July 2022 Newsletter

Summer 2022 Edition

From the Chair

Greetings from all of us at SFU Geography. Through the continued craziness of the past year, we remain fortunate to work on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) & kwikwəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) nations and are grateful for it.

Switching between remote, in person and hybrid instruction and learning as the pandemic waves cycled through the education system has tested the metal of many of us this academic year...

Tracy Brennand

Professor & Department Chair

From the Dean’s Office

Geography is a field that captures our imaginations and furthers understandings of the connections between people, places, regions, and various types of landscapes. It allows us to engage other spaces and times, to get our hands dirty in the field, and to conceptualize the scalar and spatial dimensions that comprise a broad range of phenomena including natural processes, socio-political formations, and the organized patterns of soil, water, atmospheric and societal states.

Naomi Krogman

Dean, Faculty of Environment

Faculty Spotlight

Welcome Sharon!

Upon learning about my new job and big move, many of my family and friends have remarked that Vancouver shares many similarities with my hometown of San Francisco, California, USA. And being here only a few weeks, some similarities are, indeed, obvious: a beautiful mix of mountain, sea, and city; an idealized multicultural society; a notable East Asian influence; and a haven for foodies!

Sharon Luk

Associate Professor & Tier II CRC

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Alex Hallbom (Grad 2013)

Thank you to the SFU Department of Geography for reaching out regarding my experience in the geography field since graduating. I enrolled in the SFU Department of Geography with the intent of working in urban and land use planning. Over the past several years I have been able to establish myself in this field, in part thanks to connections and skills gained while attending SFU.

Celene Fung (Grad 1999)

It has been a long time since I graduated from Simon Fraser University. It is hard to believe that my undergraduate education was completed in 1999! I remember those days fondly.

Geography Student Union (GSU)

The Geography Student Union has had a challenging but exciting past couple of years. When classes moved online, so did our meetings and events. Throughout the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021 terms, we hosted virtual games nights, movie nights, a zero-waste craft workshop, and more.

Geography Graduate Association (GGA)

This year the Geography Graduate Association continued to grapple with the challenges that the global pandemic placed on graduate life. Zoom played host to most of our interactions, as our efforts focused on providing COVID-support to our grads, from the provision of health supplies to the diligent TSSU steward check-ins on the health & safety of graduate TAs, RAs, and Sessional Instructors at work.

The 2021-2022 academic year was one of much reflection for us on the state of the department and its future.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY FIELD SCHOOL

In 2021, the physical geography field school was redesigned to fit within the framework of provincial and academic COVID regulations. Working with an incredible group of 18 students in two cohorts the exercises were redesigned so that students could meet daily on campus outside and complete their fieldwork on the parkland surrounding the Burnaby Mountain campus.

Keep In Touch

Join us on the Geography LinkedIn group.

Department of Geography