K-State alumnus to present lecture on making a difference through geography

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Source: Deborah Che, 785-532-3408, dche@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Megan Wilson, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Thursday, November 9, 2006

K-STATE ALUMNUS TO PRESENT LECTURE ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH GEOGRAPHY

MANHATTAN -- Patricia Solis will present "Heuristics, Serendipity and Enlightened Opportunism: Making a Difference Through Geography" at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, in the Kansas State University Student Union Little Theatre.

The lecture is part of the department of geography's colloquia and is the first Kansas State University Distinguished Alumnus Lecture in Geography. The lecture will take place during national Geography Awareness Week.

Solis, a K-State alumna, is the director of research and outreach for the Association of American Geographers. Solis designs and implements projects to promote studies, education and public understanding of geography. She directs My Community, Our Earth, a multi-sector global partnership focused on geographic learning for sustainable development. Solis' activities with the association also include enhancing diversity within the discipline and improving graduate education.

As a geographer, her academic research and activities have focused on sustainable development, water resource issues, geographic technologies and international collaborations, particularly with respect to Latin America. Solis is currently stationed in Panama, where she continues her international outreach work for the association. She has received more than $4.5 million in grants and administered projects in excess of $6 million, with an overall funding success rate of 80 percent.

Solis earned a bachelor of science degree in physics and a bachelor of arts degree in German in 1994, and a master of arts in geography in 1996, all from K-State. Her master's thesis investigated the anticipatory impacts of a proposed water transfer in Edwards County, Kan. She earned her doctorate in geography from the University of Iowa in 2002. She was appointed as director of research and outreach for the Association of American Geographers in 2003, and served as the association's deputy director from 2003-05. Solis also spends time as an assistant professorial lecturer at George Washington University.