The National Geographic Education Foundation, an affiliate of the UA Geography Program and the Alaska Geographic Alliance, awarded one of four “Geography Legislator of the Year” awards to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (pictured on a trip to Afghanistan).
The award celebrates legislative leadership in ensuring that young Americans receive an education that prepares them to succeed in an international future by understanding the geographic realities that underlie a global economy, geopolitical instability, environmental decision-making, cultural diversity, and active citizenship.
Sen. Murkowski is a co-sponsor of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act. TGIF would help to rectify the absence of dedicated federal funding for geography education by authorizing competitive grants to improve K-12 geography curriculum, teacher training, and instructional materials. Geography is the only core K-12 subject under No Child Left Behind not to have received designated federal funding since NCLB went into effect in 2002.
Murkowski, a co-sponsor of TGIF in both the 110th and 111th Congresses, serves on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's Subcommittee on Children and Families. Murkowski has been an important voice in support of TGIF and the promotion of geographic literacy.
A 2006 Roper Public Affairs-National Geographic study on geographic literacy found that a significant number of Americans ages 18-24 lack basic global knowledge. Only 40 percent of the respondents polled were able to point out Iraq on a map of the Middle East, and almost half could not locate India on a map of Asia. On a map of the United States, fewer than half could identify Mississippi or New York.
The National Geographic Education Foundation was established by the National Geographic Society in 1988 and pursues a mission of "teaching people how to care for the planet, its resources, and all of its inhabitants." The foundation supports a national network of state-based teacher training programs called Geography Alliances. It awards $5 million a year in innovative geography education programs, including a public-engagement campaign called My Wonderful World to support geographic learning at home, in school and in the community.
UA Geography Program Education and Outreach Coordinator Katie Kennedy was attending the Alliance Network annual meeting at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., when the awards were announced. Kennedy is coordinator of the Alaska Geographic Alliance, housed in the UA Geography Program.
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