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Roger Downs was the Head of Department from 1994-2007. He remains in the Department of Geography, returing to his role as professor. |
Note: The below text is a supplement to the Summer/Fall 2007 Newsletter. Excerpts of the below reflections from Roger's friends, colleagues, and past students were originally published in the newsletter.. Due to space constraints, the entire text could not be included in the final publication. Please enjoy the full text below.
Vanessa Massaro | Valerie Sebestyen | Dave Fyfe and Tim Frazier| Sarah Bednarz | Mary Lee Elden | Jennifer Langer | David Hodge | Rodney Erickson | Jeremy Crampton | Graham Spanier | Gil Grosvenor
Dr. Downs has been my undergraduate advisor for the past three years. Even though he was also the Department head, I always felt welcome and equally as important as anything else he might be dealing. Anytime I ever asked him for anything as a student-recommendation letters, advice on graduate schools, or to read over a draft-he was happy to do it. So I always had a sense that undergraduates truly mattered here, but it was reaffirmed when I became the president of UnderDogs and my relationship with Dr. Downs took on a new dimension.
As president of UnderDogs, I was no longer asking him for his time, I was asking him to find money in the departmental budget for a variety of activities. In this year, UnderDogs has fed many students at our weekly meetings, traveled to Scranton for a weekend, and to San Francisco for the AAG's. Dr. Downs has helped significantly with all of those projects. He has also helped make sure that we have the much coveted conference room in Walker every Tuesday. But, my gratitude and appreciation for Dr. Downs comes not just from his helping pay for pizza or making sure we have a room to meet in, it comes from the way he always made time for me (even if I stopped by unannounced!), my requests were always taken seriously, and that I was never given the "runaround." Many times he has answered me on the spot and marched me right over to the office to make sure everything was in order. Thanks largely to Dr. Downs, I have never felt like "only an undergraduate" and UnderDogs has never been "only the undergraduate student group."
Even before finding my place as a geography major at Penn State some 14 years ago, I had long been in the practice of seeking out and deciphering patterns in the world around me. Recognizing myself in Roger Downs' 20H lecture on how geographers study pattern and process, space and place, was only natural, as was the friendship he and I developed over the years. Returning to Penn State Geography last year as a PhD student has been a homecoming for me in many ways-bumping into old friends, visiting old haunts, once again adopting Roger as my advisor and mentor. Along the way, I couldn't help noticing a neat pattern in overlap between Roger's career and mine: his first two years as department head coincided with my last two as an undergrad, and my first two years as a PhD student have coincided with his last two as head. It seems we've come full circle, and from this perspective I could talk about the change and growth the department saw under his tenure.
But I'd rather talk about what didn't change: Roger's dedication to teaching. Somehow, despite the time required to manage a prestigious academic department, Roger still found the time and energy to chair national committees to promote geographic education in schools across the U.S., to act as a moderator and a judge at the state and national levels of the Geography Bee, and to cultivate sound research habits in department grad students, many of whom are bound to be the next generation of Geography's educators and researchers. His legacy gift to the department was the creation of a non-tenure faculty position devoted to teaching undergraduate courses. And I know he can't wait to be "back" as a regular faculty member, to focus once more on teaching and researching how better to teach and get spatial reasoning back into all levels of curriculum.
In 13 years, a lot can, does, and should change. But fortunately for me, for the department, and for the larger geographic community, some things never change! Yes, Roger, it's good to be back.
For nearly all graduate students in the Penn State Geography Department, GEOG 500 "Introduction to Geographic Research" is our first interaction with Roger and our thesis/dissertation topic. Often, he is also the last person to have input on these same theses and dissertations, as the Department Head's signature is needed for us to graduate. While graduate students choose different advisors, focus on different research, and have different experiences here at Penn State, working with Roger in some manner is one of the few experiences that all graduate students share.
