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For Information

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S-91-51

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC

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MEMORANDUM

To: Senate

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From: J.M. Munro

Vice-President, Academic

Re: External Review of the Department

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Date: September 19, 1991

of Geography

Attached is a summary of the report of the Department of Geography External

Review Committee for the information of Senate. The review was discussed

- atthe

-

Senate Committee-

QfliIttYQtedIQ - -

receive the report.

The report of the Review Committee and the response of the Department is

available in Secretariat Services, Registrar's Office, for any Senator who

wishes to read the complete documents.

Attachment

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Summar y

of the findin

g

s of the External Review of the

Department of Geography

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1IS.]n1u1li(*Ju11u1.II

Dr. Donald Janelle

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University of Western Ontario

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(chair)

Dr. Derek Ford ?

McMaster University

Dr. Allen Scott

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University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Patricia Brantingham

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School of Criminology, SFU

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(internal)

Major Recommendations of the Review Committee:

1.

Faculty hiring (replacement and growth) in geology, spacial information systems,

and human geography is required.

2.

There is a need to address the gender imbalance in the department.

3.

Operating and capital budgets are below the level of similar departments in other

Canadian universities and should be increased.

4.

Provision of space (offices, teaching rooms, laboratories) is less than adequate.

The Committee recommended that Geography expand in its present location

into space which will be vacated by other units moving from the Classroom

Complex. Alternately, a new building combining Geography and other units

involved in Environmental Studies should be considered.

5.

The undergraduate program was positively viewed by the committee, but

questions were raised about the large number of undergraduate courses, the

frequency of offerings. Suggestions about particular courses and areas were

also offered.

6.

The committee raised several major questions about the graduate program, in

addition to commenting about the overall structure of the program and the length

of time for degree completion. In addition, the Committee suggested that

expansion of graduate enrollment be delayed until better facilities are available.

7.

There is uncertainty about the role for Environmental Studies at SFU, and the

Committee emphasized that members of the Geography Department should be

integrally involved in the development of program plans in this area.

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SCAP 91-29

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10 April 1991

A REVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

TO: ?

VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC, DR. JOCK MUNRO

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

FROM: ?

EXTERNAL REVIEW COMMITTEE, DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

Patricia Brantinghaltl (SFU), Derek Ford (McMaster),

Donald Janelle (Western Ontario), and Allen Scott

(UCLA)

This report addresses three interrelated objectives. (1) It

provides a general profile on the faculty complement of the

Department of Geography, including an assessment of teaching and

research commitments. (2) Resource, facility, and staff support

are reviewed in relationship to the Department's ability for

_jneip9te

ac hing

and research obligations. (3) The strengths and

weaknesses of the ddddUtètaitS arediscussed

in detail. Where appropriate, recommendations are made. We gauge

our assessment of strengths and weaknesses to what we know of other

geography departments in Canada and the United States. Comparisons

with other units within the Faculty of Arts and elsewhere in the

University are avoided.

For the past 25 years, the Department of Geography at Simon,.

. Fraser University has contributed significantly to the development.

ofgeography in Canada. An early focus on Cultural geography gave

the Department a distinctive identity. It also became known as a

major innovator in social geography and a pioneer contributor to

the development of automated cartography and geographical

information systems (GIS). In recent years, the Department's

identity has shifted more towards economic geography, environmental

analysis, and physical geography. Recent faculty retirements,

resignations, and reassignments have drawn from the general human

geography side of the discipline. Appointments to fill these

vacancies have focused on young scholars with PhDs from leading

Canadian, British, and American universities. They add to the

existing strength in physical geography and provide a significant

boost to the prospects for human geography.

Seven of the 20 (19.25 FTE) current tenure and tenure track

appointees in geography have joined the Department since 1985.

This gives the Department an enviable demographic balance of senior

people (one who retires in 1991 and five who are within 8 to 15

years from retirement), a mid-career cohort, and a set of young

scholars seeking to establish teaching and research careers.

Prospects for new appointments

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(growth appointments) in the next

few years would give the Geography Department one of the youngest

faculty complements of any geography department in Canada.

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The Department has a congenial mix of people and the morale

is, in general, high.

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We were impressed with the enthusiasm

expressed by recent appointees. They described a supportive

atmosphere and a high degree of intellectual excitement. There is

a sense of cooperation, identity with the Department is strong, and

there is a commitment to increasing the Department's productivity.

Combining

the experience and leadership of established

scholars with the energy and enthusiasm of younger academics gives

this Department an unusual opportunity to make significant

contributions to geography in British Columbia and in Canada.

However, this will require careful and sensitive management to

establish an identity for the Department, particularly in Human

Geography. In addition, serious dedication by the University is

needed to help the Department overcome what are probably the most

severe space and resource constraints on any graduate-level

geography department in Canada today.

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Faculty

The Department identifies three general divisions of

expertise: Physical Geography, Human Geography, and Spatial

Information

Systems. These areas of research and teaching are

traditional to the discipline and are found in all Canadian

geography departments. Brief commentary on teaching and research

in these areas highlights strengths and weaknesses of the Simon

Fraser department.

Physical Geography. The existing complement of physical

geographers represents a research-intensive grouping that is viewed

highly by the discipline. On average, members of this group are in

mid-career and have established clear identity for their work.

There is a good balance of expertise,

combining

significant

strength in biogeography, climatology, hydrology, and

geomorphology. Most members of this group have steady NSERC grants

and have been successful in seeking external financial support from

a variety of public and private sources. With the 1991 retirement

of Professor Crampton, a replacement will be needed. While faculty

expressed needs for expertise in a variety of areas (biogeography,

forest ecology, glaciology, and applied geomorphology), the general

consensus

supports someone with background in pedology and geology.

This would help to offset the lack of a geology department in the

University.

Areas of recognized

innovation

include work on sedimentology

of fluvial and deltaic

environments (

M.C. Roberts), Bailey's work

on ginseng, and

Hickin's work

on river channels. There is,

however, little evidence of joint research efforts among members of

the Physical Geography group. Opportunities for joint work that

could be explored include: links between Lesack's studies of

aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and Hutchinson's work on wetland

ecosystems; linkage between Bailey's research on energy balances in

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interest in climatic

snow regimes of alpine

• alpine tundra environments and Moore's

variability and energy budgets in the

regions.

Among the more speôific concerns for physical geography at

Simon Fraser:

1.

The physical geographers "feel uncomfortable" in the

Faculty of Arts. Many other geography departments are in

Arts, some are in Science (e.g., McMaster), some in Social

Science (Western Ontario), some in Arts and Science.

The McMaster geography department has been much better

served in resources by being in Science rather than Social

Science (as was once proposed). However, the human

geographers "feel uncomfortable" there. The matter has been

largely solved by having them vote in Social Science elections

-(-e.g., to Senate) and -ha-v-ing them -represented- -on all the

important Social Sciences cpinmittees, e.g., Curriculum.

2.

The Department is aggrieved at the lack of support from the

Faculty of Sciences. The case made to us was that it

graduates -10% of the SFU BSc class each year, and -5% of the

MSc class. But it receives no

financing

from the Dean of

Science.

In our meeting with him, the Dean of Science proffered

few

opinions.

He did not seem to be interested in the

possible roles of a Geography Department in his faculty. He

stated that the geographers were not as enthusiastic about

plans for the Institute of

Environmental

Research as he would

have wished.

Human Geography. This general grouping of 11 faculty is diverse,

covering the broad range of expertise needed in a modern geography

department; cultural, historical, economic, medical, social, urban,

and resource geography are included. This diversity is

characteristic of most geography departments in Canada and provides

a fertile base for innovation and for interdisciplinary linkage

within the university. Areas of recognized strength at Simon

Fraser include Hayter's work on the Canadian forest industry,

Pierce's contributions to the geography of food and resource

systems, Wong's work on water resources management in Southeast

Asia, and Evenden's focus on Canadian suburban landscapes and the

development of local government.

Recent faculty additions

identity for human geography

Nesmith's interest in gender

Brohman's work on alternative

world, Hayes' focus on the

Blomley's research on law and

could form the nucleus of a strong

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in the Department. These include

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relationships in rural development,

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paths to development in the third

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geography of health care policy,?

geography, and A. Gill's interest in

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the social and behavioral aspects of development in tourist

environments. These interests point to a focus that combines the

geography of political economy with social theory and social

policy. While maintaining the regional resource development focus

(seen in the work of Hayter, Pierce, Wong, Nesmith, and Gill), the

Department may wish to investigate ways of exploiting its apparent

relative advantage in the linkage of political economy with social

theory and social policy analysis. Maybe a department-sponsored

publication series in this general area would help to assert an

image for human geography at Simon Fraser.

Spatial Information Systems. This departmental specialty includes

remote sensing, automated cartography, and geographical information

systems (GIS). Expertise in these areas are vital to the

Department, yet only two faculty members are associated with them.

A. Roberts combines unique strengths of airborne remote

sensing capabilities with expertise in inultispectral and digital

image processing, along with arcbaeological experience. We were

impressed with his innovative instrumentation systems and well-

equipped (though crowded) lab.

Through the work of Tom Poiker, Simon Fraser took an early

lead of international significance' in the areas of GIS and

automated cartography. However, in faculty complement and in

facilities, the Department has not kept pace with developments in

these fields. Throughout North America, the past decade has seen

• rapid expansion in GIS technology and applications. It has been

• primary growth area in the discipline and many departments have

expanded their programs to meet market-place demands. In th

United States, the National Science Foundation designated a

National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA).

Similar initiatives have occurred in Great Britain. From its start

in 1988, the Association of American Geographer's specialty group

in GIS has become the largest and most rapidly expanding

specialization in the discipline. In Canada, most departments now

have in-house facilities for GIS, equipped with a dozen or more

micros and workstations. Pressing concerns for the SIS group

include the lack of suitable space, and insufficient equipment and

software for teaching purposes. These problems are addressed in

Section III.

