to celebrate that landmark occasion. The first degree from the new geography program was granted in the fall of 1969.
In 1969, there were two geographers on the SDSU faculty. There was a very active geography club at SDSU that also sought memberships in Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), the International Geographical Honor Society. The Delta Zeta Chapter of GTU was chartered at SDSU on March 2, 1970.
One of the primary objectives of the Geography Club was to promote geography in the schools and within the state. In order to achieve this goal, two students and a faculty member met to discuss the possible means by which this objective could be attained. The students, Loren Hill and James Rapp and the adviser, Ed Hogan, discussed a number of possible means to enhance the status of geography. At some time during the meeting, someone suggested "let's have a geography convention!" Today, when reflecting on that comment, one is reminded of movies made in the "Thirties" in which someone would say "Lets put on a show and save the college!"