Thus, Roger's comments in blue pen with capital block letters have come to be highly recognizable by every grad student in the department. Who knew that writing a 150 word abstract could take so long -- if only Roger had the same 150 word limitation with his editorial remarks!?! The first time we saw numerous entries of "HA!" or "HUH?" on our papers we were not sure what to make of them or even how to react to them. Many of his comments were short and direct, and not always appreciated at the time, but these terse words did exactly what they were meant to do -- they made us think critically about word choice and how to construct arguments as we built our research topics. A similar long list of suggestions and corrections was the last thing we wanted to see on our theses and dissertations when we were pushing the deadline to graduate. However, just as in the abstracts, when implemented the suggestions made our work stronger while at the same time ensuring that the reputation of our department would not be compromised.
Roger has always been very supportive of the graduate student community. For the last several years, the grad reps have gone to meet with him to discuss graduate needs and concerns. Taking lessons learned from 500, the grad reps were usually well prepared to convince Roger of our case. However, after telling him what we were asking for, there was often no need for further discussion - most of the issues were addressed during our half-hour long meeting and we had an answer to the others within days. Roger has always been a true friend of the grad student community demonstrating throughout his tenure a sincere concern for the welfare of graduate students. We would like to take this opportunity to formally thank you Roger for being such a friend.
More than any other geographer, Roger Downs has shaped the field of contemporary geography education. I have worked with Roger on countless research and development projects since the late 1980s, including the development of the National Geography Standards for the US Department of Education (1992-1994) and the Learning to Think Spatially volume for the National Research Council (2003-2006). In each instance I have admired his organizational and personal skills. Roger's facility in managing large, politically-charged projects is legendary. He carefully appraises the key stakeholders, devises a detailed work plan to meet multiple objectives and then, through example, not exhortation, coaxes the best possible output from all involved. I suspect his performance as department head has been similar.
During the time I have worked with Roger administering the Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP), I have made several really silly mistakes-or at least done things for which I needed scolding or forgiveness. Roger is always so gracious and understanding, never critical in an unpleasant or catty way. When he says, "Take care" you know he really means it. He is genuinely a nice person, sensitive to individual's needs and eager to build consensus. However, he is also very persuasive and clever in making groups come to his point of view.
Through these years of collaboration, I have grown and transitioned from a second-career PhD student to a visiting assistant professor, assistant professor, associate professor, and now, professor. At each step I have benefited immensely from Roger's willingness to share responsibilities, to co-author articles, to invite me into projects--to generally mentor me in the very best sense of the word. He has made my career and life richer and provided me with invaluable advice, guidance, and the courage to persist. I am glad that Roger is only stepping down as department head, and not retiring! Geography education needs him and I look forward to future collaborations.
Roger Downs has been an integral part of the National Geographic Bee almost since the start-up of the academic competition for schools in 1989. He has served as a reviewer of the questions for every level of the Bee, school, state, and national. Roger meticulously reads each question and provides valuable feedback on the content, the clues, the appropriateness, and the level of difficulty. His expertise has helped to refine the questions over the years to make them more accurate, grade-appropriate, and geographically relevant.
Roger also serves as a judge for the national finals and completes this stressful task with ease due to his vast geographic knowledge and ability to make quick decisions (under fire!). Although problems rarely arise, it is comforting to know that we can rely on his excellent judgment and sense of fairness.
In the early 1990's when the Bee staff wanted to look at why boys were consistently out-performing girls in the Bee, we turned to Roger and Lynn Liben, also from Penn State. They co-directed a study on Geography and Gender, conducing research to try to understand why this gender difference exists and to suggest ways to reduce it. They received responses from more than 20,000 people - school Bee winners, participants, teacher, and parents. Working with them on this project, though daunting, was actually fun. Roger's wit (and Lynn's), along with their common sense and intelligent approach, made any task related to this project an exciting learning experience for me personally.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to be in meetings on geography education with Roger and he is a wonderful role model for all. His total dedication to inspiring people to know more about our world and his collaborative manner in attempting to bring all into the process has furthered the cause of geography education tremendously.
Finally, I want to say what an invaluable resource Roger has been and I hope, will continue to be for us. He is a delightful professional to work with and a treasured friend.
