Rural Geography Specialty Group Awards

Rural Geography presents three awards to recognize outstanding contributions in the fields of agriculture and rural geography and an annual student award for the best paper presented in a Rural Geography session at the annual AAG meeting.

John Fraser Hart Award for Research Excellence

  • Established to recognize the contributions of John Fraser Hart
  • Presented annually to recognize a scholar who has achieved and maintained excellence in the fields of agricultural and/or rural geography research

Donald Q. Innis Award for Research Excellence

  • Established to recognize the contributions of Donald Q. Innis
  • Presented to recognize a scholar who has achieved and maintained excellence in the field of rural development

Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Rural and Agricultural Geography

  • Established to recognize individuals whose accomplishments over the course of a lengthy career have distinguished them at a level above and beyond their peers.
  • Recipients will have demonstrated:
    1. an extensive record of research in agricultural and/or rural geography with related publication in scholarly journals, books and other appropriate formats
    2. either:
      • a record of excellence in teaching and advising; or
      • a record of service to their own institution and the discipline of geography.

Nominations for the Hart, Innis, and Achievement Awards

  • Nominees must be members of both the AAG and the RGSG.
  • Candidates may be nominated by any AAG member.
  • For the Hart and Achievement Awards, nominees will be requested to submit two copies of their current Curriculum Vita and the names and addresses of three referees to the Awards and Honors Committee.
  • For the Innis Award, nominees will be requested to submit two copies (one paper and one electronic) of the publication to be considered to the Awards and Honors Committee.

  • The Committee's recommendation for each award will be forwarded to the RG Board of Directors for a final decision.
  • The Award winners will receive an engraved plaque and will be honored at the Rural Geography Business meeting and at the AAG Awards Luncheon..
  • Nomination deadline: January 1, 2006
  • Please send nominations to:

  Randy Wilson

  Department of Environmental Studies

  Gettysburg College

  Gettysburg, PA 17325

           e-mail: rwilson@gettysburg.edu

Student Paper Award

  • The Rural Geography Specialty Group (RG) invites students who will be presenting in any RG-sponsored session at the Denver AAG meeting to enter the student paper competition.  A $100 prize is awarded for the best student paper. 
  • The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. 
  • To enter the competition students must submit :
    1. three copies of their abstract to Randy Wilson (address below) by March 1, 2006
    2. a completed copy of their paper to the RG Awards Committee at the presentation in Denver
  • Faculty are asked to encourage students who will be presenting a paper on agriculture, rural development, or rural land use to enter the competition.

Send abstracts to:

Randy Wilson

Department of Environmental Studies

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg, PA 17325

         e-mail: rwilson@gettysburg.edu

 

Past Winners

John Fraser Hart Award

2002 - Phil Gersmehl
2001 - Stephen E. White
1997 - David Kromm
1996 - Michael Troughton
1992 - Rebecca Roberts
1991 - M. Duane Nellis
1990 - Owen Furuseth

Donald Q. Innis Award

Richard Lonsdale, University of Nebraska
Wes Jackson, The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas

Lifetime Achievement Award

1999 - John Fraser Hart

Student Paper Award

2005 Gina Thornburg, California State University, Northbridge, “Communities in Transition: Responses to Economic and Population Change in Four Small Kansas Towns”

2004 Amy Trauger, The Pennsylvania State University, "'I don't get out of my boots to go to the bank': Towards a Theory of Rural Public and Private Spheres"

2003 April Luginbuhl, Ohio State University, "The Conservation Rural Enhancement Program in Ohio's Western Lake Erie Watershed:  Federal and State Partnership"

2002 Katherine Albert, Rutgers University, "Working Too Close to the Stump: Environmental Justice, Rural Poverty, and Forest Politics in Maine and Eastern Canada"

2001 Chris Laingen, South Dakota State University, "Land Use Change in Teton County, Wyoming"

1999 Randal K. Wilson, The University of Iowa, "Public Lands and Community-based Collaboration on the San Juan National Forest: an analysis of participation"

1998 Patricia L. Drews, The University of South Carolina, "A Statistical Model of Rural-to-urban Land Use Conversion"

Apologies to any past award winners who have been omitted. If you have information that will help complete this list, please send it to Katie Algeo (katie.algeo@wku.edu).