Through design of new courses, modification of existing courses, establishment of prerequisites, and systematic staging of introductory through advanced courses we are better able to meet the enormous demand for GIS education and training. Expected hiring of a cartographer with skill in scientific visualization will complete this package. Adding a scholar with expertise in Latin America or Asia to strengthen our teaching and research in Third World Development is also a strategic goal. The awarding of the Long Term Ecological Research grant to ASU opened opportunities for many geography professors to interact with scholars of other departments. Human and physical geographers were critical in obtaining that grant and are heavily involved in associated interdisciplinary projects.
Climatology is another area of funding strength.
The climatology program is deep, internationally prominent, and grows stronger as we add faculty and play a primary role in leading large interdisciplinary research teams. Great academic departments are often best known for the quality of their graduates. To attract the best students we have significantly upgraded graduate student recruiting. Generous funding from the Graduate College has enabled us to recruit excellent students and through personal contacts and organized prospective graduate student events we better showcase our strengths. Our development efforts are a mixture of sadness and inspiration.