We recently received the fantastic news that Distinguished Professor Mark Schwartz has received an American Association of Geographers’ (AAG) Distinguished Scholarship Honors Award. This AAG Honors category celebrates a career-long, distinguished track record of high-quality research in geography which has moved the discipline forward. Professor Mark Schwartz is being awarded AAG’s Distinguished Scholarship Honors for his internationally recognized work pioneering the subdiscipline of phenoclimatology, exemplifying geography’s power to bridge disciplines and data-driven inquiry about climate and seasonal biological activity. Congratulations for this well-deserved honor, Prof. Schwartz!We also learned that the Alpha Mu Chapter of the GTU Geographical Honor Society was selected as a Gamma Theta Upsilon Honors Chapter for 2025. This marks the second year in a row that UW-Milwaukee’s chapter has achieved this honor. Well done! 

We had a very exciting fall semester, as highlighted in more detail throughout the newsletter. In October, the Department hosted the Annual Conference of the AAG West Lakes Division, and our Fall Mayer Lecture was delivered by Professor Julie Cidell at the conference. Also in October, geography undergraduate students in Professor Alison Donnelly’s 650 course took a field trip on the 51���� School of Freshwater Sciences Research Vessel, the Neeskay. What an experience!  

The GIS Council held an exciting and well-attended 2025 GIS Day on Nov. 21 that featured presentations from 51���� geography alumni. Professor Alison Donnelly organized a colloquium in November featuring geography alumnus Dr. Elmo Rawling III (PhD, 2002) who presented a talk titled, “The Quaternary Geology of Wisconsin.” Dr. Rawling presented a newly completed copy of the Quaternary Geological Map of Wisconsin to the AGSL. We were pleased to host our colleagues from the Geosciences Department at this event.  

I wish to offer my sincerest gratitude to all who worked so hard and contributed their time towards making these valuable events so successful. It is wonderful to see our 51���� geography students, faculty, alumni, and broader community coming together to share their expertise and interests.  

Many faculty and graduate students took part in the 2026 AAG Annual Conference which took place in San Francisco from March 17-21. On March 6, graduate students held a practice session to prepare for the conference. We are looking forward to the spring Mayer Lecture on April 24, which will feature Professor Eric Tate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Several graduate students will also share their research in the colloquium series this spring as they reach various milestones in the programs.  Finally, mark your calendars for the Undergraduate Research Symposium, which is scheduled for May 8 in the American Geographical Society Library. This event features research presentations from geography majors in Professor Hyejin Yoon’s 600 capstone course, and it’s always exciting to see them share their research.   

This is a time of remarkable change and challenge in higher education and beyond. However, rather than dwelling on the difficulties we have confronted, I’ve chosen to focus on commending the achievements of our extraordinary community. As we look towards the future, I am hopeful and inspired by the work of our students, faculty, and alumni. I look forward to sharing more news and updates in my next letter. 

As always, we’d love to hear from you and to learn more about what you are doing! If you find yourself in Bolton Hall, please do stop in and say hi!  

Yours sincerely, 

Anne Bonds, Chair, Department of Geography 

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Fall 2025 has ushered in new changes across campus. 51���� recently welcomed a new chancellor, Dr. Thomas Gibson, who has served in this role since July. The University continues to navigate a challenging higher education landscape, particularly as the loss of federal research grants compounds already difficult budgetary circumstances. However, in very exciting news, this year’s 51���� freshman class is the largest cohort we’ve seen in a decade, and undergraduate enrollments are up nearly four percent. Across campus, there is concerted focus on student success and retention and in Geography we’ve been implementing changes with these goals in mind. We are committed to providing an enriching and inspiring educational experience for our students. In the past year, we’ve made changes to our undergraduate and minor curriculum to reduce barriers for graduation and to enhance student experiences. We look forward to building on these efforts in the coming year and are hosting several events to foster community and connection in the department.  

One of the exciting events that is just around the corner is the , which will take place October 23-25 here at UW-Milwaukee.  We thank the leadership of Professors Hyejin Yoon and Woonsup Choi who have been coordinating the event together with graduate students and faculty members in Geography.  (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) will deliver the conference keynote and our Mayer Lecture on Friday, October 24 at the American Geographic Society Library.  Her presentation is entitled “The Changing Landscapes of Logistics in the Milwaukee-Chicago Corridor.” Students and faculty from 51���� will be sharing their work, alongside geographers presenting from across the region. We look forward to hosting the event and welcoming geographers to 51���� and to the Department of Geography. 

Another event that is coming up quickly is GIS Day at 51����, which will take place on November 1 in the American Geographic Society Library. Workshops at the event range from a focus on Python for GIS with Arc Pro, to humanitarian mapping, to georeferencing with Allmaps. The event will also include lunch with professionals in the field and a social hour at the Gasthaus Pub.  

���²�’s�� (GTU) chapter held a pizza party in September and will be looking to register new members in the upcoming year, building on its recognition as one of four Honors Chapters in 2024. Graduate students and faculty are planning their participation at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers which will take place next spring in San Francisco. We have many things to look forward in this academic year.  

These aren’t particularly easy times for higher education, but 51���� Geography has always persevered and operated with an incredible resilience. We will continue to negotiate these uncertainties while supporting and serving our student, staff, faculty, and alumni community. There are also many exciting opportunities ahead and I know that we are up for the challenge. On one final note to our alumni readers: Please keep us updated about where your Geography degree has taken you! 

Yours Sincerely, 

Anne Bonds 

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We were encouraged to see a significant rise in enrollment in our department’s classes this semester, relative to last year, with especially high demand for our online courses. Our new, more flexible major and GIS minor requirements are now fully in effect, and we’ve begun the work of getting the word out (with the help of a new website design). It’s challenging to grow the major at a time when overall campus enrollments continue their declining trend, but we’re doing everything we can to make it happen. To offer one example, I’m thrilled that later this month, we’ll have a terrific panel of alums coming to share wisdom about their careers with our capstone class. 

One of the most exciting announcements from the beginning of 2025 has been the recognition of our Alpha Mu Chapter of the GTU Geographical Honor Society as a 2024 Honors Chapter! This marks the first time that UW-Milwaukee’s chapter has achieved this honor, and our amazing student leaders are aiming even higher this year, seeking to become only the third geography department in the country to receive the Presidential Honors Award. We’ll keep you posted! 

Another exciting announcement is that in October 2025, thanks to the leadership of Professors Hyejin Yoon and Woonsup Choi, our department will host the annual meeting of the West Lakes Regional Division of the American Association of Geographers. This will be a wonderful opportunity for our students and faculty to share their research, connect with geographers across the region, and showcase 51���� and Milwaukee. We hope that many alums can come join us as well! In the meantime, we’ll also be well-represented at the American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Detroit this March. 

In closing, I’ll note that this will be my last “letter from the chair,” since my term as department chair will come to an end in August. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the department during the past four years, and it has been rewarding to see us work together to strengthen our undergraduate and graduate programs in the face of challenges ranging from COVID to a leaner budget and a smaller student population. Thank you for your support, and please keep in touch! 

Ryan Holifield
Chair, Department of Geography 

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