Saying Goodbye to Geography's Bill Crowley

A retirement party for Bill Crowley has been scheduled from 2-4 p.m. on May 2 in the University Art Gallery.

Bill Crowley has spent 38 years as a faculty member at Sonoma State. He came here as a not yet finished Ph.D., fresh from his dissertation fieldwork in Honduras. He takes greatest pride in what students coming out of the Geography department have accomplished, and their paths have gone in myriad directions. Some have pursued graduate degrees and are themselves college professors. Many others have become teachers in the K-12 curriculum. Even more have founded their own businesses, worked at various levels of government in many fields, or followed paths unrelated to Geography. 

In addition to Crowley's classroom accomplishments, he is most proud of his professional work. He served on the National Council of the Association of American Geographers, was elected president of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, was awarded a Fulbright Senior Lecturer Award to teach and do research for a year in Mexico, and published in some of the major journals in his discipline. His publications are cited in texts in Cultural, Urban, Latin American and Wine Geography and in Cartography.

On campus he served as department chair a total of 13 years, and worked on more committees than he wants to think about. He comments that "I was lucky to have three very cordial individuals in my department to work with through the greater part of my career here. They have been supplanted by other, equally thoughtful and gracious folks, so that I have had the good grace to always work with colleagues I like, and few of us can say that. I will always root for Sonoma State and I am so pleased to have had the chance to work with so many great people. Thanks to all of you who have made this life choice one that I’ve never regretted."