Biography
Professor Bascom grew up in Ethiopia and Kansas and returns periodically to Africa to teach, research, and learn from Africans. He came to Calvin after 10 years at East Carolina University. His work experience includes an internship with the Africa Bureau of the US Agency for International Development in Washington, DC.
Education
- PhD, Geography, University of Iowa
- MA, Geography, Kansas State University
- BS, Geography (Magna Cum Laude), Kansas State University
Professional Experience
Professor Bascom has taught at East African universities for 3 years on 4 occasions – University of Asmara (1997-98, 2005) and Bahir Dar University (2011-12, 2013), and been a visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University. He has taught 23 different courses, 5 of which were 4-week interims with students in Ethiopia and Kenya. Professor Bascom won East Carolina’s Teaching Excellence Award (1 of 3 faculty members among 1200). He was awarded a Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award from The National Council for Geographic Education. He has mentored 18 students ranging from independent studies to master’s theses and authored two publications on pedagogy: “’Southern’ Exposure: Teaching Third World Geography” in the Journal of Geography (the leading US journal on geographic pedagogy) and “Geographic Literacy and Moral Formation among University Students.” Professor Bascom has served as chair of our department and coordinated the university’s McGregor Program for six summers.
Academic Interests
- Developing regions
- Economic geography
- Refugees and internally displaced persons
- Geographic pedagogy
Research
Refugees and the issues that surround their migration, protection, and assistance have been the primary focus of his research (reflected in a book and more than a dozen articles). Agencies that have supported is research include the American Philosophical Society, the US Agency for International Development, National Science Foundation, the US Embassy in Ethiopia, and the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program. Professor Bascom is a past president of the Africa Specialty Group (Association of American Geographers) and an editor of the African Geographical Review. His principal publications include two books: the National Atlas of Ethiopia (3rd Edition) and Losing Place: Refugee Populations and Rural Transformations in East Africa. Important articles include “The Surprising ‘Terrain’ of University-Level Geography in Ethiopia (2014) and “The Peasant Economy of Refugee Resettlement in Eastern Sudan” (1993) in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers.
A Few Passions...
A weekly Friday morning spiritual life gathering with 4 other Calvin professors, tennis with former students (and my daughter), Ethiopian coffee and food, building rock walls, participating in the life of South Hill CRC church, and getting to know and encourage students.
