Report of the Sixty-ninth Annual Meeting, Eugene, Oregon, September 6-9, 2006

The 69th annual meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers was held on the campus of the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, from September 6 to 9, 2006. Paper sessions were held in the newly built Lillis Business Complex, and other events took place in Condon Hall, home of the Department of Geography; the Schnitzer Museum of Art; Gerlinger Hall; and the Erb Memorial Union. The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed to enjoy the lovely open spaces and attractive buildings on the university campus.

Three hundred sixteen people registered for the meeting, making it one of the largest annual meetings in APCG history. Attendees came from each of the states in the APCG region and included substantial contingents from the University of Oregon; Portland State University; the University of Washington; the University of Nevada, Reno; San Diego State University; the University of Arizona; Arizona State University; and several of the institutions in the California State system. Geographers from outside the region attended as well, coming from as far away as Italy and Slovenia. Both AAG Executive Director Douglas Richardson and AAG President Kavita Pandit (University of Georgia) were also in attendance.

The meeting opened on a near-perfect late-summer evening with a barbecue on the lawn behind the student center at the University of Oregon. Attendees then went inside to be welcomed by University of Oregon administrators and APCG President Jenny Zorn (California State University, San Bernardino). Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson and Lane County Planning Director Kent Howe, two former graduates of the geography master's program at the University of Oregon who have entered public life, discussed the planning and land-use challenges facing Lane County.

Thursday and Friday featured 39 regular paper/panel sessions and one poster session that was held in conjunction with the President's reception. A total of 140 papers, 41 panel presentations, and 9 posters were presented during these sessions. In addition to the organized paper sessions, panels were convened to consider grantsmanship, internationalization, the role of the social in U.S. social and cultural geography, preparing for graduate school, critical pedagogy, teaching quantitative methods, and the impact of Jane Jacobs. University of Oregon graduate student Eve Vogel also organized an undergraduate lunch to consider life after a bachelor's degree in geography.

APCG President Jenny Zorn's plenary session on "Geography in a Diverse World" took place Thursday afternoon. Daniel Arreola (Arizona State University), AAG President Kavita Pandi (University of Georgia), Nancy Wilkinson (San Francisco State University), and Christine Rodrigue (California State University, Long Beach) offered their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of enhancing the diversity of the discipline of geography. Following the plenary session, meeting attendees were invited to the University of Oregon's Schnitzer Museum of Art for the catered President's Reception. Over 150 people came to the event. Meeting participants were then encouraged to enjoy the evening in Eugene.

Friday was capped by the annual banquet. The event was held in a beautiful room on the University of Oregon campus, and all 100 seats at the tables were filled. Incoming APCG President Kate Berry (University of Nevada, Reno) emceed the occasion. After a reception and dinner, APCG President Jenny Zorn presented an enlightening overview of the changing role of women in higher education. The awards ceremony followed, with Julie Cidell (California State University, San Bernardino), Vicki Drake (Santa Monica College), Paul Starrs (University of Nevada, Reno), Dan Arreola (Arizona State University), and James Keese (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) presenting the 2006 student paper awards, travel awards, and scholarships. Robin Datel then announced Christine Kennedy (Northern Arizona University) as the winner of the APCG Distinguished Service Award. This was followed by Kate Berry's review of the status of geography programs in the APCG region. The evening concluded with the usual clever resolutions authored by Bill Crowley (Sonoma State University), Nancy Wilkinson (San Francisco State University), and Larry Ford (San Diego State University).

Saturday was field trip day. Five field trips led by University of Oregon geographers highlighted aspects of the human...