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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

A student looks at a mapping program in class.

The Department of Geography and the Environment integrates the disciplines of geography and environmental science in teaching and research to seek a better understanding of the spatial patterns in the natural and built environments, the physical and social processes that produce those patterns, and their interactions.

We are witnessing global change at a pace unique in human history, and we clearly must understand and manage our interactions with natural systems. Our department emphasizes integrated thinking and learning at the nexus of science, policy and human behavior to prepare our graduates to solve some of the most pressing issues facing society today. The Department of Geography and the Environment (GEV) is home to three undergraduate majors (BS in Environmental Science, BA in Environmental Studies, and BA in Geography), two undergraduate minors (Geography and Sustainability), and a graduate program (MS in Environmental Science). Students undertake timely and important research under the guidance of research-active faculty mentors who are leaders in their fields.

Department of Geography and the Environment
Suite G67, Mendel Science Center
Villanova University

Chair:
Dr. Nathaniel B. Weston

Undergraduate Program Directors:
Dr. Peleg Kremer (Environmental Studies)

Dr. Kabindra Shakya (Environmental Science)

Dr. Stephen Strader (Geography)

NEWS & EVENTS

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Thanks to a special collaboration between a Villanova research team and Philadelphia’s Community Gardens Trust, Madeline Scolio ’23 CLAS is collecting fine-scale air temperature data through regular visits to nine community gardens spread throughout the city. Madeline’s research is part of a larger project in the Department of Geography and the Environment working to determine the relationship between surface temperature—measured by instruments on satellites—and air temperature.

FACULTY AWARD

Dr. Frank Galgano, Associate Professor of Geography, recently received Villanova's Mid-Career Service Award, which recognizes mid-career faculty members who have made extraordinary contributions to the welfare and functioning of their departments, colleges, the University, and their profession. Dr. Galgano has demonstrated consistent commitment to leadership on important service activities at the highest levels of the University.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

GEV graduate Julia Chase (Environmental Studies '13) was recently appointed San Diego’s first climate resilience officer. She was featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Learn more about what she's been up to. MORE...

EDUCATION WITH IMPACT

 

AN EDUCATION IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES promotes intellectual curiosity and rigor; instills the fundamentals of critical insight, mature judgment and independent thinking; and strengthens students’ sense of their moral responsibility for others and for the betterment of society.