Mission Statement
Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation

The Geography and Public Planning Programs are dedicated to the following mission:

1. Provide effective and challenging courses in geography and public planning for majors and the university liberal studies curriculum;

2. Produce well qualified graduates who are prepared to make significant contributions as professional geographers, educators, and planners;

3. Provide effective outreach and assistance to the people of Arizona and beyond in rural geography, geographic education, remote sensing, geographic information systems, spatial analysis, public planning, and rural resources management;

4. Provide effective outreach and service to rural communities throughout the region, including the Native American nations;

5. Engage in and publish (in appropriate media) the results of geographic/planning research with special emphasis on rural geography, applied geography, educational geography, rural planning, and rural resource management, and

NEW - 5. Engage in and publish (in appropriate media) the results of geographic/planning research with special emphasis on cultural and physical geography, rural and applied geography, community planning and resource management, and

6. Support and enhance the mission of the College of Ecosystem Science and Management, in cooperation with the School of Forestry and other allied programs across the Northern Arizona University campus, to prepare students to effectively assume their future roles as professional geographers, planners, educators, and managers of natural resources.

NEW- 6. Support and enhance the mission of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, in cooperation with the Parks and Recreation Program and other allied programs across the Northern Arizona University campus, to prepare students to effectively assume their future roles as professional geographers, planners, educators, and managers of natural resources.

The Parks and Recreation Management Program's mission is to:

1. Offer a program in Parks and Recreation Management that is recognized nationally as the premier program in the Southwest.

2. Educate students by providing a high-quality core curriculum, with specialized emphasis areas. The educational focus of the program is on the theoretically and empirically sound management of Parks and Recreation resources and programs.

3. The Parks and Recreation Program focus will be maintained through high standards of student scholarship through frequent student-teacher interaction with a variety of experiential and web-based learning opportunities.

4. Provide student opportunities to learn Parks and Recreation Management principles and practices within an academic program which explicitly considers the interactive effects of the natural environment and human activities.

5. Educate students dedicated to enhancing quality of life as Parks and Recreation professionals who demonstrate effective interpersonal and analytical skills, as well as the skills and desires for lifelong learning.

6. Provide educational and experiential opportunities and services to Native American and others in a divers student populations.

7. Provide service to the University, the profession, the citizens of Arizona, and the Nation.

Vision Statement

The Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation is striving to emerge as one of the nation's premier undergraduate and graduate programs in geography, applied geography, rural geography, planning and parks and recreation management.