Because it imposed order and mystery simultaneously, Geography 20H with Dr. Downs was earth-shaking. We would consider the world as geographers do: climate interfacing with culture, physical terrain with political turf, policy with people. That approach provided an order to things that settled my soul - and then unsettled it with the larger questions at hand. Dr. Downs wanted us to try to make sense of those questions (for which there were generally no answers at Pattee, only clues – you can trust me, I checked) and furthermore, it wasn’t just what you said but how you expressed it.
To each assignment we submitted, we were offered a reflective and substantial response – typed painstakingly, I would later learn, with two fingers. I will never forget those letters. Where I had taken a risk, Dr. Downs applauded the effort; where I had cut a corner, he lamented the missed opportunity. What more important lesson could I have carried from that classroom?
Possibly this one: As autumn arrived in State College, Dr. Downs asked us to dream up our final projects, some interest of our own considered from the geographer’s point of view. With that wicked smile, he offered his single instruction for the projects and, I would gather, for our lives – that they must be “neither linear nor boring.” My life, personally and professionally, would require the lessons of that classroom – a critical eye, thoughtful reflection, intellectual courage, a sense of connectedness, and candid friends. What luck to count Roger among them.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to thank Roger for his incredible support over the years. Although as a first year graduate student I barely knew Roger, he went out of his way to find me and convince me to stay in graduate school when I was thinking seriously of leaving. With that began a relationship that has provided both intellectual and personal support over all these years. Roger's keen analytic power is well known, and has no doubt been critical to the visionary leadership that he has provided for the Department. For me, it meant that he was able to continue to serve as my dissertation advisor even though my area of interest had shifted from behavioral geography to political and urban geography. He provided critical feedback at every stage of my research and taught me a great deal about how to assess issues that range far beyond my expertise. In addition, Roger has always cared deeply about the personal growth and well-being of his students, friends, and colleagues. He has shared thoughtful and provocative feedback with me at major decision points in my life, as he has for many others, and modeled the role of a confident and supportive leader.
Of course, he is best known for his own scholarship, including his research and his commitment to the practice and teaching of geography, that has had such a critical impact on our field, and for his leadership of the leading geography department in the US. His deep understanding of the changing terrain of higher education has been critical to his support of innovative programs that continue to build and strengthen an already top department. In my experience, it takes great vision to move a highly successful unit forward by embracing new and necessary directions that might challenge, yet reinvigorate that success. Thus, Roger leaves an enormous legacy for the department, for the field of geography, and, especially, for those of us fortunate enough to call him our mentor.
Let me express my sincere appreciation to Roger Downs for the terrific job he has done as head of the Department of Geography for the past 13 years. Having preceded Roger in that role, I have great appreciation for the challenges he has faced, and for the outstanding job he has done in leading the department. I've often remarked that heading an academic department is the toughest job in a university, right at the point where the rubber meets the road in most things that we do as educators.
The Department of Geography has achieved unprecedented growth during Roger's watch, having expanded in a number of key strategic directions, with a substantial number of new faculty, with more students majoring in Geography and sampling our courses, and with a number of important forms of outreach to communities and the profession. Geography faculty continue to be among the most productive teacher-scholars in the University, and the department remains at the top in terms of quality nationally in its programs and people. Roger has helped to build bridges to other academic units, which has resulted in additional opportunities for Penn State geographers to interact in a wider intellectual milieu and a strengthening of our faculty's abilities to attract extramural research support.
When my colleagues and I are looking for the most talented senior department heads to share information and wisdom with other academic administrators, Roger's name is always one of the first to emerge. He has combined strong strategic leadership with effective day-to-day management skills that have greatly benefited the department. He has done so without seeking glory for himself, but rather for the faculty, staff, and students of the department. He was one of my most supportive faculty colleagues when I arrived 30 years ago, and I continue to value his insights and advice today.
Roger, I hope you look back on the past 13 years with a great sense of accomplishment, as you should. You have earned our respect and admiration for a job well done.
