Patrick H. McHaffie, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky

Dr. McHaffie joined the department in 1996 after academic appointments at West Virginia University, Dartmouth College, and West Georgia College.  He completed a Master's degree in Geography in 1980 at Eastern Kentucky University, and received his Ph.D. in Geography from The University of Kentucky in 1992. In the period between degrees, he served with the Kentucky Geological Survey where he conducted mine-related environmental research, directed the National Cartographic Information Center affiliate office, and coordinated the State Topographic Mapping Program. Patrick served as Chair of the Department of Geography from 2001 to 2007 and is responsible (with David Jabon and Jennifer Galka) for the implementation of the Geospatial Collaboratory on DePaul's Lincoln Park Campus.  He is currently designing (with Alex Papadopoulos) a graduate program (MA/MS) on behalf of Geography.

Patrick teaches courses in geographic techniques, economic, cultural, and social geography, as well as focal point seminars and the quantitative reasoning course in the first year program. His research interests and publication history include the social history of cartography and GIS, the cartographic labor process, cartographic ethics, the geography of education spending, Appalachian social geography, and the social construction of the global. His current work (2008) involves a long term study of change in the cartographic labor process during the 20th century and work on automation as policy and ideology in the United States during the cold war. He is also considering the metaphorical characteristics of technology and its explainers.