SCHOLARSHIP, LEADERSHIP, AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS

This paper explores the supposition that quantitative geography, broad ly defined, is the key to the survival of geography as a discipline. T hirteen events of the last 40 years are identified that have laid the groundwork for the success of a number of strong geography departments . These include some of the activities that occurred at the University of Washington, Northwestern University, Bristol University, The Unive rsity of Iowa, The Ohio State University, the. National Science Founda tion, and the University of California, Santa Barbara The elements fou nd in this paper to be crucial for the development of successful depar tments of geography are: scholars who can mix easily with colleagues i n such disciplines as economics, computer science, statistics, and geo logy; department chairs who commit themselves to high quality quantita tive research; and leaders willing to use their energy to recruit high -quality faculty.