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Geography

Welcome to the Department of Geography at Bridgewater State College!

The Geography Department was delighted that Dr. Harm de Blij, a leading author and champion of geographic education, recently visited our department for a lecture and conversations with students, faculty, and administrators. Shown here (from left) are BSC geography student Brenda Doucette, BSC geography Professors Sandra Clark and Bob Amey, Professor de Blij, and BSC geography Professors James Hayes-Bohanan, Vernon Domingo, and Ron Maribett. More photos and a  podcast interview with Dr. de Blij are available from BSC's Harm de Blij podcast.

Many exciting changes have taken place in 2005. The most dramatic change was the formation of two new departments, as of July 1, from the previous Earth Sciences and Geography program. The new departments continue to share office space in Conant Science 308, as well as the administrative support of Ms. Brenda Crowley. The first chair of the new Geography Department is Dr. James Hayes-Bohanan, who works closely with the new chair of Earth Sciences, Dr. Jacek Sulanowski.

New Curricula
After a two-year process of internal and external review, we have replaced the four concentrations previously offered in geography with two new degree programs.  The Bachelor of Arts for those preparing to become teachers at the primary or secondary level and a Bachelor of Science for those preparing for post-graduate education or employment in fields other than education. The programs have been carefully designed to meet learning goals that we have identified as most essential while simplifying the process of course selection. The Undergraduate Program page

All geography majors will now complete a common core of six courses. This includes a new, second-year course in geographic methods. The core ensures that all of our graduates will have a common background in physical and human geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and the application of geographic methods in regional geography.

The B.A. and B.S. programs each require two courses specifically tailored to the needs of students in those programs -- with more technical courses for the B.S. majors and teaching-oriented courses for the B.A. majors. In addition, each student will choose at least four aditional courses with the help of his or her advisor, to ensure that the overall program matches the interests and learning objectives of the student.

A third area of exciting changes is the expansion of our faculty. Even as some of our alumni and friends are still learning of the arrival of Dr. Bob Amey last year, we have had the good fortune of adding Dr. Darcy Boellstorff, bringing our full-time contingent to seven geographers. The Faculty and Staff page has information about all of the geography faculty, both full-time and part-time.

Finally, the Geography Club is up and running once again, this time in closer collaboration with GTU, our hononary society. As with any student organization, leaders have a habit of graduating, so new leaders must always be found. We are fortunate that this process has begun early in the fall semester, so we have a lot to look forward to in the coming year.

Please explore this new web site, visit the department, and contact us if you would like further information. And if you are an alum, please let us know how you are doing, and if you would like to be part of our online alumni gallery!

Last Modified: January 2, 2007