The Golden Anniversary Meeting: Birmingham, Alabama

Southeastern Geographer Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1, May 1998, pp. 88-89 THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY MEETING: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA Tyrel G. Moore The Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers re­ turned to Birmingham, the site of the Division’s inaugural meeting, to celebrate its Golden Anniversary. Facilities at the Radisson Hotel provided an excellent venue for the well received special event. A total registration ofjust over 360 was almost evenly divided between regular and student members. Over 200 partici­ pants played active roles in shaping a program that aptly reflected a half century of collegiality, productive scholarship, and tradition. Eighty-two papers were reviewed by the Program Committee. Four of them were rejected; the remaining 78 papers were included on the program in regular sessions. Ten papers were entered in the Student Honors Competition, down from 18 in the previous year. A similar decline appeared in the submission of non­ refereed Gamma Theta Upsilon papers. There were just two this year, compared with five in the past year. Even with these declines, student authors and co­ authors accounted for over 40% of the participation in paper sessions. Specially organized paper sessions included two Political Geography ses­ sions, an Applied Geography session, and one organized by the Committee on the Status of Women in Geography. The latter committee also organized two panel sessions. An additional panel was formed by the Committee on Geography in Education, and another convened to focus on applications in GIS technologies. Along with conventional paper sessions, these activities were arranged into 23 sessions representing the breadth of the discipline. There were four physical ses­ sions; three sessions included an array of cultural and social topics; the student honors competition comprised two sessions; single sessions were devoted to eco­ nomic and urban geography, rural development, southern studies, and geographic information systems; and finally, a session showcased Gamma Theta Upsilon un­ dergraduate research and chapter activities across the Southeast. Exemplary plan­ ning efforts by the Local Arrangements Committee, co-chaired by David Shankman and Bobby Wilson, produced an exciting and productive meeting com­ plemented by five field trips that drew much interest. The meeting activities also featured exhibits by book publishers and GIS software vendors. Several activities commemorated the Golden Anniversary. These included a meeting-opening banquet organized by Greg Jeane and featuring Master of Dr. Moore is Associate Professor o f Geography at the University o f North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223. V o l . X X X V III, No. 1 89 Ceremonies Sandy Bederman, with guest speakers Allen Bushong, John Fraser Hart, James O. Wheeler, and Ronald Abler. In sequential panel sessions, the Com­ mittee on the Status of Women in Geography framed contemporary women’s re­ search and leadership across the Division’s 50 years. Field trips to Selma, Birmingham’s Civil Rights Museum and its'historic Sloss Furnace, and the Mercedes SUV plant appropriately captured much of the South’s past and con­ temporary geography. The World Geography Bowl, organized by Neal Lineback, continued to hold an exciting place on the program. Approximately 100 students were involved in the competition. The North Carolina team (Juan Bartelle, Benjamin Gersh, Katherine Nichols, Baker Perry, James Pleasants, Michael Russell, William Welsh, and David Wrubel) claimed the championship in a final round victory over the Alabama team. Coordinators for the winners were Elizabeth Hines and John Florin. Points leader Geoffrey Smith was the Bowl competition’s Most Valuable Player. At the Honors Luncheon, students from the University of South Carolina swept the Prunty Scholarship and Student Honors competition. Laura Fischer was awarded the Merle C. Prunty Scholarship, John Gartin won the Master’s-level Student Honors paper competition, and Jerry Mitchell garnered the award at the Ph.D. level. In Special Honors Awards, Denny Spetz was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award and Barney Warf was the recipient of the Research Honors Award. AAG President Patricia Gober concluded the luncheon with a lively and beautifully illustrated address, “Immigration and the Demographic Balkanization of America.” In sum, the Golden Anniversary Meeting underscored the Southeastern Divi­ sion’s rich traditions and its continued vitality. As we begin a second 50 years at the Memphis meeting, we proudly can...