Department of Geography
![Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970. Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/02.08.19%20Photo%20of%20Chris%20Post.jpg?VersionId=jryYH5ovCYCSW81xChKqVEyRUye_LH25&h=5dbb624e&itok=ziYHL9OU)
Growing up, Chris Post watched as his mom juggled her collegiate studies and motherhood, balancing everyday life with dreams of earning her Ph.D. And while field excursions with his biologist mom are a memory of his childhood, the impact of place is something this cultural and historical geographer seeks to define today.
![Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970. Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/02.08.19%20Photo%20of%20Chris%20Post.jpg?VersionId=jryYH5ovCYCSW81xChKqVEyRUye_LH25&h=5dbb624e&itok=ziYHL9OU)
Growing up, Chris Post watched as his mom juggled her collegiate studies and motherhood, balancing everyday life with dreams of earning her Ph.D. And while field excursions with his biologist mom are a memory of his childhood, the impact of place is something this cultural and historical geographer seeks to define today.
![David Kaplan (Center), professor in the Department of Geography, is one of three educators honored with the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching award a tenured or tenure-track professor can receive. David Kaplan (center), professor in the Department of Geography, is one of three educators honored with the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching award a tenured or tenure-track professor can receive.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article_thumbnail/PROFILE%20Kaplan.jpg?VersionId=rPkwUo6Ev7x6PTwxtMw3aUdvTufS0h3R&h=e6f36a9c&itok=BcjlKPx9)
Many professors have certain influences that inspire them to teach. For David Kaplan, Ph.D., professor in Kent State University's Department of Geography, that inspiration comes from his father.
![James Tyner](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/James_Tyner_0.jpg?VersionId=EQ0WC8DudFZAuvc...FbJY1JJyDjuzg5&h=a7ffc51c&itok=7iOFa-fY)
![David Kaplan Headshot](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/KaplanDavid%20head%20shot.jpg?VersionId=yGSGCyGWZUp_MbwDKA5QTsh5ag6_28Lv&h=cc66e519&itok=IpSPdpvo)
![An irrigation canal runs through a Cambodian rice field](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/RiceTyner_Canal1.jpg?VersionId=nhiZOXL7x2DCLvv_.qgnpQlFTfjR05wr&h=19ad3fdd&itok=O5bp6Kld)
![Photo by Melissa Olson Photo by Melissa Olson](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/I42A7083.jpg?VersionId=VZjisYTsVS_Jmxxxsu3RD8aRJMtuW04v&h=d228da7b&itok=MFmwlnPC)
As the United States entered WWII, trailblazing women like Bea McPherson, BS ’43, took on the task of providing essential handmade maps for the war effort—and charted the course for today’s women mapmakers.
By Jan Senn / Kent State Magazine
![Photo by Melissa Olson Photo by Melissa Olson](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/I42A7083.jpg?VersionId=VZjisYTsVS_Jmxxxsu3RD8aRJMtuW04v&h=d228da7b&itok=MFmwlnPC)
As the United States entered WWII, trailblazing women like Bea McPherson, BS ’43, took on the task of providing essential handmade maps for the war effort—and charted the course for today’s women mapmakers.
By Jan Senn / Kent State Magazine