Geography, Environment, and Sustainability

Jason Ortegren, Ph.D

Posted on August 1, 2018

I earned both my M.S. and Ph.D. in the UNCG Department of Geography.  I was somewhat fortunate to be among the first students admitted to the Ph.D. program in the department.  The growth of the faculty that accompanied the new Ph.D. offering occurred rather quickly relative to the enrollment growth of the program in its first two years, so that I had unparalleled access to my faculty mentors throughout my time in the program.  For me, the principal strength of the Graduate Programs in Geography at UNCG was the people, both faculty and staff.  The department retained some of the flavor of its heritage as a small, undergraduate-only program with high levels of student-faculty interaction even while it grew rapidly into a Doctoral degree-granting program.  This indicates that the faculty are dedicated to student success.  I also benefitted from the department’s efforts to remain at or near the cutting-edge of Geospatial technologies and research laboratory development.  Finally, the faculty and staff contributed to a sense of community within the department by participating in departmental activities, both academic and social.  I have only positive recollections of my time as a graduate student in Geography at UNCG, and based on my experience, I am unable to identify a weakness worth mentioning.

Current Position: Associate Professor, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Director, Tree Ring Analysis and Interpretation Laboratory, University of West Florida
Currently Resides in: Pensacola, Florida
Attended UNCG: 2001-08