UK Geography Alum Elizabeth Rebmann receives Sullivan Medallion

Wherever she goes, Elizabeth Rebmann of Lexington seeks to improve the world.

The Lexington native has been a Big Sister volunteer in her hometown and, on the other side of the globe, she helped women grow crops in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the recent University of Kentucky graduate received a 2012 Algernon Sidney Sullivan Medallion from UK in recognition of her service.

"Everyone at some point or another is called to service," Rebmann said. "It's very rewarding for me to be able to change someone's life, especially children. If you have an impact at such a young age, you can change the outcome of their life."

Two other Sullivan Medallions will be presented Feb. 22 at the Founders Day Celebration at the UK. But because Rebmann will go to Afghanistan on Sunday to start a job as a security analyst for a government contractor, UK President Eli Capilouto presented her award in a special ceremony.

"When I first read the letters of recommendation of Elizabeth, I was overwhelmed," Capilouto said. "I've been in higher education for 30 years, and it was one of the most beautiful stories I think I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

"You add luster to all of the great hopes we have for the future for all of our students at the University of Kentucky," he told Rebmann.

Rebmann, 25, graduated from UK in December with a degree in geography. In an interview after Wednesday's ceremony, Rebmann said, "I didn't think I was worthy enough for such an award. I was very honored and humbled, and I still can't believe that they chose me for this."

The Sullivan Medallion was established in 1925 by the New York Southern Society to honor the memory of Sullivan, a distinguished lawyer and philanthropist. Fifteen colleges and universities in the South, including UK, present the medallions annually.

In 2004, at age 17, Rebmann joined the Kentucky Army National Guard and was stationed in Iraq in 2007-08.

A few years later, while enrolled at UK, she volunteered to be deployed to Afghanistan with the Army's Agribusiness Development Team. There she worked with Afghan women to grow saffron as an alternative to opium poppies.

"It's not all about fighting over there. We're there to help better their lives," Rebmann said.

On her own initiative, Rebmann organized a drive to collect school supplies for more than 100 Afghan children. She coordinated a winter-clothing drive, and she piloted a program to teach women how to purify contaminated drinking water using plastic bottles recycled from her base.

"They have really strong ultraviolet rays. So you just set a bottle of water out for six hours in direct sunlight on a piece of tin, and it purifies it," she said. "I found the dirtiest water I could imagine and tested it, and it actually worked. Because a lot of children, they get E coli. and diarrhea from the dirty water, so that was just one small thing that we could do that would change someone's life."

Her father, James Rebmann, an environmental planner with Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, said Elizabeth has been involved with community service since she was a child.

When she was about 8, "she was out at McConnell Springs dragging the trash out" of the city nature park, he said.

"My basic philosophy has been I want to make this a better place as a community before I die, and she saw the work that I did, and she is following right in my footsteps, helping people and getting involved in community activities and now worldwide activities."

Congratulations to Stan Brunn for the beautiful Atlas of the 2008 Elections that has just been published with Rowman and Littlefield.

Stan is the lead editor of the team that includes well-known political geographers and cartographers:  Gerald Webster, Richard Morrill, Fred Shelley, Stephen Lavin and Clark Archer. There are many other geographers and political scientists who contributed text to the atlas – including many with University of Kentucky Geography connections.  This is a fascinating atlas, containing maps and analysis all the way from the primaries through to post-2008 congressional votes.  Regional patterns are explored in depth.

 “With beautiful, provocative maps and concise, readable, and historically informed interpretations by experts, this book will be the recognized authority on the subject," reports reviewer James Allen, California State University, Northridge.

 Stan adds: “You can bet the book will be used by all those advisors and consultants advising wanna-be presidents next year” and we’re sure he’s right! So, once again, congratulations to Stan on the publication of this handsome and important book.

