Faculty Fanfare: Maria Lane
Geography professor joins prestigious association
UNM Geography Professor Maria Lane has been named as a fellow of the American Association of Geographers.
Lane called it a special honor and said she had not expected to be selected.
“It was a huge honor just to be nominated, and I’m humbled to receive this recognition from professional peers,” said Lane, the dean of Graduate Studies at UNM.
The recognition from the AAG is based on past work. Lane has been a leader in her field in terms of program building, community engagement advocacy, and curriculum innovation.
According to the information from the AAG, Lane “has advanced the discipline through innovative scholarship, institutional leadership, and community engagement.”
Lane, who is internationally recognized as a historical geographer, is the author of Geographies of Mars: Seeing and Knowing the Red Planet and Fluid Geographies: Water, Science, and Settler Colonialism in New Mexico, books that “illuminate how scientific and cartographic practices shape environmental knowledge and power.”
Lane served as department chair for Geography & Environmental Studies from 2014 to 2019, during which time she helped expand faculty ranks and departmental resources to position GES as a major contributor to environmental and geospatial workforce needs throughout New Mexico.
She also led the development of New Mexico’s first-ever PhD program in Geography, which launched in 2020 as a consortium program linking geography faculty and graduate students across the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University.
“Working with colleagues across the state to design and implement The New Mexico Doctoral Program in Geography is one of the most challenging and fulfilling things I’ve done in my career,” Lane said.
After serving as chair, she founded the R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography, which builds UNM-community partnerships focused on addressing critical human-environment issues.
Since 2023, Lane has served as UNM’s dean of graduate studies. In that role, she has led initiatives to strengthen graduate education across UNM by investing in student success programs and expanding support for faculty and staff who work with graduate students.
“Her leadership in securing major NSF funding has strengthened graduate education, supported community-engaged research, and advanced climate change and geovisualization initiatives,” according to the AAG statement.
During her career, Lane has been editor of Historical Geography and the Journal of Historical Geography and has mentored numerous graduate students conducting research on historical and cultural geography topics.
“It’s a true honor to serve on the faculty at UNM, and I’m delighted to be recognized by the AAG for my work and accomplishments here.”