Professor Spotlight Professor Stanley D. Brunn is a cosmopolitan Middle Westerner. After being raised in small towns and rural areas in a half-dozen states...(read more)
EVENTS & NEWS :: NEWSHOUR :: COLLOQUIUM :: SEMPLE DAY :: GRADUATE NEWS :: PAST NEWS
 Information  

40th Annual
Ellen Churchill Semple Day

Coming April 2012


Past Speakers


Ellen Churchill Semple
1863-1933

The University of Kentucky Department of Geography invites you to our 39th Annual Ellen Churchill Semple Day, a celebration of the Geography Program, our history, our present students and faculty, our alumni and friends, and the achievements of all.

Schedule of Events, Friday April 22, 2011

  • A Friday Afternoon Address by Karl Zimmerer, Department of Geography, Penn State University, 2:00pm in the Lexmark Room, Room 209 of the Main Building, University of Kentucky.

  • The Friday Evening Banquet held at The Red Mile Clubhouse, 1200 Red Mile Rd, (near the intersection of South Broadway and Red Mile Road in Lexington)

Professor Karl Zimmerer is the Head of the Geography Department at the Pennsylvania State University Geography.  Dr. Zimmerer is considered one of the world’s leading geographers and environmental scientists whose research focuses on the interaction of human and physical dynamics in agriculture and resource use in developing and developed countries. He is editor of the Nature-Society section of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers.

Dr. Zimmerer will give a formal presentation at 2 p.m. and informal remarks at the evening's festivities. In addition to the cash bar beginning at 6:00 pm and the usual sumptuous buffet beginning around 7:30 pm, the banquet will include the induction of members into the international geography honor society, student awards presentations (both undergraduate and graduate), and an opportunity for those same students to present their own version of departmental awards.

Ellen Churchill Semple was born in Louisville in 1863, and is considered one of the century's foremost geographers. She entered Vassar College at the age of 15 and received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from there. Her academic home was literally spread across the world; she was a keen believer in experiencing places and people as a means of better understanding them. Ms. Semple was a dedicated researcher and a profuse writer. She was named a charter member of the Association of American Geographers, and was elected the association's president (and first woman president) in 1921.

Semple Day takes place each spring, and features a variety of activities during the day, including an open colloquium by the featured Semple Day Speaker. By early evening, departmental faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends from around the state retire to historic Spindletop Hall for the now famous capstone banquet. Food and drink abound, old friendships are rejuvenated and new ones kindled as we gather at twilight in the midst of Kentucky's beautiful horse country. The event also provides a venue for the orchestration of awards and recognitions, a time for collective pride as our top student scholars are honored for exceptional accomplishments.

We welcome new friends at this event! If you would like to experience the glory of Semple Day at the University of Kentucky, we encourage you to contact the Geography Department's office for more information.

Past Speakers

  • Karl Zimmerer, Professor, Penn State University [2011]
  • Lynn Staeheli, Professor, University of Edinburgh [2010]
  • Carol Harden, Professor, University of Tennessee [2009]
  • Jamie Peck, Professor, University of Wisconsin (Madison) [2008]
  • Amy Glasmeier, Professor, Pennsylvania State University [2007]
  • Craig Colten, Professor, Louisiana State University [2006]
  • Nuala Johnson, Reader, Queen's University of Belfast, UK [2005]
  • John Antenucci, Founder and CEO, Plangraphics [2004]
  • Sallie Marston, Professor, University of Arizona [2003]
  • Sally Horn, Professor, University of Tennessee [2002]
  • Victoria Lawson, Professor, University of Washington [2001]
  • Eric Sheppard, Professor, University of Minnesota [2000]
  • Richard Walker, Professor, University of California, Berkeley [1999]
  • Susan Hanson, Professor, Clark University [1998]
  • Ron Eller, Director, Appalachian Center, University of Kentucky [1997]
  • David Harvey, Professor, Johns Hopkins University [1996]
  • Gurney Norman, Professor, University of Kentucky [1995]
  • B. L. Turner, II, Professor, Clark University [1994]
  • John A. Agnew, Professor, Syracuse University [1993]
  • George J. Demko, Professor, Dartmouth College [1992]
  • Anne Buttimer, Professor, Universite d'Ottawa [1991]
  • Saul B. Cohen, Professor, Hunter College [1990]
  • Harm J. deBlij, Professor, University of Miami [1989]
  • Sam Bowers Hilliard, Professor, Louisiana State University [1988]
  • Risa Palm, Professor, University of Colorado [1987]
  • Melvin G. Marcus, Professor, Arizona State University [1986]
  • Chistopher L. Slater, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles [1985]
  • Julian V. Minghi, Professor, University of South Carolina [1984]
  • Barry C. Bishop, Asst. to the President, National Geographic Society [1983]
  • Grady Clay, Editor, Landscape Architecture [1982]
  • Peirce Lewis, Professor, Pennsylvania State University [1981]
  • Michael P. Conzen, Professor, University of Chicago [1980]
  • Cotton Mather, Professor, University of Minnesota [1979]
  • Marvin Mikesell, Professor, University of Chicago [1978]
  • Preston James, Maxwell Professor, Syracuse University [1977]
  • Langdon White, Professor, Stanford University [1976]
  • John Fraser Hart, Professor, University of Minnesota [1975]
  • Preston James, Maxwell Professor, Syracuse University [1974]
  • J. R. Schwendeman, Professor Emeritus, University of Kentucky [1973]