Purdue Global Provost Jon Harbor honored by American Association of Geographers

On Friday (Feb. 25), the Geomorphology Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers honored Harbor with its Melvin G. Marcus Distinguished Career Award for 2022.

Harbor, who serves as provost of Purdue University Global, is an emeritus professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue West Lafayette.

The association’s highest award in the field of geomorphology is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to geomorphology over their career. Harbor’s research has contributed to a deeper basic understanding of geomorphic processes, along with an elaborate applied contribution to environmental management. His work presents an “extraordinary methodological and spatial breadth with field sites ranging from the Rockies to the Alps, and from the Arctic to Tibet-Himalayas, and to Antarctica,” colleagues noted.

Harbor’s career at Purdue began in 1994, and he assumed his current position with Purdue Global in 2020. He served as head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from 2010-13 and as executive director of digital education and associate vice provost for teaching and learning from 2015-18. His publication record includes three books and over 170 papers published in scientific and educational journals, and he is an elected Fellow of the American Association of Geographers and the Royal Geographical Society.

“It is particularly humbling that the nomination for this award was made by a large group of former Purdue students,” Harbor said.

In his acceptance remarks, Harbor highlighted the importance of Purdue’s support for interdisciplinary collaboration and the critical role of students and visiting scholars in research.

“Coming with a dizzying array of disciplinary backgrounds, national origins, lived experiences and interests, they taught and supported each other, and often dreamed up new directions and places for us to push the boundaries of knowledge,” Harbor said. “It has been a joy to watch them develop their lives and careers, making a difference in local, state and federal agencies; in consulting; at national labs; in international organizations; in K-12 education; and at colleges and universities of every type.”

About Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience beyond the classroom, enabling them to develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. It offers personalized paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations – no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University’s flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest Indiana, as well as serving science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, visit purdueglobal.edu.