Furman hosts geography conference with record attendance

Furman University hosted the 79th annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG) Nov. 23-25 – a first for the university and for Greenville, bringing more than 425 students, faculty and staff to the area.

Sustainability science major Niveya Henley ’25 presented a research poster on the analysis of local roadway incidents and fatalities at the SEDAAG annual meeting.

Since 2021, Former Professor of Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Geoffrey Habron has been taking students to SEDAAG’s annual meeting to experience graduate students’ research presentations and explore potential graduate programs themselves. Furman students have won undergraduate poster awards the last two years, and student participation is what earned Furman hosting duties for this year’s conference. Habron and fellow Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Professor  Suresh Muthukrishnan spent more than a year planning and organizing the conference and are developing guidelines and responsibilities to help steer the efforts of future hosts. This year’s meeting had record attendance.

“Our participation totally results from The Furman Advantage, showcasing our undergraduate research across both majors, sustainability science and earth and  environmental science,” Habron said. “We have also used the conference to meet with alums in the area.”

Furman Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Beth Pontari and The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities Executive Director Andrew Predmore gave the conference’s welcome address, highlighting Furman’s commitment to sustainability and community wellbeing.

Guests were invited on a field trip to the nearby mountains led by Muthukrishnan and Professor Emeritus Bill Ranson, and a walking tour of downtown Greenville by Habron and Center for Applied Sustainability Research Director Mike Winiski. The weekend featured panel discussions, paper presentations and poster sessions alongside networking events, a geography bowl championship and other social and educational opportunities.

Six of Furman’s international students participated in the event as volunteers, getting their first shot at attending a professional conference and helping faculty lead the field trips. Furman also hosted five student volunteers from local high schools who had the opportunity to see undergraduate and graduate research presentations.

Sustainability science majors Will Scheland ’25 and Kara Justus ’25 gave a poster presentation at the annual SEDAAG meeting detailing research in electrifying lawn management at colleges.

“Furman’s support of excellence in undergraduate research and our close relationship with the communities in and around Greenville, including the City of Greenville, were on display in all the presentations our students made and the field trips we organized,” Muthukrishnan said. “Many people, including the president of SEDAAG, Dr. Selima Sultana from UNC Greensboro, praised Furman for what we do.”

Furman alumna Eileen Joseph ’20 graduated with bachelor’s degrees in sustainability science and politics and international affairs, and the SEDAAG meeting allowed her to return to her alma mater and share her current doctoral research. She studied land conservation policies in Costa Rica with Associate Professor Karen Allen in 2019. She’s now studying the economic models that emerged in a Costa Rican community following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her poster presentation during SEDAAG gave her the chance to speak with her undergraduate professors as colleagues and get feedback on her research.

“Being able to reconnect with the work those professors are doing and even the work of current students, it kind of felt like coming full circle,” Joseph said. “For current students, take advantage of that because that’s really what sets Furman apart.”