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The spring semester began with in-person classes and masks on. This eventually transitioned to masks optional, and we ended the semester with our first in-person graduation since 2019. The Geography Department’s graduation celebration included students from previous years along with the 2022 graduating class. It was wonderful to see students and their families enjoying the day together. This year’s graduation festivities were a reminder of the importance of celebration and coming together as an academic community to acknowledge the accomplishments of Geography’s undergraduate majors and minors, Masters and PhD students. 

This newsletter includes several stories about the amazing research and work being done by our current and former graduate students. This newsletter also features the timely research of our faculty. Assistant Professor Colleen Reid provides an overview of her new research project, which examines the impacts of air pollution on human health resulting from the devastating Marshall fire in Boulder County, which caused the deaths of two people and destroyed over a thousand homes. Professor John O’Loughlin, a political geographer and expert on Russia and post-Soviet countries, provides a thoughtful and insightful overview of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to these contributions, we are pleased to celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty and students. Professor Tim Oakes received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Graduate School. Graduate Student, Sade Cromratie, was awarded the Laramide Chapter GEOID Scholarship from the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG), and Graduate Student, Katarena Matos, was awarded a Ford Foundation pre-doctoral fellowship. Congratulations all! We look forward to continuing to share the achievements of our faculty and students in the future.