Faculty Complement:

In a period of extraordinary growth in student enrolments .(see

section IV on Undergraduate Programs), since 1984, the tenure-track

faculty complement in Geography has expanded by only one one-half

appointment (with the hiring of Cathy Nesmith in 1990-91). In

addition, the Department has 2 limited-term appointees, including

internationally recognized M.E. Eliot Hurst, and employs sessional

instructors, including the Rt. Hon. E. Schreyer.

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An expansion of the faculty complement is needed to address

over-enrolment in courses and projected growth in the graduate

program. The Department could make excellent use of two or three

tenure-track growth appointments. Several general options for

faculty growth appointments were suggested by the existing faculty.

These included possible appointments in remote sensing, GIS,

applied geomorphology, economic and resources geography, forest

ecology, glaciology, and biogeography. While all of these

suggestions are reasonable, we encourage the Department to develop

a strong consensus on priorities for possible appointments. These

must be matched with complementary strategies by the Department and

the Faculty of Arts to ease the severe space problems faced by the

department--either through expansion in the existing building or

preferably through a move to a new facility.

The following suggestions are meant as constructive guidance

to the Department in its establishment of appointment priorities.

1.

We encourage a replacement, for Profeo - Crampton in

roughly the same areas of research--geology and pedology.

These are areas that complement most directly the existing

expertise in physical geography and make up for, in part, the

absence of these specialties elsewhere in the University.

2.

A growth appointment in the area of Spatial Information

Systems would help to reassert Simon Fraser's recognized

. leadership in this area and would relieve some of the demands

on faculty. A person with strong creative abilities and

teaching skills in automated cartography would permit existing

faculty to focus more on GIS and on remote sensing

technologies and applications. It would be useful if this

person had an additional teaching/research interest in one of

GIS, remote sensing, or quantitative spatial analysis.

3.

A highly productive but relatively young appointment

(possibly at the level of Associate Professor or Professor)

might help to galvanize a stronger identity for Simon Fraser

in the general area of human geography. This would require a

person with leadership skills, who can work with existing

faculty. The Department may be able to capitalize on its

earlier image as a centre for work in cultural geography, but

one that integrates this with emergent viewpoints and existing

departmental expertise on the political economy of spatial

systems, social theory, and social policy. Through

accommodation, both established senior faculty and younger

appointees should find a comfortable fit with such an

approach. It's possible too that the leadership to bring this

about may emerge from the existing faculty.

4.

With only two women among 20 faculty, the Department faces

the same gender imbalance found in many departments across

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North America. There is a strongly positive attitude towards

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hiring more women scholars in the Department. Women now

represent about one-third of all new PhDs in the discipline.

But, while qualified women candidates will become increasingly

available, competition to attract these individuals will be

intensive for some time to come.

II.

Governance Procedures.

The Department may find it useful to review its Constitution

and governance procedures. Many of the recent appointees lacked

awareness of decision-making procedures in the Department. In a

period of growth and change, it is useful to distribute committee

assignments so that recent appointees rotate through the various

committees, gaining an overall understanding of Departmental

operations.

Some members of the geography department spoke of rifts

between the human and physical geographrs. One or other group was

perceived as being too influential, or it was feared that it would

become so. This problem occurs in many other geography

departments; in comparison to other universities, we do not assess

the situation at Simon Fraser to be in any way severe. One

solution that often works very well is to operate a Chair - Deputy

(or Associate) Chair system. If the Chair is a human geographer,

then the Deputy is a physical geographer, and vice versa. This is

also a good means to "try out" potential chairpersons. The Simoh

Fraser department is large enough to support it.

III.

The Adequacy of Resources Provided, Including Library and

Computing Resources

Operating and Capital Equipment Budgets

The 1990-1 budget for Operating Expenses was $78,000. We

understand there was also a Capital Equipment grant of $25,000, for

a total of $103,000. This is comparable to some other Canadian

PhD-granting geography departments of similar size e.g., McMaster,

Queen's. It is notably less than at the University of Western

Ontario $150,000 (which is soon to undergo some "budget

compression") but significantly more than at McGill (which has

already had its "compression"). As with all these other

departments, the rate of increase of the SFU Operating budget did

not keep pace with inflation during the Eighties, reducing real

purchasing power by about one third.

Comparing the line items at Simon Fraser with the others, the

SFU budget is notably deficient in two areas: (i) Field Travel-

$4500 (McGill-$12,000; McMaster-$19,000; Western-$8,000)

.

(ii)

Guest Speakers- $100 (McGill-$1000; McMaster-$3,300; Western-

$1500).

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The Chair emphasized the need to increase the Operating budget

is to -$100,000. We agree that this would be a more appropriate

figure than the present one. Maintenance of the Capital Equipment

grant at or above $25,000 for some years should take priority,

however, because the quantity and quality of teaching equipment

(including map and air photo sets) is inadequate.

The Library

We did not have the opportun'ity to tour the Library and

inspect its holdings. However, there was a special meeting with

the Head Librarian, the Serials Librarian and members of the

geography Library committee.

The Librarians told us that the intent was to build an

undergraduate library rather than a research-intensive one.

Geography committee members, however, considered the book

collection to be adequate up to the Mastr's level. The Geography

Serials List indicates that the most important journals ii mot

sub-fields of the discipline are held but there are many gaps

amongst the secondary, more specialised titles.

,

Geography faculty

and graduates must expect to have to use the resources of the UBC

library upon occasion.

The undergraduates suggested that there were insufficient

copies of the most important textbooks and that the Reserve system

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did not function adequately. The Head Librarian suggested that

faculty were lax in placing books on Reserve, and that

undergraduates held on to them too long.

There was much criticism of the Map Room of the Library.

Apparently it is not staffed by a cartography specialist, and

sometimes not staffed at all. The collection of atlases was said

to be out of date.

Computin g Resources

The Geography Department has concentrated its investment upon

Macintosh PCs although we did notice IBM PC clones in some labs.

The user friendliness of the Macintosh is legendary but a modern

department must expose its students to the IBM system as well,

because of the vastly greater range of professional software that

is available on the latter, e.g., modern computer cartography and

GIS systems.

Though students at Simon Fraser University do enjoy access to

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microcomputers for general word processing in the Library and in

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facilities provided by Computing Services, the undergraduates (and ?

most graduates, we understand) have access within the Department

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only to the Macintosh Laboratory -- actually, shared with the

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Department of Linguistics. It is an internal room, but carpeted

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and quite pleasantly lit. , We counted 19 Mac Pluses, one Mac II,

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two standard printers and one laser printer. There is space for

the addition of up to ten further PCs.

The students were very critical of this facility on two

scores:-

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1) the software is mostly out of date, and

(emphatically) ?

2) the hours of access are too limited.

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We

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understand that the lab is open only between 9:30 am to 4:00 pm,

when supervisors are present. This is very restricting. An

extension of two hours would probably lessen the undergraduates'

problems. The graduates requested number code (push button) locks,

with themselves given the code to have access at all hours: this

system works adequately at some of our own institutions.

We were informed that the University is disposing of its main

frame computer and switching over to a UNIX system. None of the

Geography faculty or students expressed any misgivings at this

change. There are no very large users (i.e. CRAY-scale) in the

Department at the present time.

There appear are no initiatives at this time to resolve these

concerns. While the University's computing environment is in the

process of switching to a networked system of microcomputers,

Geography's access to this system has not been addressed.

Professor Poiker has

arranged

opportunities for SFU students to use

facilities and GIS software (the industry standard ARC/INFO) at the

British Columbia Institute of Technology, but this does not

represent a long-term solution for giving student's at Simon Fraser

access to such facilities. The Department is in the process-of

securing a commercial GIS software package (Terrasoft). While this

will provide unlimited use without concern for site licenses, some

doubts were expressed about the suitability of this software for

more advanced work in GIS.

Use of the University Computing Services teaching lab (more

than 100 IBM-386 computers), while suitable for undergraduate

teaching, may not be appropriate for the intensive research-

oriented uses expected of graduate students. Consideration for

developing an in-house computer lab for geography would not be

unreasonable -- 15 to 20 terminals operated through a network

server, and site licenses to allow use for automated cartography,

GIS, spatial analysis, and quantitative methods, would give Simon

Fraser the kind of facility already in place in the leading

Canadian geography departments. Students, particularly graduate

students and students working on senior essays should have access

to such a facility in the evenings and on weekends.

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All administrators whom we met acknowledged the inadequacy of

much of the space that the Geography Department now controls or has

available to it as the principal user. The student representatives

and most faculty complained about many aspects of it in their

private meetings.

There certainly are some grave inadequacies, as indicated

below. In addition, a high proportion of the classrooms, labs,

etc. are interior (windowless) and walled throughout in unpainted

concrete blocks, which is psychologically distressing. We left

with the feeling that upgrading and increase of space would make a

great difference to the morale of this Department.

Office Space

- - The administratiye_offices are beautifully sited, light and

airy. Offices of faculty members that we iited were also light

and had quite pleasant views. However, a majority of them were

only about half the size that we are accustomed to, being too small

to house a working book and map collection, a PC, and still leave

room for a couple of students to fit in for a chat. We heard of

one instance of two full time faculty sharing an office, which is

simply not acceptable. ?

The allocation of space to geography

?

faculty conforms (apparently) to the University's formula for the

• Faculty of Arts. But this does not recognize the special space

requirements that geographers have for working with maps on a

routine basis. At the University of Western Ontario, the Faculty

of Social Science allots 25. percent more space to geographers than

to other social scientists.

The graduate students complained there were only 20 desks

assigned to them, with the result that many grads "nested" in

corners of their supervisors' labs. The latter is common practice

in our experience and can be very efficient. The "official"

graduate desk space in the Department was crowded, being about one

half of that available per student in our own departments.

The Teaching Rooms

The rooms are summarised in the order in which we saw them:-

1.

Air photo and cartography lab.

