Dr. Joseph Oppong has been a faculty member in the Department of Geography & the Environment for 32 years; he came to UNT after his PhD studies at the University of Alberta. Joseph taught at the University of Iowa for a short period of time before coming to UNT in 1992. Joseph received tenure in 1998 and was promoted to full professor in 2008. A year later, he became the Associate Dean in the Toulouse Graduate School. His service to the department of Geography is only a portion of his contribution to the field. He has also served in numerous capacities with the Association of American Geographers. You can find a list of these roles listed at the bottom of the page.

This academic year has been a whirlwind for Dr. Oppong. He was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the fall to teach and provide faculty and graduate mentoring in Ghana. During this time in December, Joseph won the Council of Graduate Schools' Assistant and Associate Dean's Leadership Award for his dedication to graduate education. At home, Joseph was recently the recipient of the 2023-2024 UNT Foundation Faculty Leadership Award, which is a highly distinguished honor that recognizes the impacts a faculty member has made through their leadership and service for the university. To learn more about the UNT Foundation Faculty Leadership Award read here. Over the years Joseph has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses, mentored students, served on committees, and provided support for the Department. As an Associate Dean in the Toulouse Graduate School he has improved, developed, and created programs that serve graduate students.

This year, Joseph also received the honor of being elected by his peers in the geography community to the Honors Committee of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) for his contributions and accomplishments in geography. The Honors Committee oversees picking the recipients for the different AAG Honors awards. Joseph will serve a three-year term starting this July. To learn more about the Honors committee of AAG and the different awards read here.

Congratulations Joseph on these well-deserved recognitions!

Services to the field of Geography:

• Chair of the Africa Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) from 1999-2002
• Establishment of the African Geographical Review as the journal of the Africa Specialty Group
• Served as Chair of the Health and Medical Geography of the AAG from 2002-2005
• 2005 hosted the 11th International Medical Geography Symposium in Fort Worth (more than 180 scholars and researchers from all over the world attended)

Service to the Association of American Geographers (AAG):

• 2020-2023 served as a member of the national Council of the AAG. During that time, he also served on the national executive committee of the AAG as Secretary to the AAG Council.
• 2021 he was awarded the AAG Ron Abler Distinguished Service award