Geography

Geography has constituted a strong intellectual enterprise from WMU's very beginning in 1905 as one of the sciences. Geography is an important part of the College of Arts and Sciences division of physical sciences and mathematics. President Dwight Waldo recruited Professor Leslie Wood, an outstanding physical geographer, to come to WMU. Wood, in turn, recruited Professor Lucia Harrison, who was one of the outstanding minds in North American geography. Harrison encouraged her colleagues and her students to excel in their studies. Wood and Harrison formed a powerhouse of intellectual insight into the evolving field of geography at that time. In this early period, WMU's prime focus was on teacher training. When WMU became a university as the post-WWII baby boom engulfed higher education, WMU was fortunate to recruit a variety of talented geographers (Oscar Horst, Eugene Kircher, Albert Jackman and many others) who proceeded to build upon the strengths of the tradition previously established. This faculty team were largely retired by the turn of the 21st century and were replaced by a new, energetic and talented young faculty team.