An interior room with 26 student spaces. Old fashioned, equipped

at a basic level. It

could

be converted to a computer cartography

room.

2.

A

general teaching room.

An exterior room with tables, 20-30 seats and housing the

geological specimens collection for basic geo.ogy classes. A

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simple, pleasant space, well lit.

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3.

The professional drafting, map study and equipment store rooms.

Problems with this space are mentioned under Adequacy of Support

Staff (Section IV). The rooms are interior, terribly crowded, most

inadequate for the professional drafting and individual student map

work supposed to be undertaken there.

The undergraduates complained that this facility closed at 4:30 pm

every day, further limiting them.

4. A

larger teaching room.

This was an interior room with 24 tables, thus accommodating 50

students or more. We were informed that it was used for much of

the physical geography teaching. It was depressing space.

The S p

ecial Laboratories and Other Facilities

1.

The Macintosh Laboratory (shared with Linguistics) is

summarised under Computing above.

2. The

Geomorphology Laboratory.

This is a narrow interior room shared by the two geomorphology

specialists. It was housing four of their graduates when we

visited. It contained about four metres of bench space, a sink, a

tiny fume hood, a balance table, a Sedigraph and storage.

This is very crowded, poorly equipped space. A second lab i

listed in the Department Report but we did not visit it.

3. The Climatology Laboratory.

This was an .interior room that contained a bench, a sink, storage'.

There were one or more graduate students "nesting". The room is

required for building, repairing and storing field equipment only.

Although small and crowded, the climatologist considered himself to

be better served than his colleagues, who must also attempt the

analysis of samples returned from the field in their labs.

4.

The Biography Laboratory.

Another narrow, crowded interior room, with two graduates nesting.

It also contained two benches with sinks, a small fume hood, an

oven, a refrigerator, an antiquated AA spectrophotometer, sieves,

and storage.

5.

The

GIS/SIS Laboratory.

This is an exterior room with windows set

high.

It is shared by

the two GIS/SIS and photo analysis specialists and houses four of

their graduate students. Our visit was too brief to note down all

of the working equipment but it appeared to contain sufficient

Up-

to-date computer, optical and display components for three or four

workers. It is very crowded for the work of the grads and faculty

specialists whom it serves. We were astonished to learn that it is

also used to attempt to instruct undergraduate classes. Professor

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Poiker informed us that he took his students to the B.C. Institute

of Technology to instruct them in ARC/INFO on PCs.

GIS instruction is growing by leaps and bounds in geography

departments of all standards on this continent. Soon, graduate

schools and professional employers will expect quite advanced GIS

competence of all geography students graduating at Major or Honours

levels. We are familiar with developments in Ontario and Quebec,

where the following pattern is emerging: -- $150,000 to $300,000 is

being invested to establish GIS labs with ten to twenty work

stations, including one or more Sun stations and a SPARC facility.

The price includes software. Most labs are opting for ARC/INFO as

their GIS system of choice. Universities such as Sherbrooke,

Waterloo, and Western have each invested $1,000,000 or more for

teaching and research laboratories in GIS, automated cartography,

remote sensing, and quantitative spatial analysis. Institutions

are negotiating some very favourable hardware/software package

deals with the competing computer companies; it i'p a buyer's market

'àttherñomënt. ?

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6.

Special field Equipment.

The Department Report (Vol.1) lists a 7 in boat, a 4-wheel drive

vehicle, seismic, sonar and electrical resistivity profilers. Dr.

M. Roberts has a truck-mounted core drilling rig. We understand

that Dr. A. Roberts receives financial assistance from the

University to help maintain his private light aeroplane, which is

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specially adapted to take low altitude photos and other imagery.

It is a pleasure to record that the Simon Fraser Geography

Department is exceptionally well equipped for field research in

geomorphology and in large scale (low altitude) remote sensing.

Elsewhere in Canada it is only those departments that maintain

northern field stations (Calgary, Laval, McGill) that are as well

or better served with specialised vehicles. . It is when the samples

or images get back to the labs that the difficulties appear at SFU.

7.

Cultural Laboratory.

Although an interior facility, attractive wall displays made this

room appear bright. It is an active space, now accommodating map

and document analysis associated with the Burnaby Centennial

Project. However, only a few people can work in this room at any

one time, making it less than desirable as a teaching facility.

More table work space and more storage space for maps are needed.

IV. The Adequacy of the Support Staff

The Administrative support staff comprise, a Department

Assistant, a Chair's secretary, a •Graduate secretary and one

secretary handling typescript for coursework, general

correspondence, etc. The Assistant has a personal office; the

secretaries are housed in very pleasant, well lit and airy space

and furnished with modern word processors, printers, a copying

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V.

machine, etc. It was suggested that one further secretarial

appointment was needed, but we would not assign that a high

priority. It would be a good idea to buy a FAX machine and rent a

second copier.

One of the responsibilities of the Department Assistant is to

counsel geography and undergraduates on the programs, and even the

specific courses that they should enrol in. This surprised us

because in other geography departments this task is generally

undertaken by one or more of the faculty. We understand that the

Assistant herself does not have academic qualifications in

geography.

The Technical staff consists of one Resources manager and two

cartographers/ cartographic drafts persons. The manager maintains

inventory, stores, issues and handles the Department equipment. He

displays a very positive attitude in a difficult situation. His

storage facilities are desperately crowded. He informed us that

much of the undergraduate teaching equipment

s

(e.g., survey

instruments) was worn out or out of date and in need of

replacement.

The two cartographers also struggle to cope with poor space.

It is internal (i.e., no daylight; drafts persons should be given

day lit space to alleviate eye strain). It is crowded with map

storage cabinets. We were astonished to learn that some

cartographic and air photo instruction of undergraduates apparently

has to take place between them.

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The space available for

professional drafting was ludicrously inadequate. Th

e

cartographers themselves should be given professional training 1J3

computer cartography and diagram drawing; this is now predominant

in the leading geography departments. The cartographers informed

us that they were eager to learn.

If the Department is given the equipment and facilities that

a modern, PhD-granting geography department truly requires, then

there will be a need for a further technical appointment to help

the Resources manager. We recommend someone with electronics

training.

The staff was unanimous in its strong support of the

Department, expressed considerable pleasure in working with faculty

and students, and showed pride in affiliation with the University.

Research, Teaching, and

Service Linkages:

The success of any academic program is conditioned by its

connectivity and communication within a broad community of scholars

and with the public and private sectors. In this sense,

geographers at Simon Fraser share a rich set of linkages. They are

involved in several interdisciplinary programs, they participate in

contract research for various private and public agencies, maintain

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an. active colloquia series, and draw students from throughout

•

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Canada and from other countries.

Within the University, the Department is carrying its weight.

It shares faculty appointments with Women's Studies (Nesmith), and

the School of Environment and Resource Management (A. Gill). The

department plays a leadership role (A. Roberts and Hickin) in the

Institute for Quaternary Research, providing interdisciplinary

linkages with scholars in archaeology, physics, biology, chemistry,

resources management,

including

participants from the University of

British Columbia and the Geological Survey of Canada. Other

geography faculty participate in the Centre for International

Studies, Latin American Studies, and in Canadian Studies. One

member of the Department now serves as .Dean of the Faculty of Arts

(Brown), one directs the University Gallery (Gibson), and another

is Executive Director of SFU at Harbour Centre (W. Gill).

The Department encourages its students to take courses in

other departments, particularly in econoincs, ociology and

anthropology, political science, history, bioscience, chemistry,

physics, and mathematics and statistics. Several departments list

program requirements or options in geography, for example business

administration, gerontology, history, Latin American studies,

education, biological sciences, British Columbia studies,

Canadian

studies, and Chinese studies.

Beyond Simon Fraser University, the Department interacts with

. community colleges and with other educational institutions in

British Columbia. Faculty members are invited frequently to give

lectures in other universities and at specialized conferences

throughout the world. An excellent example of its academic

outreach to the local community is the participation of several

faculty in the Vancouver Historical Atlas and the Burnaby

Centennial projects.

Internationally, the Department fosters linkages with a sister

university in Germany (Saarland). The international research

experience of faculty covers the Amazon region (A. Roberts,

Lesack), West Bengal (Nesmith), Japan (Nesmith), Europe (Evenden),

Thailand and Southeast Asia (Wong), and Latin America (Bromley,

Hayes, Lesack). The current group of graduate students include

representatives from the United States, Thailand, Zambia, Scotland,

China, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

The Department has recently started a regular Geography

Colloquia series, inviting geographers and others to exchange ideas

on current research and developments in the discipline. This

year's speakers have included prominent geographers such as Michael

Dear (Southern California), Patricia McDowell (Oregon), Paul

Villeneuve (Laval), and Allan Pred (California-Berkeley).

Other forms of disciplinary linkage are achieved through the

Department's active participation in scholarly associations and

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•

regular participation in academic and applied conferences.

While the Department's involvement in communication at all

levels (discipline, international, community and university) is

extensive, we do see some areas for improvement:

1. The budget for the Department's speaker series ($100 per

year) needs at least a ten-fold increase to compare with

programs in other universities and to offset the peripheral

location relative to other universities in the country.

Graduate students, as well as faculty, should be actively

involved in the selection and hosting of- speakers. This

activity should be advertised to geography undergraduate

students and to the University at large.

2.

The Department should seek to publish more of its major

research pieces in the discipline's core journal

1

s. Research-

oriented faculty have published successfully in the more

specialized multi-disciplinary journals, but have neglected

those journals that address the entire discipline. These

include, among others, The Canadian Geographer, The Annals of

the Association of American Geographers, The Professional

Geographer, Area, and the Transactions of the British

Institute of Geographers. Regular publication in these

journals will enhance the image of Simon Fraser among

prospective graduate students, particularly in the areas of

human geography.

