Although the Department of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences, previously known as the Department of Geography, was formally founded at the University of Iowa in the spring of 1946, geography courses and geographers have been a part of the University of Iowa since 1855.

This web presence aims to tell the story of a department that began as a loose collection of courses based on the study of rivers, capitals, and landforms, and has since grown into an interdisciplinary hub for innovative teaching and research focused on addressing the complexities of human-environment interactions in the twenty-first century. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and informed by Geographic Information Science, the department has become a center for scholarship on topics of sustainability, public health, international development, ecology, geographic information systems, environmental justice, and more.

In addition to tracing the department’s history and growth, this project also seeks to highlight the experiences and accomplishments of the many students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have contributed to 75 years of geography at Iowa. As we celebrate, reflect, and look ahead as a department, we invite all who have been a part of the last 75 years to share their stories and memories on the department scrapbook.

This project is ongoing and is intended to be a dynamic collection of historical materials that will be added to as new documents, photos, clippings, curricula, testimonies, and records become available.