News

We're excited to provide another GIS training opportunity for West Virginians. These are tentatively scheduled to be in-person, but as we discovered in January, the ongoing pandemic can interrupt those plans. We've included questions in the registration form regarding if we have a late cancellation of in-person instruction and if registrants need parking accommodations.

Courses:

• Transition to ArcGIS Pro (Day 1)
• Transition to ArcGIS Pro (Day 2)
• Web GIS with ArcGIS Online (Day 1)
• Web GIS with ArcGIS Online (Day 2)

LinkedIn Job Posting: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2836871897

The Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor in the field of Geospatial Science starting August 12, 2022. This is a 9-month, full-time, tenure track position with full benefits. We seek an outstanding candidate with research and teaching capabilities in one or more of the following areas: geographic information science; spatial analytics; spatial data science; remote sensing, or digital cartography/geovisualization. Candidates with research applications to sustainability challenges of the 21st century and candidates whose research and scholarship support WVU’s land-grant mission are encouraged to apply.

The Department of Geology and Geography offers undergraduate degrees in Geology, Geography, and Environmental Geoscience along with an MA and PhD in Geography and an MS and PhD in Geology. The Department is also launching a new online MS in Geospatial Science and supports a graduate certificate program in GIS and Spatial Analysis. Faculty in the department secure significant external research funding, teach thousands of students and provide service to the state, Appalachian Region, and the world. The department currently supports 34 graduate teaching assistants, 36 graduate research assistants and two graduate fellows. The department has outstanding geospatial science teaching and research facilities, hosts the WV GIS Technical Center and WVU Center for Resilient Communities and is housed in its own extensively renovated Brooks Hall on the Downtown campus of WVU.

WVU is a R1 research land grant university located within 90 minutes of Pittsburgh and 3.5 hours from the Washington/Baltimore area. Morgantown has been recognized as one of the most livable small cities in the U.S. There are extensive recreational opportunities, excellent public schools, and a supportive University environment in which to develop a visible and productive career. The WVU Dual Career Program is available to assist candidates with suitable employment opportunities for spouses or partners.

The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Geography, Geographic Information Science, Geoinformatics, Earth Science, Geoscience, Urban and Regional Planning, or a closely related field by August 2022. The successful candidates will also demonstrate an active research agenda evidenced by peer-reviewed publication and including the potential to secure external funding for research. Candidates must demonstrate potential for excellent teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The normal teaching load is two courses per semester. The successful candidate will be expected to teach a variety of courses including geospatial science, spatial databases, and digital cartography, and graduate-level courses focused on their specific research interests and expertise.

Applicants should upload a CV, teaching statement, research statement, unofficial transcripts, up to three peer-reviewed publications, and a list of at least three references as a single PDF. The screening process will begin January 14, 2022 and continue until the position is filled. For more information, please visit our website www.geo.wvu.edu or contact the chair of the search committee, Dr. Jamison Conley ( Jamison.Conley@mail.wvu.edu ).

WVU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE award for gender equity. The university values diversity among its faculty, staff, and students, and invites applications from all qualified individuals, including minorities, females, individuals with disabilities, and veterans.

Link: 2022 AAG Honors

VerySpatial has received the 2022 Media Achievement Award from the American Association of Geographers as part of its 2022 honors. Here is the blurb from the AAG website:

"The 2022 AAG Media Achievement Award goes to VerySpatial and its four co-founders and hosts: Jesse Rouse (Instructor, Department of Geology and Geography, UNC Pembroke), Sue Bergeron (Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Geography, Coastal Carolina University), Frank LaFone (Senior Internet Applications Programmer, WV GIS Technical Center) and Barbara MacLennan (Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Fairmont State University). VerySpatial is an internationally known, award-winning podcast that has provided outstanding geographic content and teaching methods to geography enthusiasts and educators around the world for 15 years. VerySpatial was founded the same year as YouTube and before the first iPhone appeared, demonstrating the co-founders’ innovation in media achievement. Since then, the hosts have regularly produced topical podcasts appreciated by a loyal and dedicated worldwide following.

VerySpatial seeks to point out how Geography and geospatial technologies filter into our digital and daily lives. The content is a mix of academic issues, current commercial and industrial advances in Geospatial technologies, and contemporary events. This combination has been important in bringing together material from published academic works in the context of recent events and trends. In doing so, the podcast monitors the pulse of geographical events and geospatial advances and maintains a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for geography. The content has ranged from political geography, spatial statistics, spatial privacy, virtual reality, interviews with world-renowned geographers, and hundreds of other topics over the course of 500 hours of material spanning over 650 episodes. The website receives approximately 180,000 page views, 75,000 visits, and 14,500 new visitors per month from around the world.

VerySpatial has been recognized for its contributions to geographic education: ESRI awarded the podcast a Special Achievement in GIS award in 2007; National Geographic listed VerySpatial in their top education blogs for four years in a row; and iTunes rated the podcast in the top 5% of all K–12 podcasts. In 2020, the AAG Guide to GeoWeek Activities contained suggestions for participating in Geography Awareness Week including listening to VerySpatial. The AAG Media Achievement Award not only adds to this list of honors bestowed upon VerySpatial, but also demonstrates the gratefulness that the field of geography has for this group of people for dedicating the last fifteen years to making geography exciting and accessible to thousands of people around the world every week."

Congrats to all at VerySpatial.com for their efforts, particularly current WVAGP Board member Frank Lafone and President Barbara MacLennan!

If you are interested in participating in the committee helping WVAGP to update the existing statewide GIS Strategic Plan, contact chair Barb MacLennan as soon as possible. Meetings will be taking place through early January.

Our trainings listed for the week of January 3rd, 2022 have met the minimum number of registrations to be confirmed. If you were waiting for the courses to be confirmed to register, please consider registering soon. There are only a few more seats for both courses!

• Transition to ArcGIS Pro (Day 1)
• Transition to ArcGIS Pro (Day 2)
• Web GIS with ArcGIS Online (Day 1)
• Web GIS with ArcGIS Online (Day 2)

GIS Day will be observed on November 17, 2021. If you are holding an event for your organization, speaking at a school, or hosting an in-person or online gathering for your entire community, let us know!

Check out the Fairmont State GIS Day One-Stop-Shop for information about GIS Day and to find local events!

You can also check out ESRI's GIS Day event page to register your own event!

The WVAGP now has a Youtube channel! Click here to check it out!

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, presented the City of Morgantown with Esri's Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award on July 12, 2021, at the annual Esri User Conference. Read Article Here

The Eastern Panhandle GIS Users Group Meeting was held virtually on August 13, 2021. Visit the website here to view presentations.