3. Active participation by faculty and graduate students in

regional and national meetings in Canada and the United States

is required to maintain a sustained presence in the

discipline. Funding for such participation is below par for

Canadian universities. A significant number of faculty limit

their scientific and scholarly ties to specialized academic

and applied organizations. For example, many do not belong to

the Canadian Association of Geographers.

4. The Department may seek to promote the value of its

courses for several programs that do not now list geography as

a recommended option for their students. Obvious linkages

include economics, sociology, archaeology, political science,

criminology, Native studies, communications (diffusion

studies), among others.

VI. The Undergraduate Program:

Geography's undergraduate programs are a source of

considerable pride and strength. Following a thorough revision in

1987-88, they compare favourably with other programs across the

country. An unusual amount of faculty energy goes into these

programs. ?

Students benefit through access to dedicated and

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experienced older teachers and to younger members of the faculty.

. Together, they provide a diversity of offerings, spanning the range

of philosophical, technical, and topical interests in the

discipline. Students have opportunity to choose among a set of

programs--they may major in BA or BSc programs. An Honors degree

option allows for a thesis experience (senior essay).

In the BA program, students may choose specialization streams

in cultural historical geography, urban geography, regional and

resource development, physical geography, and regional studies, and

in a technical stream (cartography, remote sensing, and

geographical information systems). The Department's strong

participation in the Faculty of Arts Co-operative Education Program

(work-study) has enhanced the Department's image in the private and

public-sectors of British Columbia.

Not surprisingly, the Department attracts many students.

Student participation in Geography has increased in recent years:

March 1986 ?

March 1990

Student enrolments ?

1354 ?

1902

FTEs

?

279 ?

416

Majors and Minors

? 340 ?

498

Geography undergraduates leave Simon Fraser with a solid

•

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understanding of the discipline as a whole and with specialized.

training according to their selection of core courses that relate

to the designated specialization streams.

?

Graduates have?

opportunities to draw on excellent skills for seeking employment or

for graduate education.

?

These skills include quantitative?

analysis, cartography, geographical information systems, remote

sensing, basic computer use, and writing. Depending on their

specializations, these may be augmented with background in using

archival materials, questionnaire development, and field research

observation and analysis.

We expect that the trimester system at Simon Fraser makes

strong student social

.

cohesion more difficult than in institutions

on a two-semester system. Student cohorts do not pass through the

system on the same schedule. In addition, participation in the Co-

op program results in less opportunity for cohort-consciousness to

develop. Nonetheless, geography students at Simon Fraser have an

active Geography Club, show strong morale, and have a positive

identity with the Department. We were impressed with the ability

of student representatives to express. their concerns with clarity

and vigour.

The Geography Department offers a good selection of special

interest courses to interest students in the Arts, Science, and

Applied Sciences faculties. Although we could not verify this

information, we were told that about 10 percent of all Science

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j ?

I

enrolments in the university are in geography courses. It is clear

that the Department offers considerable support for programs in

both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science, and it

provides a forum for interdisciplinary interests within the

University.

While our overall impression of the undergraduate program is

positive, we do recommend that the Department consider the

following areas of concern:

1.

Are there too many undergraduate course offerings? 84

courses are listed in the 1990-91 Calendar. These include 5

practicums, 2 in directed readings, and one for the honors

essay. However, the remainder are substantive courses. If

the Department is serious about its intention to expand the

graduate program, it should look seriously at the number of

courses in the upper level of the undergraduate programs.

Many of these courses are not offered every year, and some,

even those listed as optional core courses foç certain

specialization streams, are not available when students need

them (for example, Regional Planning, Geog 383, and

Biogeography, Geog 415, have not been offered in the past two

years). Some courses have not been offered for several years..

Calendar listings could give students false expectations. We

are concerned too that, if the listed courses were offered

more regularly, existing faculty might be stretching their

expertise at the expense of research productivity and graduate

program involvement.

?

.

I

2.

It would help students if courses that are not offered on

a regular basis be designated as such in the University

Calendar.

3.

The BA Majors and Honors are required to take two of

cartography (Geography 250), methods in spatial analysis

(Geography 251), or aerial photo interpretation (Geography

253). Students and several faculty indicated that Methods in

Spatial Analysis (quantitative methods), Geography 251, should

be required of all geography majors, a practice in keeping

with the standards of most geography departments in North

America. A background in statistics is basic to the needs of

many jobs and of graduate work in geography--we encourage that

this course be a mandatory requirement and that it be taught

in the Geography Department. The statistical needs for

students in geography extend beyond univariate and

multivariate statistics and include exposure to spatial

statistics for work with distributional patterns that vary

over two and three dimensions. It is a standard practice in

universities across

.

Canada that such courses be offered within

their geography departments. Simon Fraser BSc majors in

geography take a required course in the Mathematics and

Statistics Department.

16

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4.

To accommodate a required course in Methods in Spatial

• Analysis (Geography 251), the department may consider

designating the current requirement for a course in regional

geography to optional status. Even though regional geography

is required for completion of the BA and BSc degrees, regional

courses have not been offered in some years, posing

difficulties for students seeking to graduate. Presently,

regional courses are offered by sessional appointees.

Students indicate that these are exceptionally well-taught

courses, but sense a lack of commitment to them by the full-

time faculty.

5.

The cartography course (Geography 250) should be converted

as quickly as possible to a fully automated micro-computer

based course. Students who are not trained in this area will

be at a distinct disadvantage in competing with students from

universities that have already made this change. This will

require

modernization

of the existing cartography lab and

- acquisition of appropriate equipment Access to this fapility

should be available to students in the evening and on

weekends.

6.

Geography 301 (Geographic Ideas and Methodology) is a

desirable mandatory course for Majors in Geography. As a

central core course in the program, the Department should seek

to have it offered by a full-time faculty member. It is now

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taught by a sessional appointee.

7.

Student counselling is now under the direction of the

Departmental Assistant. Although we did not meet this person,

we sense that she is respected highly by students, staff, and

faculty and is a strong asset to the smooth running of the

department. Nonetheless, the faculty should be more heavily

involved in student counselling. Areas for possible

improvement include the adoption of standardized waiting-list

procedures and careful enforcement of pre-requisite course

requirements. Because of the high course enrolments and the

inability of many students to obtain the courses they need or

want, it is particularly important that waiting-list and pre-

requisite standards be widely known and adhered to.

8.

Student evaluations of Graduate Teaching Assistants should

be reviewed by faculty in making TA assignments. Although we

were not able to verify their concern, undergraduate

representatives indicated considerable variation in the

standards of TA teaching across the Department and suggested

that the faculty should assert more authority over the

training and supervision of TA5.

9.

With the increasing importance of the Co-op program, the

geography faculty should institute procedures for regular

review of the Co-op student work reports. It is important to

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assess the relevance of the work experience in satisfying

genuine educational objectives. In addition, awareness of Co-

op linkages may give the Department leads to possible research

and funding opportunities. For example, in the last two

years, geography students have been employed with the

following organizations:

Northern Land Use Planning District of the Yukon Region,

Ministry of Regional Economic Development, Angus Reid &

Associates, BC Ministry of Health, Ministry of

Environment, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum

Resources, chilcotin Ulkatcho Kiuskus Nations Tribal

Council, Tera Planning Consultants, Science World,

Ministry of Forests, Department of Indian and Northern

Affairs, Burnaby Arts Centre, Metro Group Newspapers, and

Energy, Mines and Resources Canada.

10.

Because of the serious space problems for teaching and

the practice of over-enrolment in most courses, it,may be

necessary on a temporary basis to spread more of the teaching

load to the Summer semester. We realize that this is not an

attractive option for faculty who view this as primary

research time and who have field research obligations.

However, this must be balanced against the cost incurred by

students in finding appropriate courses to complete their

programs. Is it possible to assess which courses, if offered

in the summer, would expedite degree completion? The students

we met said that current summer offerings were serving

external needs (for example, teachers, practicums for co-op

students) but contributed little to the regularly enrolel

majors.. We stress that more summer courses serve only as .a

form of crisis management -- this is not a preferred solution

for an already over-extended faculty.

11.

The most serious concerns expressed by undergraduates

(repeated by graduate students) relate to inadequacy of study

space, crowded classrooms and lab facilities, not enough

equipment, and lack of evening/weekend access to computers and

map sets. We elaborate on these problems in the Section III.

12.

We encourage the Undergraduate Committee to develop a

broader base of communication with undergraduates. Awareness

of student concerns was less that we expected.

VII. The Graduate Program:

The Geography Department at Simon Fraser University offers

both a master's degree (MA and MSc) and a doctoral degree. A total

of 42 students is currently enrolled in the graduate program, 28 at

the master's level, and 14 at the doctoral level.. This represents

a ratio of 1.9 graduate students per tenure track faculty member,

which is low by Simon Fraser University-wide standards where 2.5

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students per faculty member is the 'norm.

To obtain the master's degree, students must complete a

minimum of (a) two introductory non-credit courses (Introduction to

Graduate Studies, Parts I and II), (b) a methods course, and (c)

two other courses chosen from the departmental graduate curriculum.

They must also complete a thesis which is adjudicated by a

supervisory committee consisting of at least two faculty members

from within the Department and a person from outside the

Department. Doctoral students are not required to complete any

specific course requirements. They must, however, pass written and

oral qualifying examinations; they must present a proposal

colloquium before interested faculty and students; 'and they must

defend a PhD thesis before a committee made up of three faculty

members drawn from inside the department, one member from the

university at large, and one examiner from outside the university.

The department places considerable emphasis on an "apprenticeship"

system of individual graduate supervision in which students are

expected to work in ôlo'e cooperation

-

with -a supervisor of, -their- - -

choice.

This system of graduate education has been in place in the

Department of Geography since the mid-1980s, before which time

course requirements were greater, and graduate student research

activities were less emphasized. Since the graduate program began

in 1966, 91 master's degrees and 31 doctoral degrees have been

' awarded. Most of the individuals who have obtained doctoral degrees

have gone on to good jobs in academia, government, and private

consulting.

