When to meet while at DC?

Hi everybody, the AAG has made available the preliminary program for the DC meeting.

There is a chance that you are not attending the annual meeting; I have emails from two members on this note.

For those attending, it is highly possible that your schedule there will be like mine, in that we will not be there from early Wednesday until late Sunday. 

So, assuming that Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be when we might have the greatest overlap, please send me/us a note with the following info, if you are planning to attend the meeting:

• Your three preferred time slots--about 60 to 90 minutes--for us to get together.  And make sure the listing reflects the higher preference first.  You may also give us a blank check of sorts--like, anytime on Friday.
• If you have any preference for a meeting-only, or a meeting @ some eating time (breakfast meeting, meeting at lunch time, .... )
  
• Any particular item you would like to include in the agenda for that meeting.

sriram

A happy new year, and more ....

My new year greetings to you.

I suppose some of us--including me--are getting ready for classes that start on Monday.  Perhaps some of you have a week or two more to go before you get back into the classroom.

When I read this NY Times report, I thought this committee's members might be interested in it.  One of the toughest questions we might get from prospective geography majors/minors is a simple one: how much will it help finding a job after graduation?  I suspect that this question by itself is the driving force behind business and criminal justice as the fastest growing majors at our campus.

This paragraph in the NY Times report summarizes the kind of typical statements about relatively "under-performing" accademic departments:

When Louisiana’s regents voted to eliminate the philosophy major last spring, they agreed with faculty members that the subject is “a traditional core program of a broad-based liberal arts and science institution.” But they noted that, on average, 3.4 students had graduated as philosophy majors in the previous five years; in 2008, there were none. “One cannot help but recognize that philosophy as an essential undergraduate program has lost some credence among students,” the board concluded.

At the same time, groups like the Association of American Colleges and Universities have been defending the value of disciplines like ours:

There’s evidence, though, that employers also don’t want students specializing too soon. The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked employers who hire at least 25 percent of their workforce from two- or four-year colleges what they want institutions to teach. The answers did not suggest a narrow focus. Instead, 89 percent said they wanted more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,” 81 percent asked for better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” and 70 percent were looking for “the ability to innovate and be creative.”
“It’s not about what you should major in, but that no matter what you major in, you need good writing skills and good speaking skills,” says Debra Humphreys, a vice president at the association.

Perhaps our biggest challenge is to figure out how to convince students and their parents about the reality of career:

“The truth is,” she says, “students think too much about majors. But the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have.”

I remain convinced about the merits of liberal education, but I am equally aware of how much a career-focus drives higher education.  Geography is one of the academic departments that often has to defend its budgetary existence, as much as philosophy departments have to.  This Committee, therefore, is a wonderful opportunity for interested geographers to think through some of the issues. 

I welcome your thoughts, particularly with the idea of shaping an agenda for next year, and when we meet at the upcoming AAG annual meeting.