New Name
July 30, 2024
We recently changed our name from the Washington College GIS Program to the Washington
College Geospatial Innovation Program (GIP)!
Interns Nominated for Student Employee of the Year
April 19, 2024
Congratulations to our Journeyman Leaders Dyllan Bishop and Dylan Brown for being
nominated for the 2024 Student Employee of the Year at Washington College. Their dedication
and excellence are truly remarkable. We are proud to have you on our team!
High School Class Visit
April 15, 2024
A group of 22 10th-grade students from Kent County High School came to the GIS lab
for a job shadowing tour! The students learned about working with spatial data, and
the pathways to getting a job in the field of GIS.
8th Grade Class Visit
March 22, 2024
The GIS Program was thrilled to welcome an 8th grade science class from the Chestertown
Christian Academy. Together, we talked about how to recognize "good" data, and how
to visualize that data on a map. To see this process in action, we created a data
collection survey and used ArcGIS Field Maps to collect data points outside around
downtown Chestertown.
Washington College Students Return to GIS Program
January 29, 2024
The GIS Program is happy to welcome back our student interns for the spring semester!
We have 10 interns this spring working in the GIS lab on our various grants and contracts.
Our student interns gain valuable experience working on real-world projects for our
funders, exemplifying Washington College’s mission to provide experiential learning
to its students. We’re looking forward to a great semester with our amazing students!
New Project: Chestertown Trees Data Collection
January 26, 2024
The GIS Program is excited to work with the Chestertown Tree Committee to create and
employ a data collection survey for all trees in Chestertown. Tracking trees will
show where there are gaps in tree coverage in town, and where sick and injured trees
need to be tended.
Visit from Main Street Chestertown
January 25, 2024
Main Street Chestertown visited the GIS Program to talk about how the GIS Program
can assist with their mission. We discussed Main Street Chestertown’s goals for revitalizing
the downtown area and creating a robust experience for tourists visiting the historic
district. We look forward to continued talks with Main Street Chestertown as this
process progresses.
Washington College and Amrita University's Joint Initiative Advances in USAID Partnership
Program
January 25, 2024
Washington College's Center for Environment and Society, along with its GIS Program,
is proud to announce its successful collaboration with Amrita University (India) in
advancing to the next stage of USAID's Higher Education Partnership for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure (HEP-DRI). This joint initiative, "Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability
Education (RISE)," is part of a larger collaborative effort involving multiple prestigious
U.S. and Indian academic and industry partners. The collaboration underscores a commitment
to international cooperation in disaster-resilient infrastructure education and professional
development. The team eagerly anticipates the upcoming February 1, 2024, presentation
to showcase their comprehensive and innovative approach in this vital domain.
GIS Campus Map Presentation for Senior Staff
January 17, 2024
Things are steadily moving forward on the new campus web map! Madison Kaye and Tarek
Rashed presented the current draft of the campus web map to Washington College senior
staff who were very pleased with the map and excited for what possibilities a geospatial
campus could provide Washington College. The campus map will be a great resource for
students, families, alumni, and other visitors to Washington College and takes a step
forward in making the campus more accessible.
The campus map extends into a collaboration between the GIS Program and Kent County
with Next Generation 911. This is a nationwide initiative for counties to be in line
with emergency service guidelines. The GIS Program and Kent County are working together
to update campus road names and address numbers for emergency services to be able
to efficiently navigate the campus to respond to an emergency.
New GIS Program Director, Dr. Tarek Rashed
January 2, 2024
Tarek brings over 30 years of experience in geographic information science and technologies
(GIS&T) to the GIS Program within the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. His work in developing GIS&T and systems thinking technical solutions and frameworks,
and their applications spans across incredibly diverse sectors, including disaster
risk reduction, health, climate change, community resilience, digital transformation,
urban and rural development, supply-chain management, homeland security, sustainable
agriculture, and women's empowerment.
