Abstract

Across the Curriculum: The GIScience Development Strategy at K-State
Track: GIS Organization, Management, and Implementation
Author(s): John Harrington, Shawn Hutchinson

Several strategic administrative decisions enabled a coordinated expansion of GIScience capabilities across the academic units at Kansas State University. Administrators and faculty recognize the importance of GIScience. At K-State, GIScience education has been described as "The Fourth R," with spatial reasoning seen as "something that every educated person should know about." We identify important administrative decisions and documents the associated responses that have resulted in a greatly improved environment for GIScience teaching and research. Examples of strategic decisions include the development of an All-University GIScience Steering Committee, the establishment of a GIScience Commons, two Targeted Excellence proposals supporting IT infrastructure, research, and new GIScience positions within the institution. Continued connection with key state-wide GIScience decision makers and participation in related meetings has also been important. We conclude that collaborative and supportive interaction among faculty and administrators has been critical to the success of this effort.

John Harrington
Kansas State University
118 Seaton Hall
Department of Geography
Manhattan , Kansas 66506
United States
Phone: 785 532 3405
E-mail: jharrin@ksu.edu

Shawn Hutchinson
Kansas State University
118 Seaton Hall
Department of Geography
Manhattan , Kansas 66506
United States
Phone: 785 532 6727
E-mail: shutch@ksu.edu