Glenn Miller (1953 – 2002) Geographer
and Rolling Stones fan.
Picture of the geographer in the field
On July 27th 2002, the world and the geography community in particular, lost a great advocate and as principled and dedicated an individual as one could find anywhere. Glenn was born and raised in Lancaster County, PA and obtained his bachelors and masters degrees from West Chester University. He then proceeded to University of Cincinnati for his Ph.D.
After short stints at Rutgers University and Frostburg State, Glenn accepted a position at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. There he served a stint as departmental chair and as graduate coordinator. In the last few years Glenn was very active in AAG affairs. In 1998 he was elected as regional councilor to the AAG Executive committee, representing NESTVAL (New England/St. Lawrence Valley) region from 1998 until 2001. Even after living in New England for many years, Glenn never lost his enthusiasm for the Philadelphia Phillies. At Bridgewater Glenn taught courses in human geography, economic development, urban geography, transportation, and Geography of Asia. He was also the GTU faculty advisor.
He was very active in the efforts to extend geographic into area schools. In 1988 he was a co-founder of SEMAGNET (Southeastern Massachusetts Geography Teacher’s network), a teacher-focused network that presented workshops for teachers and geography fairs for students. According to his colleague at Bridgewater, Vernon Domingo. “Glenn was the most ardent geographer I have ever known”. He was totally dedicated to enhancing geography in the classroom and in town planning committees.
He was a member of the board of directors of Plymouth County Development Council for 13 years and he had innumerable contacts with planning agencies where he placed students for internships. Many of those students eventually found full-time jobs with those very agencies, often with Glenn’s focused assistance.
He was a member of the Pennsylvania Geographic Society, the American Planning Association, AAG, and NCGE. In 1984 he received the NCGE Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award in 1984 and in 1990 he traveled to China under a Fulbright-Hays program. Even after he fell ill with colon cancer, he chaired the 2001 regional AAG conference (NESTVAL) in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
His publications included:
Human geography: local and global applications, Kendall/Hunt, 1996.
Geography: focus on economics, with Watson, Domingo, and Landman, National Council for Economic Education, 1996.
Life in the slow lane: the Old Order Amish cultural landscape of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Bridgewater Review, 1997.
Crimson gold: a teacher-friendly guide to the Massachusetts Cranberry industry, Focus, American Geographical Society, 2000.
“Growth
management in the United States: federal, state and local initiatives”,
Hommes et Terres du Nord, 2001, No. 3, pp. 167-172.
Through all of his academic journeys, he always kept the faith in his rock group of choice – the Rolling Stones. The first few licks of “Satisfaction” always brought a smile to his face and a renewed sense in the power of music to energize. His air-guitar was never too far away.
He was buried in Paradise, Pennsylvania. He is greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the many students whose lives he touched.