Mission and Goals
The mission and goals of the Department of Geography continue to emphasize the presentation of
geographic education and promotion of intellectual growth at the university level, the promotion of
professional development of its faculty and staff, the fostering of a sense of community and shared
interests among faculty, staff and students and the provision of professional support to the campus and
larger community.
1. Geographic Education
In its presentation of geographic education, the Department contributes to the liberal education of all
students who come to it in several ways. It participates in the General Education program’s Area B
(Physical Science) and Area D (Social Science and Major Social Issues). It prepares students to enter
teaching credential programs at the elementary and secondary levels through the Child Development,
Liberal Studies and Social Science majors. It contributes to several additional interdisciplinary programs,
including Asian Studies, Business Administration concentrations, California Studies, Environmental
Studies, Fire Service Management and Military Studies and the certificate in Biological Conservation.
The Department’s commitment to
teaching is reflected in its presentation of courses to majors and non-majors alike by faculty well-trained
in their respective subject matter and dedicated to providing challenging educational experiences.
The Department presents the major and minor in Geography and a Pre-Planning Certificate. The structure
of the major is designed to provide students with understandings related to the breadth of geographic
inquiry arising out of courses focusing on geographic thought, map reading, cartography, geographic
information systems, field techniques, physical geography, human geography, human-environment
relationships, and regional geography. To promote greater depth of competence, the major requires each
student to select one of three concentrations. These provide the opportunity to study each of the main
subdivisions of geography more fully or to focus on physical geography or on cartography, geographic
information systems and planning. In the
certificate program, students select geography courses in addition to those in the major as well as courses
in other departments chosen for their pertinence to resource planning or metropolitan planning.
The Department also fosters geographic education by the faculty’s assistance to students carrying out
spatial inquiry in other undergraduate programs, in interdisciplinary special masters programs, and in
established masters programs in other departments. It prepares students for graduate study and other
contexts of advanced study in geography. The Department supports the students’ preparation for and
exploration of geography-related careers through its coursework, supervision of internships and by such
additional means as speakers, career information and advising.
2. Professional Development of Faculty and Staff
The Department promotes the professional development and intellectual growth of its faculty and staff by
encouragement, material support and recognition. The members of the Department encourage one
another’s efforts to strengthen their teaching skills by means of informal exchanges about teaching
methods, workshops related to teaching strategies and technology and suggestions arising out of visits to
classes. Departmental support through acquisition of equipment and allocation and remodeling of spaces
is exemplified in the Department’s two computer laboratories designed especially for the expanded
curriculum in geographic information systems. The Department encourages its members to pursue their
particular research interests through its support in the form of equipment and space. The most recent
example is the development of a paleoecology laboratory by our two recently hired physical geographers
to facilitate research in dendrochronology and sediment studies. The Department fosters interaction with
peers in professional contexts both on and off campus by encouraging interdisciplinary research and
attendance and presentations at meetings of regional and national professional organizations. The
Department supports the educational activities of its staff through personal encouragement and adjustment
of workloads. The chair provides scope to the staff in the expression of job-related skills and activities
and has pressed for the recognition of those contributions by the University. In the execution of its formal
evaluation procedures as well as by informal means the members of the Department recognize
professional accomplishments and personal contributions of faculty and staff.
3. A Sense of Community and Shared interests
The Department fosters a sense of community and shared interests among faculty, staff and students. It
encourages student-faculty and faculty-faculty geographic activities beyond the classroom in field trips,
faculty-student research and Geography Club activities. It fosters students’ becoming familiar with the
profession of geography by facilitating their participation in regional meetings, such as those of the
Association of Pacific Coast Geographers and the California Geographical Society. The faculty and staff
are dedicated to maintaining an atmosphere of mutual respect, cooperation and helpfulness in relation to
one another, the students and other members of the University. They do so by means of open and
consultative decision making, mindfulness of respective workloads, availability for advising and other
assistance to students and mutual support in times of special need. The Department continues to function
as a committee of the whole in important administrative matters, such as hiring, budget and curriculum. It
endeavors to make new faculty welcome and to provide needed training (for example, the recent advising
workshop), assistance in preparing for evaluation and social gatherings such as picnics.
4. Professional Support to Campus and Community
The members of the Department also provide professional support to the campus and the larger
community in several ways. These have included preparation of maps for publication by colleagues in
other departments and numerous instances of guest lectures. Additional examples of contributions of
professional expertise include geographic information systems projects, urban surveys, regional analysis
and interdisciplinary research. Wide and varied activity on committees at the college and university
levels are expressions of the faculty’s commitment to participation in governance on the campus.
