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Australian Royal Geographical Society honors Stoltman

Dec. 10, 2006

KALAMAZOO--The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, Australia, has awarded the James Park Thomson Medal to Dr. Joseph P. Stoltman, professor of geography at Western Michigan University.

The award recognizes Stoltman for his research and leadership in the professional fields of geography and education. It is named in for an Australian geographer and public servant who founded the Queensland geographical society in 1885.

The medal was presented by Thomson's great granddaughter during a July ceremony in Brisbane, Queensland. After the ceremony, Stoltman presented the J.P. Thomson Lecture, speaking on "Public Views and Uses of Geography: Our Subject through Different Lenses."

Stoltman is a WMU Distinguished Faculty Scholar and former chair of the Department of Geography who has a joint appointment in the University's Mallinson Institute for Science Education. A faculty member since 1971, he directs the master of arts in teaching geography degree program and is a dissertation adviser for students in earth science education as well as in the College of Education.

Stoltman serves on several standing committees of the National Council for Geographic Education and as co-coordinator of the Michigan Geographic Alliance. He also is editor of Research in Geographic Education and co-editor of International Research in Geography and Environmental Education.

Previously, Stoltman served as president of the Board of the Social Science Education Consortium and a member of the Commission on Geographic Education of the International Geographical Union. He also was an evaluator and a member of the design and development team for Activities and Readings in the Geography of the United States and the recently published Activities and Resources for the Geography of the World, both National Science Foundation-supported projects of the Association of American Geographers.

Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

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