Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Southeastern Division

Abstract

Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Southeastern Division Heidi J.L. Lannon (bio) In honor of the women of the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG) and in recognition of the second consecutive female President, it is with pleasure that the cover of Southeastern Geographer is dedicated to the Status of Women in Geography (SWIG) in the Division. Women are strongly represented at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in addition to the Southeastern Division. SEDAAG is led by President Lynn Resler of Virginia Tech, who followed Joann Mossa of the University of Florida. Women are represented on the SEDAAG Executive Board by Vice President Jennifer Rahn of Samford University, Amy Potter of Georgia Southern University as Treasurer, and Selima Sultana as Regional Councilor and Co-Editor of Southeastern Geographer. Amy Lobben of the University of Oregon served as the first virtual President of the AAG from 2020–2021. Emily T. Yeh of the University of Colorado at Boulder is serving as the second consecutive female President of the AAG from 2021–2022. The following recollections began as anecdotal observations to accompany the cover of this issue. The author was ushered to her first meeting in the early 1990s as a graduate student by her female mentor, Joann Mossa. Further research and assistance by mentors and friends Peggy Gripshover, Anne Oberhauser, and Ezra Ozdenerol (personal communications 2020) unearthed a lengthy history of female participation in SEDAAG. An exact date for the establishment of SWIG at the Division level has not been determined, and membership is not formally recorded. Meetings of women geographers have historically been over breakfast and scheduled at the uncivilized hour of 7 AM. Meetings were informal and attended by a faithful few (Figure 1). Southeastern Geographer has a tradition of publishing details of annual conference activities. From the accounts, historical activities of women in geography can be gleaned. In a 1979 report of the annual meeting, Nancy Erwin and David Lee arranged a session entitled "Questions and Answers: AAG Committee on the Status of Women" (Lineback 1980). The first acknowledgement of the SEDAAG Committee on the Status of Women in Geography was at the 1981 meeting when SWIG sponsored a discussion on "The Working Woman" (Fisher 1982). At that meeting, Jackalie Blue convened a regional meeting of the AAG Committee on the Status of Women and Susan Moorlag led two workshops on careers in geography. The award for best Ph.D. student paper that year was to a woman, Ellen Cromley of the University of Kentucky, and Jonathan Phillips of East Carolina University [End Page 281] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Enjoying breakfast together, SEDAAG meeting, Asheville, NC, 2012. Margaret "Peggy" Gripshover, Western Kentucky University; Helen Ruth Aspass, Virginia Commonwealth University (retired); Amanda Rees, Columbus State University; Heidi Lannon, Santa Fe College; Michael Brown, Northwest Florida College (retired). Image courtesy of Heidi Lannon, Eric Spears, photographer. won at the master's level. In 1982, Helen Jane Armstrong of the University of Florida led a map library workshop (Fisher 1983). At the 1984 meeting, the first Merle C. Prunty Scholarship was awarded to Jeanne Murday of the University of South Carolina. The same year Risa Palm was elected the President of AAG (Aiken 1985). She was the second female President of the AAG since 1904, after Meredith Burrill in 1965 (Wikipedia 2020). SWIG meetings are reported as being part of annual meetings beginning in 1991 (Meentemeyer 1992). At the 50th meeting of SEDAAG in Knoxville, conference highlights included that "panel sessions were organized to address current issues, including the status of women in geography" (Hartshorn 1996, 82). The 1997 meeting was reported on by Moore (1998), who wrote that two panel sessions were organized by the SWIG Committee. [End Page 282] Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Female Presidents of SEDAAG Click for larger view View full resolution Table 2. Female Treasurers of SEDAAG A perusal of Southeastern Geographer volumes provides a record of female participation and the activities of SWIG. Table 1 shows the six women who have served as the President (previously "Chair") of SEDAAG, since 1946, beginning with Lillian Worley Stimson of the...