Geography Professor Named Co-Coordinator of Nonprofit Educational Organization
On April 10, Dr. Michael Allen, associate professor and geography program director, was appointed to be the co-coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance (VGA), a non-profit educational organization supported by the National Geographic Society and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Founded in 1986, the Alliance promotes geo-literacy by providing effective K-16 professional development programs that enhance the teaching and learning of geography and that demonstrate the value of geographic knowledge and spatial thinking to educators, policy makers, and community members. The Virginia Geographic Alliance fosters and supports the enduring power of the geographic perspective in social, environmental and geospatial sciences as they develop in schools, universities, businesses, governments and communications media to advance geo-literacy. Acquiring geographic knowledge, skills and technologies enables people to become productive global citizens and lifelong learners. The Alliance conducts statewide programs to assist teachers and students through the distribution of classroom atlases, world maps, lesson plans, and activities for National Geography Awareness Week. In the past, VGA conducted the annual state geography bee and helped to implement the Virginia Standards of Learning and Geography for Life: National Geography Standards.
Since arriving at ODU in 2014, Dr. Allen has been an active member of VGA, volunteering with the Geography Bee, participating in the Multi-Alliance Geo-Literacy Leadership Institute, supporting the Advanced Placement Human Geography Academies, organizing a state-wide Bioblitz event with the Virginia State Park System, and developing environmentally-focused educator institutes focusing on the Chesapeake Bay and Tangier Island. His recent heat assessment in the City of Norfolk also leverages stakeholders across the Commonwealth of Virginia and the data is being used to develop real-world, educational curriculum focused on land-use policy, human health, and climate change science.
The position aims to forge partnerships with state agencies including the Virginia Department of Education and is viewed as a valued leader in a large network of educators across Virginia and beyond.
VGA website: https://php.radford.edu/~vga/