The graduate program in geography at Simon Fraser is a going

concern, and the review committee heard many positive comments from

both faculty and students about its overall operation and

potential. Virtually everyone we interviewed expressed reservations

about the program as it is currently constituted, and everyone

believes that the time for a rethinking and restructuring of the

program is long overdue, of course, opinions differ as to how these

tasks might be carried out, but the Department as a whole is

unreservedly in favour of a combined strategy involving both an

expansion in the number of students and a tightening of standards

and direction.

The review committee strongly shares these sentiments for both

growth and program improvement. However, given the grave

inadequacies we see in the physical facilities and other support

for research in Geography, it is difficult at this time to give

whole-hearted endorsement to an increase in FTE graduate enrolment.

Support facilities must be brought up to acceptable standards to

allow the benefits of increased graduate numbers'to occur. Even

without the current ACCESS incentive from the Province of British

Columbia, we encourage the University to make the necessary

investment.

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Whether or not facilities and resource support are enhanced,

however, the graduate program in Geography need serious reform.

The imperative of reform is all the more urgent since the graduate

program in Geography at Simon Fraser is currently overshadowed by

a superior program at the University of British Columbia. The

program needs to be shaped into a more attractive centre of

graduate

training,

both for its own sake, and to enable it to

compete effectively with UBC for high quality students. These

remarks apply much more to the human geography side of the

Department than they do to the physical, which is comparatively

healthy and focused. The younger faculty on the human side feel an

especially conspicuous absence of intellectual leadership among

some of their older colleagues. Nevertheless, both human and

physical geography suffer from a series of basic structural

problems and

constraints.

1.

As we indicate at length elsewhere in this report, the

space problem in the Department has now attained crisis

proportions. The space available for critical laboratory

facilities is extremely limited, and this is a particularly

pressing problem for the physical geographers and the SIS

group. Graduate student office space is scarce and at any one

time up to one quarter of the graduate students have no

guaranteed office space. This state of affairs obviously puts

a severe restraint on the sorts of interaction and camaraderie

that are essential for any successful graduate program. In th

absence of any effective resolution of the space problem th

possibility of achieving other desirable changes in the

program must be moot.

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2.

Faculty members now concentrate most of their forma.

teaching at the undergraduate level, and the scheduling of

graduate courses is largely casual and ad hoc. In particular,

most graduate teaching is done on an overload basis, and

faculty receive little credit for such graduate teaching as

they may do. Faculty members receive no credit for time spent

in graduate supervision. We feel that at least for those

faculty members who are active in research, teaching loads

should be reallocated on the basis of three undergraduate

courses and one graduate course per academic year. We also

recommend that definite course load reductions be offered in

proportion to the number of graduate students supervised by

any person (say, one half-course per master's student and one

full course per doctoral student, awarded to the faculty

member upon the graduation of each student).

3.

As a corollary of the preceding point, but subject to the

provision of adequate space and teaching/research resources,

an eventual expansion in the number of students enrolled in

the graduate program is needed to achieve critical mass in

particular sub-disciplines of the field and to ensure that

each course offered will have at least a minimal number of

20

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students registered. (Currently, about ten to fifteen MA/MSc

. ?

students take three or four one-semester courses in their

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first year; there are very few students to distribute among

the optional more specialized courses that could be offered).

4.

Levels of fellowship and teaching assistantship support

barely suffice for the program as it is currently constituted.

In general, master's students are awarded six semesters of

financial support, and doctoral students are awarded eight.

Much more money needs to be made available for financial

support if the suggested expansion of the program is to occur,

and the review committee feels that a 25 percent increase is

the minimum needed to achieve meaningful results. Some of

this no doubt may come from the province's Access Program.

Such an expansion would need to be accompanied by much more

aggressive recruitment of graduate students on the part of the

Department than is now the case, and especially from the

- better Canadian universities.

5.

We were surprised to learn there are no female PhD

students in the Department, in contrast to 14 males (Jan. 1991

Graduate Studies Fact Book). Only 1 woman has completed a PhD

since March 1985, in contrast to 12 males. The severity of

this imbalance warrants a review of graduate student

recruitment.

6.

The proportion of students holding "prestige" scholarships

such as NSERC, SSHRC, CMHC, and Commonwealth is low. Students

need more encouragement and help in applying for these

awards.

7.

Faculty members are allocated $350 yearly to attend

scholarly conferences and meetings. If there is to be a

general upgrading of graduate education in Geography at Simon

Fraser University, a much more generous allocation of money

than this is essential.

In addition to these seven main structural problems and

constraints, there is a further major question about the overall

operation of the graduate program. We were made particularly aware

of the dissatisfaction of many members of the Department with the

scope and content of graduate course offerings. In particular, we

believe that much can be done to improve the way in which the

current mix of course-work and apprenticeship activity is

formulated. At the outset, we need to stress that Geography is an

extremely broad and heterogeneous discipline with a long and

intricate intellectual history, and it is characterized by a wide

assortment of competing philosophical claims, theoretical

approaches, and points of view. The Department does little by way

of formal course-work to initiate graduate students into this

complex terrain of ideas, i.e. the broader conceptual bases and

history of the discipline. So far as we can tell, it might actually

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be possible for students to gain a PhD in Geography at Simon Fraser

without actually gaining any sort of understanding or overview of

the multifarious debates and cross-currents that have marked and

continue to mark the field. This lacuna is unfortunate on two

grounds. For one thing, we would claim that any geographer who does

not have an effective grasp of the discipline as a whole is to that

degree hampered in his or her future professional career. For

another thing, graduate research and scholarship are most

productively carried out when they are set in the context of a

broader rather than a narrower intellectual vision. There are no

doubt many ways of dealing with this matter. One way that we would

commend to the Department's attention is to produce a collectively-

agreed upon graduate course outline dealing with these various

questions, and then to have selected teams of faculty members teach

the course as a core requirement for all incoming graduate students

(at both the master's and the doctoral levels). Such a course would

also enhance the Department's ability to ensure overall control of

the quality of graduate students passing through the program., In

addition, any reform along the lines suggested needs to, be

associated with a tightening up of the apprenticeship system, with

much closer guidance, advice and feedback being offered to

students. This should go hand-in-hand with more aggressive

grantsmanship on the part of faculty xneinbers,.and the more active

incorporation of graduate students into faculty research projects.

All of these problems seem to be more pressing on the human side of

the Department than on the physical side, but we believe that both

sides of the Department would benefit enormously if changes of the

sort suggested were to be put into place.

Currently, the average time to degree for a graduate student

in Geography. at Simon Fraser University is 12.0 semesters for MA

students, 8.7 semesters for MSc students and 20.6 semesters for PhD

students. It is not fair, however, to compare Geography with other

academic units at Simon Fraser or elsewhere that do not have thesis

requirements for the MA and MSc degrees. Evidently, average

degree-completion time is now less than it was in the early 1980s.

They are still, however, too long (though obviously the problem is

much less acute for the MSc than it is with the MA). We believe

that the reforms we suggest would actually shorten the time to

degree by ensuring a more intense and rigorous engagement of

graduate students in their work.

The graduate program in Geography at Simon Fraser University

as it stands today has many positive and viable aspects. In

general, it has a good faculty, with some though by no means all,

actively engaged in high quality research and publication. It has

taken on six new young tenure track assistant professors over the

last five years, and these have unquestionably brought a new spirit

of enthusiasm and intellectual vitality into the Department. The

review committee was impressed with the obviously good rapport that

exists between graduate students and faculty, and the morale of the

students seems to be on balance high. The University as a whole

22 ?

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offers a good range of opportunities for students to improve their

. skills and knowledge in cognate fields, and there is a wide variety

of high quality interdisciplinary programs providing various

opportunities for graduate students in Geography.

We would rank the graduate program at SFU relative to other

geography graduate programs in English-language universities in

Canada below average, possibly 12th of 17 PhD-granting programs.

It is certainly not (yet) of the calibre of McMaster, Toronto or

UBC. That said, the graduate program has considerable potential,

and with the right kind of support from the University, we believe

that the program could rapidly become very much better than

average. None of the average departments has the exciting. potential

that Simon Fraser University gains from its bright young faculty

appointments.

We realize that the task is difficult and the external

constraints enormous, but we urge the University to take very

-seriously -the -needs of the- program, and to weigh -carefully t)te

inevitably negative effects of inaction. Finally, we submit that

our suggested changes would be considerably enhanced if there were

an increase in the Department's faculty complement, and we suggest

in particular that the Department be given the opportunity to

search for a senior appointment (Associate level or Professor

level) ,

in human geography, one with a proven track-record of

research and scholarship. ?

Such an appointment should aim to

• ?

greatly strengthen graduate teaching in the Department, and to

promote a new spirit of intellectual leadership and direction.

VIII. Environmental Teaching. and Research Programs at SFU.

The situation appears complicated here, as it is perhaps at

all other mid-sized to large universities trying to face their

responsibilities and grasp the opportunities in this very complex,

interdisciplinary area. At SFU the following parties were made

known to us (there are probably others as well):-

(a)

the Geography Department; all of the physical geographers and

SIS specialists have appropriate expertise to contribute, and so do

many of the human geographers (e.g., Dr. Hayes - medical

geographer, etc). The essential contribution that geographers can

make is unusually large because SFU lacks a geology department.

(b)

the School of Environment and Resource Management in Applied

Sciences. This was initiated by the geographers, has some F/T

geographers on staff and one cross-appointment. We understand that

this department is considering development of an undergraduate

program, although that may be a long way off. Co-ordination with

the Geography Department and within an organised

Environmental

Studies framework would seem eminently desirable.

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(c)

undergraduate Minors in Environmental Toxicology (in Biology)

and in Environmental Chemistry (in Chemistry). One of us who has

a lot to do with groundwater chemistry and environmental isotope

studies is aware of the crucial importance of a geographic input to

such programs. Without it the field sampling design (in both space

and time) is too often erroneous.

