APCG Distinguished Service Award

T he apcg takes great pleasure in honoring Nancy Lee Wilkinson, from the Department of Geography and Human Environmental Studies at San Francisco State University, with this year’s Distinguished Service Award. Nancy has been an active member of the apcg for more than 30 years, during which time she has served as secretary-treasurer, vice president, and, in 2002, as president. She has also served as editor of Pacifica, has been on the Nominations and Resolutions Committees, and in 2007 was elected aag Regional Councilor.

Nancy was among the first participants of the Women’s Network, and she continues to foster and promote diversity in geography. At the 2006 Eugene meeting, Dr. Wilkinson was part of the President’s Plenary on Geography in a Diverse World, a session devoted to creating and sustaining diversity in geography departments. Her supportive mentorship of other departments has made Nancy a collegial “go-to” person for chairs and faculty from across the region, and as a result, Nancy has regularly served as external reviewer for geography programs.

Nancy Lee Wilkinson.

Nancy’s visibility and advocacy for geography on her own sfsu campus are exemplary. She has served as chair of the department for 10 years and has been at the center of strategic shifts in geography’s role in an interdisciplinary and global curriculum. Dr. Wilkinson has strengthened graduate studies in geography as chair of her department, encouraging many excellent students to pursue academic and professional careers.

Nancy’s research and teaching reflect her commitment to a geographic vision of environmental and social change in the West. Her most recent work is on the intersection of water policy and popular sentiment about dam-building and water resource development in California. Nancy’s interest in water extends to her local watershed group, of which she is a founding member.

For her support of geography programs, faculty, and students, and for her long-standing service to the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, we are extremely pleased to present Nancy Lee Wilkinson the Distinguished Service Award for 2007.