Review of the Forty-Third Meeting, Mobile, Alabama

Abstract

Southeastern Geographer Vol. 29, No. 1, May 1989, pp. 71-73 REVIEW OF THE FORTY-THIRD MEETING, MOBILE, ALABAMA Charles F. Kovacik The Forty-Third Meeting of the Southeastern Division, Association of American Geographers, was held in Mobile, Alabama, November 20—22 at the Riverview Plaza Hotel. Hosts for the meeting were the University of South Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi , and Glenn R. Sebastian and Jesse O. McKee co-chaired the Local Arrangements Committee. The official registration count was 310, which was slightly below the average attendance for recent meetings (Table 1). The program for the meeting included three field trips and a walking tour of Mobile; seven scheduled meetings; a workshop concerning Alabama 's Social Studies Curriculum; a special paper session on geomorphic hazards and sediment movement; special panel sessions on GIS, geographic education, and professional and career development; and a report and discussion on the AAG Long Range Planning Committee. It also included 55 papers that were presented in 14 sessions. This was a decline from the 67 papers that made up the program last year and was the lowest number of papers since the 1973 meeting. The meeting began with a reception which featured boiled shrimp, refreshments, and music at historic Fort Conde. This was followed by an opening session at which Jeral Williams, Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of South Alabama, and Terry Harper, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Southern Mississippi, welcomed the membership to the Gulf Coast. Christopher L. "Kit" Salter ofthe University of Missouri at Columbia ended the evening with an energizing and entertaining address entitled "The Force of the Geographic Alliances in the American South." Thomas L. Bell, President of the Southeastern Division, presided at the Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday morning. President Bell announced that Karl B. Raitz had been elected the new Vice President and Wilma J. Walker had been elected the new Secretary. Newly elected Dr. Kovacik is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC 29208. He served as Vice President and Program Chairman of the Division during 1988. 72 Southeastern Geographer TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION MEETINGS, 1969-1988 Meeting Year Location Papers Registration 24th1969Tallahassee, FL74262 25th1970Columbia, SC70255 26th1971Lexington, KY72295 27th1972Miami/Bahamas65343 28th1973Boone, NC55245 29th1974Biloxi, MS72300 30th1975Callaway Gardens, GA65400 31st1976Fredericksburg, VA75400 32nd1977Knoxville, TN61350 33rd1978Athens, GA72310 34th1979Nashville, TN60298 35th1980Blacksburg, VA89303 36th1981Atlanta, GA86401 37th1982Memphis, TN75330 38th1983Orlando, FL69303 39th1984Birmingham, AL60275 40th1985Chapel Hill, NC65324 41st1986Lexington, KY72350 42nd1987Charlotte, NC67326 43rd1988Mobile, AL55310 Average69319 Source: Southeastern Geographer, Vol. 20 (1980), p. 76, and Southeastern Geographer, 1981-1988, passim. State Representatives were Albert J. Parker, Georgia; Julia A. Elbert, Mississippi; William Frank Ainsley, North Carolina; Bruce A. Ralston, Tennessee; and William F. Clark, Virginia. Robert E. Lloyd, Borden D. Dent, Peter O. Müller, and Robert E. Reiman were elected to the restructured Honors Committee at the Business Meeting with Lloyd assuming the committee chair. Dorothy Stafford Mason, John B. Rehder, and Vernon G. Meentemeyer were elected to the Nominating Committee with Mason assuming the committee chair. The Forty-Third Meeting concluded on Tuesday afternoon with the annual Honors Luncheon. Stephen S. Birdsall, who chaired the Honors Committee, announced that Daniel S. Allen, University of Georgia, had won the award for best paper at the Master's level and that Francis L. Precht, also of the University of Georgia, the award for best paper at the Ph.D. level. The 1987-88 Merle C. Prunty Scholarship was awarded to Vol. XXIX, No. 1 73 Randi Horner of East Carolina University. Birdsall also announced that James O. Wheeler had received the Outstanding Research Award. David Ward, President of the Association of American Geographers, ended the luncheon with an interesting address entitled "Geography, Public Policy and the Inner City." ...