UK Geography continues to grow and build in strategic areas. Our physical geography program is going from strength to strength. In 2009 Daehyun Kim added his biogeography skills to the mix. Daehyun, together with Jonathan Phillips and Alice Turkington, crafted a strategic plan for the physical program, and we were able to hire Tony Stallins (PhD Georgia; most recently at Florida State University) at the Associate Professor rank, and Liang Liang (PhD University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) as an Assistant Professor. Tony and Liang joined us in August 2011. Tony brings expertise in biogeomorphology and Liang adds his specialty in bioclimatology. Now we have a first rate team in place and we’re excited about what these colleagues can do individually and collectively to further enhance physical geography at UK.

With the retirement of Michael Kennedy (to whom we offer congratulations on 46 years at UK!) we have been able to renew the GIS/geospatial technologies aspect of the department. To that end, with support from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, we have two new faculty in this area. We welcome Associate Professor Jeremy Crampton (PhD Penn State University; most recently at Georgia State University), with interests in mapping, critical cartography, and GIS, and Assistant Professor Matt Wilson (PhD University of Washington), with expertise in GIS and community mapping. Jeremy and Matt have already been working with Jeff Levy to ready the GIS Teaching Lab in the White Hall Classroom Building for a more intense and diverse roster of GIS and related courses at all levels. We are thrilled that UK Geography is now poised to make our own distinctive mark in the world of geospatial technology.

In Memoriam

It is with great sadness we report that Professor Emeritus Richard Ulack passed away on March 22nd, 2011.

Professor Dick Ulack started teaching at the University of Kentucky in 1974 after earning his PhD at Pennsylvania State University. While he was on the faculty at UK he taught thousands of undergraduate and graduate students in courses such as: Lands and People of the Non Western World; Cities of the World; World Regional Geography; Third World Development; Geography of Southeast Asia; and Tourism Geography. His research strengths were in the broad area of development, with emphasis on tourism development in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. He won two Fulbright awards: one took him to the Philippines for a year and another took him to Fiji for six months. He was well known in geography for his published research on migration and tourism development, among other themes, and for his books such as "Southeast Asia: Diversity and Development" that he and Tom Leinbach co-edited for Prentice Hall. Dick was also the lead editor of the wonderful "Atlas of Kentucky" - a cooperative project with other geography faculty from the University of Kentucky and from other institutions across the Commonwealth. For eight years Professor Ulack was the Chair of the Department and he had considerable success leading the department as it grew in size and strength.
Colleagues remember the quality of his scholarship and his unselfish service to geography and to the University of Kentucky. Students remember his great classes as well as his warm and open personality and his interest in student learning.

Dick retired in December 2006, and moved to Florida with his wife Karen. On his retirement Dick and Karen established the Richard Ulack Study Abroad Fund to provide financial awards to UK undergraduate Geography majors wishing to study abroad. To donate, go to the UK Arts and Sciences Donation page, and specify the Richard Ulack Study Abroad Fund in the space provided.

We extend our deep sympathy to Karen, and to their children Jessica and Chris and their families.

Recent Departmental Awards We are very pleased to announce that our very own, Dr. Paul Karan, received the University Research Professor Award for the 2010-2011 academic year. This is the University's highest honor and is a very well deserved recognition for Professor Karan's outstanding work as a Geographer. For more information please visit here and here.

We are also very pleased to announce Dr. Karl Raitz has been named the Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor. This award is highly competitive and is selected from nominations submitted by the Deans of UK's colleges. Recipients are honored for their consistently high level of achievement in their contributions to their disciplines and the university. The appointment is for three years, and brings a research fund for each of the three years.

New Publication: Kentucky's Frontier Trails
During America's colonial period, the trans-Appalachian west, though largely terra incognita to people living on the eastern seaboard and occupied by significant numbers of native peoples, lay open to initial forays by hunters, explorers, surveyors, and settlers. The earliest overland travel routes to traverse western Virginia lands, country that eventually became the Commonwealth of Kentucky, were established between the 1750s and 1780.