ABOUT
Dr. Rich Schultz is currently the Senior Online Learning Administrator at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), located in Aurora, Illinois. He has prior experience as a tenured faculty member, university program coordinator and program director, creator of three entirely online programs in geospatial technologies, and associate dean. He serves as the Associate Director of the National Science Foundation-funded National Geospatial Technology Center of Excellence (GeoTech Center) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Dr. Schultz holds a Ph.D. in environmental geochemistry from the University of Cincinnati and is an internationally recognized expert on geospatial education. He is the sole or senior author of more than ninety publications, book chapters, presentations, and abstracts. His major areas of research are: online/distance learning, spatial cognition and geospatial thinking, unmanned aerial systems (drones), global climate change, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the use of technology in teaching geography literacy. He has received over $7.3 million in extramural funding to support his research and is currently involved with two National Science Foundation grants focusing on GIS education and unmanned aerial systems (UASs).
He has formerly served as an Associate Professor of Geography and Geosciences at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois and as the Director of the Elmhurst College Online GIS Certificate Program, Applied Geospatial Sciences Graduate Program, and the AP® Human Geography Graduate Certificate Program. Dr. Schultz was the Genevieve Staudt Endowed Chair at Elmhurst College.
Dr. Schultz was the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE). Dr. Schultz also received the “GIS Service Award” for geospatial education service to the Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA) in October 2009 and was the inaugural recipient of the Richard Hilton Collaboration Award from ILGISA in 2010. He serves as the North American editor of Reviews in Geographical Education Online (RIGEO), on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Geography for the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) as well as having served as the NCGE National Vice President for Products and Publications. He formerly served as the chair of the Geography Education Specialty Group (GESG) for the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and sits on the editorial boards for several prominent international journals.
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