(d)

the Environmental Sciences Research Institute has been created

in the Faculty of Science.

(e)

the Task Force established by the Vice-President (Academic).

The Task Force and others at Simon Fraser will be far more

aware of the problems and opportunities provided to the University

than we are. We suggest that the difficulties of constructing

interdisciplinary, interfaculty teaching or research programs can

be overcome. Speaking to concerns arising from our own brief, we

view it as an opportunity to build a physical Centre of

Environmental Studies that might economically furnish the research

labs required of expanded programs in physical geography and

resource management, plus initiatives of the Environmental Sciences

Research Institute. Enlarged, such a centre could also contain

good multi purpose labs for advanced level undergraduate programs

(e.g., ?

Environmental ?

Chemistry ?

one

?

afternoon,

?

Chemical

Characteristics of Soils the next). In such a way costly

duplication might be avoided and a core facility provided to all

with interests in the environment.

Geomorphology is a strong and important area of earth

sciences. In the United States most academic geornorphologists are

incorporated, in geology departments. In Canada (as in Britain) the

large majority are in geography departments. However, on most

campuses they will have neighbouring Geology departments whose

physical facilities they can use, and some geology faculty who have

closely complementary interests.

It is our opinion that the formation of a separate geology

department (earth-sciences program) at SFU would be mistake at this

time. The market for geology graduates is weak, there is a very

strong department at UBC and a new department of Earth and Ocean

Sciences is being created at the University of Victoria. However,

administrators should recognise that this leaves the SFU

geomorphologists without the important support that most of their

colleagues elsewhere will have. This increases their need for good

geomorphology and soils labs. The present geomorphology labs are

poorer than those enjoyed by most Canadian geomorphologists working

in universities that also have geology departments.

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IX. Conclusions

. The Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University, having

come through a difficult period in the 1980s, is poised to make

significant gains in productivity and stature in the 1990s. It has

an excellent set of undergraduate programs, in need of only minor

fine-tuning. However, to achieve its general goals, it must

resolve structural problems in its graduate program and identify

strong intellectual leadership for its graduate offerings in human

geography. For the graduate program, we have recommended the

addition of a new core course that treats philosophical issues in

the discipline, strengthening the advisory system, the recruitment

of high-quality students, and initiatives to shorten degree

completion time. We believe that the faculty are committed to

bringing these changes to fruition. However, the likelihood of

success will improve greatly with essential support from the

Faculty of Arts and the University.

-

There is a sense of confusion in the University's present

• initiatives concerning éhvircnmentaistudieS. -- is hoped -that-the

Vice President's Task Force to investigate the University's role in

this area will offer a basis for consolidating and unifying these

efforts.

The Geography Department is in dire need of more and better

space. We are torn between commendation of the faculty for coping

with such inadequacy, and condemnation of them for offering majors,

honours and graduate degrees with such an inadequate physical base..

No other Canadian department known to us that offers PhDs in

physical geography and GIS/SIS is as poorly endowed; we have seen

them all, except the University of Saskatchewan.

In conversations upon this matter several possibilities were

suggested:-

1.

expansion within the present building as other departments

move out during the next two or three years (i.e. improvement

in academic year 1993-94 or later).

2.

accommodation in new, specially designed space, perhaps as

part of an Environmental Studies building that supports

interdisciplinary programs.

3.. provision of more adequate research laboratories for

physical geography (possibly in the new Faculty of Science

space) and GIS/SIS faculty and graduates.

A combination of 1 and 3 may be feasible in the short term.

It (or more) is essential if the Simon Fraser department is to

offer facilities comparable to those of the other full service

(majors, honours, master's, and doctorates) geography departments

in Canada today.

0•

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25

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The University must address the problems associated with space

and equipment with some urgency. To delay basic improvements in

the working conditions of faculty, staff, and students could

undermine current opportunities for program expansion in Geography.

The University has been successful in attracting some of the very

best young faculty in Canada. However, continued neglect of

infrastructure will make it difficult to retain these individuals

in the competitive period that lies ahead. The demand for new

faculty in geography has already escalated throughout North America

and will intensify over the next decade. We recommend that Simon

Fraser University take the necessary steps now to provide an

attractive work environment that will enhance the productivity of

its Geography Department.

Acknowledgements:

The Geography Review Committee thanks all who added to our

understanding of geography at Simon Fraser University. The

hospitality of the Vice President Academic, the Dean of Arts, and

the Department of Geography provided a supportive environment for

the review process. Opportunities to hear from most members of the

geography faculty, and from the Department's support

•

staff and

students were particularly helpful. Meetings with the Dean of

Science, Dean of Graduate Studies, Library personnel, and Director

of the Faculty of Arts Co-op program gave us broader perspectives

on the University's mission. The external members of the Committee

extend special thanks to Patricia Brantingham (the Internal Member

for sharing her insights on the university, to Alison Watt for her

organizational efforts and timely communications, and to John

Pierce for his commitment to our comfort and transportation. We

apologize for any omissions or misinterpretations that accompany

our report.

.

Submitted on 10 April 1991

Patricia Brantingham, Professor

Donal G. Jane e rofessor

University of etern Ontario

(Chair of Review Committee)

Derek Ford, Professor

McMaster University

Allen J. Scott, Professor

University of California,

Los Angeles

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July 1991

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Departmental reviews are by their nature critical and complex processes. Their aim is to assess the

strengths and weaknesses of departments and to recommend change. The recent review of the Department of

Geography is no exception. Drawing upon a large body of prepackaged information (prepared by the

Department) and interviews during a three day site visit, the reviewers prepared a systematic and in-depth

report. While the University provided broad terms of reference for the reviewers, most of the basis for

assessment was framed by their considerable knowledge of the discipline and other departments in North

America. (All had participated in a large number of external reviews). The general consensus of the report is

clear. The Department of Geography is very good. For example, "for the past

25

years, the

Department of Geography at S.F.U.

has contributed significantly to the development of

geography in Canada".

The report goes on to say that the Department is ".... poised to make

significant gains

in

productivity and structure in the 1990's". Members of the Department feel

North

that there

America.

is potential, over the short to intermediate term, of becoming one of the leading Departments in ?

0

While the Department acknowledges the importance of its own role in achieving this potential

(through clarification of goals and the creation of an agenda for change), it must be emphasized that the

process of improvement is also intricately tied to the level of support and commitment from the University.

For example, the report emphasizes that the University "has been successful at attracting some of

the very best young

faculty in

Canada". Over the next decade however the increased demand for new

geography faculty across North America will make it very difficult to retain these individuals unless the

University takes

"the necessary

steps now

to provide an

attractive work

environment that

will enhance the productivity of its Geography Department".

The following response to the reviewers report concentrates on substantive issues and questions

raised in relation to four components of the program: (1) faculty; (2) program design and function; (3)

adequacy of resources; and (4) environmental teaching and research.

S

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Physical

The physical geographers are a research intensive group that is

"viewed highly by the

discipline". During the last ten years a number of clearly defined research streams have emerged. The

report takes note of the innovative work currently being done by well established faculty such as Bailey,

Hickin, Hutchinson and Roberts. New appointments of Lesack and Moore promise to strengthen the research

contributions of this group as well as open new avenues of enquiry. A further indication of the quality, and

recognition of the research of this group is the support received by all members from NSERC. Having said

this, the report suggests that there is potential for more joint or collaborative research. While this is a

desirable goal and one that is likely to receive more attention in the future (e.g. Hickin, Hutchinson, Moore

and M. C. Roberts were recently awarded

$58,000

to undertake joint research on the Fraser Delta. ), the

present singularity of research efforts is dictated as much by the inertia, nature and source of research funding

as it is by the individuals themselves. There is nevertheless considerable unity within this group, derived

0 ?

from considerable overlap in teaching interests, supervision of graduate students, and joint organization of

field trips.

The reviewers identified one of the perennial problems confronting a number of geography

departments in North America. Although physical geographers are trained in natural and biological sciences,

their 'home departments' are often to be found in Arts or Social Science Faculties. This shows the inadequacy

of the traditional Arts-Science dichotomy in principle and carries serious practical implications. For example

the split frequently leads to underfunding, lack of lab space and potential friction, over resource allocation,

with the human side of the discipline. Fortunately at SFU, good working relations have been maintained

between the two sides. But there is no question, on the other counts, that the physical geographers are

disadvantaged. The situation is compounded by the perceived failure of the Administration to acknowledge the

important role geography and geographers play in the teaching and research of science at the University, a

point not missed by the reviewers.

Solutions to these problems could come from a variety of quarters. Geography could move to

?

another faculty such as Applied Science or even a new faculty such as Environment or Environmental Studies.

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Alternatively, a formula could be devised to guarantee the physical geographers a share of the science

operating and capital budgets. This share could be based upon the Department's contribution to the teaching

of the B. Sc. program and/or support from NSERC. What must not be tolerated, however, is the existence in

the university of two classes of scientists by virtue of an 'accident' of faculty affiliation.

Human- The human geographers represent the largest, and by far the most diverse group within the

Department. The reviewers took note of the strong research profiles of a number of 'mid-career' faculty as

well as the considerable research promise of a number of new faculty such as Blomley, Brohman, Gill, Hayes

and Nesmith. In fact the reviewers suggest that

"recent faculty

additions could form the nucleus

of a strong

identity for human geography in the Department".

Not surprisingly in a group of this size and diversity there is difficulty in establishing a clear human

geography identity, a fate shared by human geography in general and, other social scientific disciplines. The

reviewers suggested nonetheless that the actual leadership for such an identity might come from a relatively

young appointment at the associate or even full professor level, if the correct person could be found, or it

could emerge from existing faculty with strength being added at more junior levels. The Department considers

that these options are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Recent Departmental practice has been to hire

junior faculty and this has served the Department very well. Further consideration of the possibilities implied.

in these options is under discussion in the Department.

