Geography
Meet the Faculty | Departmental Information Sheets
Academic Program
Course offerings in the E&H Geography Department include studies in physical and environmental geography, cultural, economic and political geography, land use planning, conservation, computer mapping, field methods, and geography of North America.
Our professors are unusually active and energetic and expect you to be equally energetic as you learn how to gather and analyze data, form opinions, and present your findings either on paper or orally.
Degree Program
The Geography Department offers two tracks leading to the B.A. degree. If you plan to teach, you may pursue programs designed to provide certification.
Geography
The geography track provides a broad-based background for you if you are planning a career in public service or advanced study in geography. You may select a minor in another discipline or the contextual and support area for Geography. The contextual and support areas are designed to provide a broader understanding of the natural environment and to broaden social, cultural, political, and economic perspectives.
Social Sciences
The B.A. concentration in Social Sciences is interdisciplinary, integrating courses from the departments of history, political science, economics, geography, and sociology, with a focus on American and Comparative-International Studies and Regional Studies.
The three options within the social sciences concentration present the study of either history, political science and government, or geography as the primary substantive area of emphasis. The program has been designed to prepare you for graduate school, law school, teacher licensure, and other areas of employment.
Land Use Analysis and Planning
The Land Use Analysis and Planning track teaches you about existing land use patterns and how to plan for the most appropriate use of land. You become acquainted with the planning process from the perspective of both regional and local planning. You will also be familiarized with socio-political and scientific-technological issues and how they relate to the environment.
Special Opportunities
The department offers computers and programs such as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which combines computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and high speed communication to store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze, and map geographic data. GIS is used in weather forecasting, emergency management, resource analysis, and management in business, government, and non-profit organizations.
Internships are strongly encouraged and are available to you in fields including planning, historic preservation, environmental regulation, parks and recreation, and forest resources. Emory & Henry interns have the opportunity to work with a variety of agencies, including Overseas Development Network, Virginia Division of Gas & Oil, Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Mt. Rogers Planning District Commission.
Alumni
The successes of our alumni reflect the quality of the geography program at Emory & Henry. The following is a list of where some of those graduates are now:
Ashton Layman, ‘09, earth science teacher, Pulaski County High School, Pulaski, VA.
William Farmer, ‘08, geographic informationA specialist, Dominion Power, Richmond, Va.
Christine Gilley, ‘07, regional planner, Mt. Rogers Planning District Commission, Marion, Va.
Warren Schlesinger, ‘06, ranger, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD
William White, ’06, environmental specialist, American Chestnut Foundation Research Farm, Meadowview, Va.
Kathi Boatright ’05, project manager, People Inc. of Virginia, Abingdon, Va.; M.S., University of Southern Mississippi.
Martha Whitaker Chapman, ’04, watershed field coordinator, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Abingdon, Va.
Aaron Myers, ‘04, geographic information analyst, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.; M.S., University of South Carolina.
Anthony Summitt, ’03, watershed representative, Tennessee Valley Authority, Lenior City, Tenn.
Andrew Winz, ’03, geographer/G.I.S. manager, City of Chesapeake, Va.
Michael Swanger, ‘02, water pollution control specialist, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Knoxville, Tenn.
Robert Black, ’00, geographic information systems analyst, Vargis Corporation, Herndon, Va.; M.A., George Mason University.
Michael Armbrister, ’99, economic development planner, Mt. Rogers Planning District Commission, Marion, Va.; M.S., University of Tennessee.
Faculty
Department Chair
John T. Morgan, jtmorgan@ehc.edu
Ph.D., University of Tennessee
Rural specialist whose current research focuses on land use and landscapes of Appalachia and the U.S. South. Author of The Log House in East Tennessee (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1990.); coauthor of The Unknown World of the Mobile Home (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2002).
Edward H. Davis, ehdavis@ehc.edu
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Cultural political geographer specializing in Southwest Virginia and western Guatemala. Current research includes mapping the benefits of community-supported agriculture in Southwest Virginia. Author of The Virginia Creeper Trail Companion: Nature and History Along Southwest Virginia’s National Recreational Trail (Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1997).
Major Checklist
Geography