I was always very proud of the fact that I was Roger's student from the get-go. Roger had this reputation for a while of being able to supervise students who either didn't fit or who didn't get along with their advisor--a kind of advisor of last resort for confused grad students. But I had applied to PSU because he was there, and I wanted to study cognitive mapping. Thus, I was pre-confused before even arriving at Penn State! Actually, he wrote me a nice letter during my application taking my grad school plans seriously, and it was this sense of the person behind the name that helped me decide on Penn State despite offers from other departments. (When I arrived, my first sight of him was on the photograph board; in the picture he sported these HUGE mutton-chop whiskers--I guess the picture was a few years old!)
This was in the early 1980s before he became Chair. I never got to know Roger that well on a personal level, despite doing a Masters and a PhD under him. I remember vividly that he called me "an enigma" once! (Do you remember that, Roger?) We were all very conscious (the entering class of 1984) of being at Penn State. While on the third floor of Walker Building we really felt we were at the center of an intellectual network (if networks can have centers). Roger was a big part of that. His exquisite attention to writing was very gratifying, even if things did come back with a lot of red on them. (I use his "uh?" when grading my own students' work to this day.) But Roger read not only for grammar but content as well, writing everything in his distinctive, curling letters.
There was only one time I didn't like his advice and that was when he calmly argued that given my research topic I should take some psychology seminars. Well that wasn't very popular with me since it sounded like hard work. What did I know about psychology? But I took his advice because I really couldn't deny his point. While I can't say that it was all fun, I ended up taking several more psychology classes (one semester we read George Lakoff's famous book Women, Fire and Dangerous Things, another time Piaget's The Child's Conception of Space).
Every semester I applied to TA his introductory human geography course and every semester I was assigned to something else. I knew he was a great teacher from being in his Behavioral Geography class. Finally, one semester (never to be repeated) I got to TA for human geography, taking notes the whole semester through. I still have those notes and a decade and a half ago when I was beginning my own career, I plundered them mercilessly. Thanks Roger!
I was at Penn State for seven years. I pretty much enjoyed every minute of it, but the greater thing is that Roger helped secure the reputation of the department and increased its visibility and this will benefit a whole new generation of students.
Roger Downs is in my opinion one of the great department heads in Penn State's history. His unusually long tenure is topped by few University leaders. More important is what has been accomplished under his watch.
He has overseen the department's elevation to the top-ranked position in the United States. The department is recognized one of the leading enterprises of its kind internationally.
Roger has led the charge by hiring outstanding faculty, empowering colleagues, nurturing promising undergraduate and graduate students, and carefully allocating scarce resources.
Equally important, Roger has been a mentor to other heads and a leader among leaders in the University. He has served on numerous University committees and panels, he has been a key participant in the development of the Schreyer Honors College, and he has a knack for fostering interdisciplinary possibilities. These attributes have been noticed worldwide and are reflected in his leadership with National Geographic, national funding panels, and positions of prominence within the discipline.
Roger has been a good friend to me and so many others. I join with all of you in thanking him for his exemplary service.
First of all, I can't possible do Roger justice in a few words. It would be a stretch to do him justice in a book. Honestly, over the past two decades, in my experiences with Roger, he has been one of the most unwavering intellectual forces at keeping the essence of what geography is in the forefront.
When we wanted standards, we called on Roger. When we wanted geography to be a part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, we call Roger. When we made the case for a geography Advanced Placement course, once again, Roger was in irresistible voice for the importance of geography in a first-class education.
At National Geographic he has been a steady, supportive, and helpful presence with all of our geography-related activities for more than 19 years. This includes his annual treks to Washington every year to help with out National Geographic Bee. In 1995-1996 we talked him into temporarily relocating to DC to be our Geographer in Residence for the Geography Education Division. And, because of Roger, 33 geography students have participated in our Geography Intern Program-the highest of any university in the country.
Others will be better at reflecting on his contributions as chair of the Geographical Sciences Committee of the National Research Council and the august bodies on which he serves. I won't attempt to reflect on those contributions in this letter other than to say how much we appreciate his representing the discipline of geography so well at those tables.
On a personal level, I can say without a bit of hesitancy when the book if finally written on geography education reform in the late 20th century and the early 21st century, Roger Downs will be front and center. He is a true and trusted colleague and confidante that I am proud to also call a friend.
