Priscilla McCutcheon named Fellow of American Association of Geographers
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 22, 2023) — Priscilla McCutcheon, assistant professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been named a 2023 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Fellow.
McCutcheon is among 16 geographers who received the recognition for their contributions to geographic research, advancement of practice and careers devoted to strengthening the field of geography, including teaching and mentoring.
AAG Fellows serve the AAG to address, contribute to and create initiatives to advance the discipline. Fellows also mentor early- and mid-career faculty.
The title of AAG Fellow is conferred for life.
"AAG Fellows light the way for the pursuit and advancement of geography," Gary Langham, executive director of AAG, said. "Their work and experience offer insights into the interaction of space and place with the key issues human societies must understand and help solve. We are grateful for their leadership and advice in advancing AAG and the field."
McCutcheon’s research focuses on Black food geographies and land politics, particularly in the U.S. South, and her scholarship on race and environment highlights racially marginalized peoples.
McCutcheon received the first Rickie Sanders Junior Faculty Award from the Feminist Geography Specialty Group, the Emerging Diversity Scholar Citation from the National Center for Institutional Diversity and the Transdisciplinary Research Award from the University of Louisville.
McCutcheon is also associate chair and director of undergraduate studies for African American and Africana Studies (AAAS) at UK and a member of the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies. She earned her doctorate from the University of Georgia in 2011, and she joined the UK faculty in 2018.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.