Spatial Information Systems (STS)

-

SFU was one of the early leaders, through Poiker, in the field of

GIS and automated cartography. The arrival of A. Roberts marked an important addition to Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) and SIS through his innovative work on airborne remote sensing capabilities with

expertise in multi-spectral and digital image processing. Despite this promising start, the reviewers note that

the Department has not kept pace, from a teaching perspective, with developments in GIS and SIS generally.

This situation can be traced to a variety of factors --changing priorities within the department, insufficient

human resources but perhaps most importantly, as the reviewers noted, the dearth of equipment, facilities and

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software. SIS is very capital intensive. Like physical geography, SIS has suffered from chronic

underfunding.

Research. Teaching and Service Linkages-

Geographers at SF0 were given high marks for the

development of interdisciplinary linkages through participation in other programs and institutions such as

Women's Studies, the School of Environment and Resource Management, Institute for Quaternary Research,

Environmental Toxicology, Canadian Studies, Latin American Studies, Urban Studies and the Geological

Survey of Canada. The reviewers also noted the development of disciplinary linkages through guest lectures

in other universities, the Departments own Colloquia Series and international research experience. To further

support these linkages, and indeed the profile of the Department, the reviewers recommended that both faculty

and graduate students participate in more regional and national meetings, expand membership in professional

organizations and publish more research in the discipline's core journals. During 1989-90 no fewer than 24

papers were given at regional and national meetings and 11 papers were published in mainstream geographical

.

?

journals.

Unless additional monies are made available for travel it is difficult to see how conference

participation can be increased. The Department agrees that current budget allocations are "below par

for

Canadian Universities".

The reviewers recommended a

"ten-fold

increase" in the speakers series

budget to match those of other universities and to offset the peripheral location relative to other universities.

Membership in professional organizations can and should be increased. As to the recommendation

that faculty should publish more in the core professional journals, this is a desirable goal but one which, for

some faculty at least, is plagued by serious obstacles. For example, none of the core journals in geography is

regarded as an appropriate vehicle for dissemination of research results by NSERC. On the human side, for

those working in the fields of health, GIS, resources and environment, the tremendous growth in the number

and quality of journals, with large readerships, has created a highly competitive environment for publishing.

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6

Faculty Complement-The report

emphasizes the need to find a replacement for retiring Cohn Crampton

and to increase faculty size "to

address over-enrolment in courses and projected growth in the

graduate program".

It is essential that the Department continue (for teaching and research purposes) to have Crampton's

expertise in soils, and terrain evaluation. Less clear is

the

need for a geology sub-speciality, in view of the

University's stated intention to initiate an earth-science program. As to the need for additional faculty, the

evidence is clear that while since 1984 faculty members have increased by an equivalent of one and a half new

positions, the ratio of majors/minors to faculty has increased by almost

50

percent from 16.4 to 23.7. To

maintain the 1984 ratio of students to faculty would require increasing faculty size to 29. The report

recommended that at least two growth appointments be created, one in SIS and the other in human geography.

As the report suggests, before any final determination can be made of the most suitable area of

specialization(s) for these growth positions, the Department needs

"to develop a strong consensus on

priorities for possible appointments".

Strong arguments can be made for new appointments in all

three major divisions of expertise. For example human geographers have pointed to the need for additional

positions in regional, economic, transportation and environmental health; physical geographers have argued

for a geomorphologist and glaciologist; and SIS faculty see a growing demand for positions in automated

cartography and GIS. Regardless of the ultimate decisions that are made the Department recognizes the

pressing need to continue to address the gender imbalance issue.

Undergraduate- The quality of the undergraduate programs was singled out for particular praise in the report.

The reviewers found that the programs

"are a source of considerable pride and strength",

that they

"compare favourably with other programs across the country"

and that

"an unusual amount

of faculty energy goes into these programs".

The rapid growth in the program (46% increase in

majors and minors since 1986) has inevitably placed pressure on the frequency and type of course offerings,

the availability of resources for students, and student counselling. It is also clear that following the redesign

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of the undergraduate curriculum in 1988, there is a need for fine tuning of the structure and requirements of a

small number of core courses. Given these pressures, the reviewers identified twelve areas of concern. For

the sake of simplicity these concerns can be reduced to four groups.

1)

Number and Frequenc

y

of Course Offerings- There is scope in the curriculum to reduce its size

(albeit marginally) by deleting some courses and combining others. To reduce false expectations, it might

also possible to indicate in the calendar that some courses can be offered only occasionally. Equally

beneficial to the student would be a posted announcement of the Department's intended course offerings for the

following year. To ensure that majors are able to gain access to the necessary courses and to limit the

problem of 'crowding out' from non-majors, course instructors will have to enforce prerequisites more rigidly.

Although it may be possible to expand the number of course offerings in the summer semester, the

?

-

Department is limited in pursuing this goal because of the field-based research of the physical geographers,

and the need to offer what amounts to service courses to teachers.

T he Department could improve its course

planning if information were made available on intended course demand for the following year. This

•

?

information could be generated through a simple questionnaire administered by the registrar at each

preregistration.

2)

Required Courses- Unlike other geography programs, the Department has no requirement that B.A.

majors and honours take a statistical methods course. (Currently students are required to take one course from

a list of three which includes Geog. 251). While pedagogically few would question the need for such a course,

the Department is faced with a number of constraints. In the original proposal for modifications to the

curriculum in 1987/88, Geog.

251

was to be a required course; but in order to be consistent with the number

of required courses in other departments, Geog.

251 ,

along with 250 and 253, became optional minimum

requirements. As well the Department would be faced with the need to expand micro computer hardware and

software not to mention access to additional space. It is estimated that if Geog. 251 were to become a required

course the Department would have to accommodate 90 students per year.

The report suggests that to balance

the number of required courses (should 251 become required) it may be necessary to reduce the current

requirement for a course in regional geography to optional status.

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The reviewers make two other suggestions with respect to required courses. They suggested that

Geog. 301 be taught by a full-time faculty member instead of an sessional appointee. Reliance on a limited

term appointment is a relatively recent phenomenon. If the University makes good its pledge to reduce the

number of limited terms in favour of an equivalent increase in tenure track appointments, it should be

possible to honour this recommendation. More problematic is the suggestion that Geog. 250 be converted to

a fully automated micro-computer course. Some would argue that as the course is presently constituted,

students are disadvantaged relative to students in most other universities who have access to state of the art

hardware. Others have argued that since much of the course material is conceptual in nature the hardware issue

is not critical. Unquestionably some modernization will have to occur. The computer revolution is not

something which any credible geography department can afford to ignore; Modernization of the instruction of

this course would require not only new equipment but also a faculty member (most likely new) who could

concentrate his/her time on the development of this course and related GIS courses.

3) Student Counselling. Evaluations, and Representatives- The reviewers misunderstood the

procedure used for student counselling. The D.A. normally refers the student to the appropriate faculty

member. Currently Horsfall supervises counselling for the B.A program and Moore and Lesack for the B.Sc.

program. One improvement to this process might take the form of having a designated counselling time for

students within the Department, a practice which used to be followed but which was abandoned because of

difficulty of students meeting scheduled times. Concern was also expressed about the training and supervision

of T.A's. In the wake of the new TSSU agreement, the Faculty of Arts is moving to a system of closer

supervision of and consultation with graduate students. These changes should improve the consistency of

instruction by T.A.'s. On another point, it would appear that there is need to strengthen the lines of

communication between the Undergraduate Studies Committee (USC) and undergraduate student

representatives, although students do have membership on the USC. It might be useful, each semester, to

devote an entire USC meeting to address student concerns.

4)

Co-operative Education Geography plays an important role in participating in the co-op program.

In summer semester '91, geography students were, percentage-wise, the largest participants in the program.

-I

They represent one-quarter of total placements within the Faculty of Arts. The growth of the program

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prompted the reviewers to suggest that,

"It is important to assess the relevance of the work

experience in satisfying genuine educational objectives".

Some have proposed that a faculty

member be given release time to oversee the placement of students. University of Victoria, for example, has

a full-time non-teaching co-op director who also oversees academic relevance. Unless geography were to

receive additional faculty this would shift an increased share of teaching duties to sessionals. Over the short

term, the Department, through the Undergraduate Studies Committee, could review the academic merits of the

program and, prepare an annual report to be discussed at a Departmental meeting.

Graduate- Since the mid-1980's the graduate program has been structured along the lines of an

"apprenticeship model". This approach minimizes course work (12 credit hours and 2 non-credit courses)

placing emphasis upon active research and the thesis component of the degree. While the program was

described as "a going concern", many Departmental members believe, along with the reviewers, that it is

time to rethink and restructure the program in such a way as to favour "a combined strategy

involving

both an expansion

in the number of students and a tightening of standards and

direction". To reform the program, consideration must be given to what the reviewers refer to as a number

of structural problems and constraints. These are outlined below.

1)

Space and Size- The quantity and quality of space available for offices and labs has in the words of

the reviewers

"reached crisis

proportions". While recognizing the need to expand the graduate program

to provide that all important critical mass for graduate courses and TA work, the reviewers would not give a

strong endorsement for such an expansion without a corresponding growth in space and facilities. Increased

space and size therefore become a necessary condition to an improvement in the graduate program. (This issue

will be dealt with in the next section). The Geography Department nevertheless has embarked upon a

program of increasing VFE graduate enrolment If increased space and size are necessar

y

conditions to

improvement in the program what are the sufficient conditions?

2)

Graduate Teaching and Supervision. The size and historical importance of the undergraduate

program, combined with the relatively small annual intake of graduate students, has limited the credit given

for both graduate teaching and graduate supervision. If the graduate program is to achieve the

"considerable

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potential" it possesses, then more credit will have to be accorded to faculty involvement in the program. ? •

The Chair is willing to try, on an experimental basis, granting credit for successful graduate supervision.

This in fact would bring the Geography in line with other Departments in the University. Equally important

is the need to offer teaching credit for regularly scheduled graduate courses. There is a variety of options that

can be pursued here. Consideration might be given to reducing the number of graduate courses in order to

concentrate students and teaching effort more effectively. It may also be possible to 'piggy-back' graduate

with undergraduate courses.

3)

Course Offerings- The reviewers were of the opinion that the Department should not only increase

the number of regularly scheduled courses but also increase formal course requirements. One of these

requirements should be a course in geographic philosophy and ideas. Before the introduction of the

'apprenticeship model', in the mid-1980's, the Department operated a graduate program much like what the

reviewers proposed. The demise of this model was due in part to the relatively small intake of graduate

students in relation to the number of formal course requirements. If enrolments increase (along with space) it

?

.

may indeed be possible to sustain such a model. There is support in the Department for the introduction of an

ideas/philosophy course. One option the reviewers recommended, was to collectively produce a graduate

course outline which would deal with the important cross-currents and debates in the discipline for human and

physical geographers alike. This course would be team taught. Alternatively, the course could be taken only

by human geographers and taught by a tenure track faculty member. At the recent Departmental retreat it was

proposed that in the fall of '91 the Department will offer such a course on an experimental basis to the human

geographers.

4)

Financial Support- Currently, graduate students are offered between five (MA/MSc) and eight

(PhD) semesters of support. The majority of this support comes from TA-ships. The rest is derived from

graduate fellowships (ten per year), research stipends and special entrance scholarships. Individual faculty, of

course provide support in exchange for research assistance. The reviewers concluded that the existing level of

funding was inadequate particularly if the program is to expand. It was recommended that funding be increased

by at least

25

percent. An important argument in support of this recommendation is that, if SF11 is to

compete with the better known and established institutions, such as UBC, competitive support levels are

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imperative. At the same time students themselves have been remiss at securing prestige scholarships from

NSERC, SSHRC and CMHC. To address this problem it has been proposed that in Geog. 700/701, students

write their research proposals as if they were research grant applications. For those SF0 graduands who have

received support, the Department has traditionally encouraged them to study elsewhere.

T

he Department is

considering a review of this practice. Clearly the onus for expanding support to graduate students must be

shared by all parties-faculty, students and the University.

5)

Completion Times- Since the late 1980's, the Department has made considerable progress in

reducing completion times. Calculation of completion times for MA students for the last four years revealed

that the Department's average had fallen from 12 to 10.4 semesters. MSc completion times were already

below the University average during the second half of the 1980's. While the completion times for PhD are

still above the University average, they are rapidly approaching the norm. It is the opinion of the Graduate

Studies Committee that the level of support for graduate students should increase. At the same time the

guaranteed period of tenure for these awards should be strictly enforced

•

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6) Gender Balance - The reviewers correctly identified a serious imbalance in the proportion of

women in the PhD program. It would appear that while women are increasing their proportion of total

undergraduate enrolment, there is less willingness, for whatever reasons, to go on to do graduate research. Of

the 108 1991/92 applications for graduate school in Geography, 26 percent were from women. One-third of

incoming graduate students however are women. One way of expanding the number of women applicants is

to actively recruit potential candidates at regional and national meetings and from our own student body..

Women must be persuaded that a graduate degree in geography is both a viable and worthwhile pursuit.

The reviewers urged the University to help the Department overcome

"what are probably the

most severe space and resource constraints on any graduate-level geography department

in Canada today".

An analysis of these constraints follows along with some recommendations for

9. ?

improving what has been allowed to become an intolerable situation.

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12

Operating and Capital Budgets- The need to redress the serious imbalance in the operating budget

is

clear and persuasive. The current 1990 budget of $78,000 is roughly the same, in nominal terms, as in 1982.

An increase to $100,000, as suggested by the reviewers, would not of course bring the Department back to its

1982 level of purchasing power but it would nevertheless be some improvement. It must be emphasized that

while many departments are arguing for budget increases, on the basis of the need to catch-up, the Geography

Department's request has less to do with offsetting the ravages of inflation as it does with the special

equipment and operating needs. The physical geography program has special needs in terms of maintaining

and operating costly equipment. The SIS facilities require significant capital resources for updating and to

meet rapidly growing instructional needs. On the human side, field trips and field equipment are also

important and underfunded. On top of these special requirements the problem of inflation remains.

To place the problem in a comparative perspective, the operating budgets in 1989-90 for chemistry,

physics and kinesiology (which are smaller programs than Geography) were $289,566, $211,326 and

$113,099 respectively. Moreover the capital equipment allocation of

$25,000

is simply not enough to meet

the Department's growing need for software, and computer equipment, not to mention the equipment needs of

new faculty in physical geography. A number of these computing and equipment needs is detailed below.

Computing Resources- For undergraduate teaching and graduate research purposes the Department has

access to the Macintosh Lab, shared with Linguistics, and the University Computing Services Teaching Lab.

Currently the Mac Lab is under tremendous pressure because of too few machines, inadequate software and

limited access. With its present emphasis on Mac hardware this facility has only limited usefulness to

undergrads and graduate students wishing to do research and applications in GIS and remote sensing. The

recent acquisition of two GIS packages (ARC-INFO and Terra-Soft) which are compatible with IBM machines

means that all instruction must be scheduled in the East Concourse complex. Even these facilities are

inadequate for more advanced applications of GIS requiring more advanced technology. Consequently, a major

component of the computer cartography instruction must take place at BCIT- surely a matter of

embarrassment for SFIJ! For these and other reasons the reviewers recommended the development of a GIS

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and remote sensing computer lab for intensive research in Geography with 15-20 terminals including work

stations and one or more Sun stations and a SPARC facility. This facility would also be useful to teach the

revamped and computerized cartography course outlined earlier. More flexible hours and access are also

required for the existing Macintosh Lab, implying the need for funds to adequately staff the facility over longer

hours.

Office and Lab Space-

While the allocation of faculty office space conforms to the formula for the

Faculty of Arts, the reviewers pointed out that it does not take into consideration the special space needs of

geographers (maps, slide collections, materials for field work etc). If sessional and limited term appointments

are included then no fewer than eight faculty must share office space. Space for graduate students is in even

shorter supply. Many graduate students have no access to desk space whatsoever. Existing lab space for

faculty and graduate students is overcrowded. A number of physical geographers have had to use their labs as

office space for graduate students. In the geomorphology lab alone there are four graduate students. The

Department's newest faculty member had to agree to become a joint appointment with biology before he could

secure lab space. Over the short term these exigencies could be alleviated by restructuring and expanding

space into neighbouring areas in the Classroom Complex. The Department has already made a number of

proposals in this regard. Over the longer-term, as the reviewers emphasize, new space should be created for

geography through the development of an Environmental Studies building.

Support Staff- There are two important areas of redress with respect to support staff. With increasing use

of computers for research and teaching, there is a definite need for a technical resources person (such as

currently exists in the School of Resource and Environment Management and the Department of

Communications) to assist with electronic equipment, computer software and other related duties. The other

area of concern is in the drafting and cartography lab. It is only in the last six months that a concerted effort

has been made to computerize drafting operations. This is long overdue, but to continue this process it will

be necessary to purchase more hardware and software. Unfortunately this must be funded out of an already

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over-stretched capital budget which as already emphasized, is insufficient to meet the needs of the physical

geographers let alone the rest of the Department

Library Although the reviewers did not have an opportunity to visit the library, they met with library staff,

students and representatives of the Department's Library Committee. The map room was considered to be

inadequate in terms of atlas holdings and experienced staff. If this facility were to be moved into the

Classroom Complex as has been proposed, it may be possible to better serve geographers and the larger

University community. As to the quantity and quality of the library's main holdingsit is clear that these

holdings are adequate with respect to undergraduate students but marginal for research purposes. A number of

points need to be made about the nature of and reasons for these shortcomings:

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the lack of expertise in the library in handling geographic book orders for the geography collection.

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the unwillingness of the university to subscribe to regular geographic research paper series.

inadequate handling by the library in dealing with Government Publications, especially the buying of

important documents and reports from the U.S. and Canadian Government printing offices.

- ?

the almost complete absence of direct ordering of books and monographs from international agencies,

e.g., the U.N., the World Bank, the Latin American Development Bank, UNESCO, the WHO, the

WMO and the Asian Development Bank.

- the apparent lack of direct ordering of books from such private organizations such as Resources for

the Future, the Conservation Foundation, World Watch Institute, the Population Reference Bureau

and the Population Council.

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the sale of geography journals without the Department's knowledge

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the proliferation of cheap and donated magazines on the journal shelves.

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the inadequate serial collection for a university that offers a doctorate degree in geography.

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Currently, there are 22 courses at the undergraduate level and 10 at the graduate, in both human and

physical, which deal directly with resources and the environment. And at least eight faculty have active

research programs in these areas. The reviewers saw a number of opportunities therefore for co-operation with

other schools, departments and institutes at SFU to develop "

a physical Centre Of Environmental

Studies that might economically furnish the research labs required of expanded programs

in

physical geography and

resource management, plus initiatives of the Environmental

Sciences Research Institute".

Clearly the University will have to play a leadership role if an initiative

of this kind is ever to see the light of day. Members of the Geography Department are united in their desire to

develop and participate, as equal partners, in such an initiative. An added incentive for the University to

- consider such a development, is that there are no other comparable combinations of expertise within the

province.

As an objective and independent assessment, the external review report provides a map (albeit small

scale) of the present academic terrain of the Department. As such it can be used to enhance the University's

ability to pick and choose the best courses of action to promote positive growth and change within the

Department. All members of the Geography Department feel that the results and recommendations from the

review provide compelling reasons for active commitment from the University to assist the Department in

realizing its considerable potential. If the pursuit of excellence is to be more than a byword and catch phrase,

then the University has an unique opportunity, in the recommendations of this report, to assist the

Department in the further development of one of the top geography programs in North America.

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