Dr. Jeff Olson earned his doctorate at The Ohio State University. His doctoral dissertation is titled, “The Evolution of Urban-Rural Space: The Case of the U.S. Midwest.” His research experience also includes serving as a research fellow with the Appalachian Ohio Forest Research Group.  He joined the Geography and Geology Department faculty in August, 2013.  Jeff is also a proud UWW alum! Below he offers some reflections on his first year at UWW as well as other interesting stuff!

Now that you have completed your first year as a faculty member at UW-Whitewater, what is one reflection about your first year?

 Being a first year faculty can be exhausting, and it’s a crash course on what I do poorly in and out of the classroom. It will obviously take me time to become as good at handling teaching 4 classes at a time as I need to be, but the work is worth it when I see students improve their knowledge and skills.

What is his favorite thing about UW-Whitewater so far?

He really enjoys the students here.  He especially enjoys when people come in during office hours.

What is something that students would be surprised to learn about him?

That he actually feels bad when he has to be harsh, and he doesn’t enjoy it.  Dr. Olson believes it is good to be straight-forward about negative things and that hiding the truth from people doesn’t allow them to improve where they can.

What made him want to teach?

 When he was at UW-Whitewater as an undergrad, he had some very good professors and gained several important experiences.  He was an assistant in the Geography labs, was able to work on GIS mapping, and was employed by a consulting firm. At The Ohio State University, he found out he had the ability to communicate complex ideas in an easy to understand way. Teaching is how he learned to focus his energy.

 What is his approach to teaching and what can students expect in the classroom?

 His goal in the classroom is to show students how much they can learn by challenging them with new ideas and concepts. He uses interactive activities that require students to reflect on the course material. In upper level classes he teaches quantitative analysis, writing skills, high-quality mapping, and the ability to deal with diverse data sets.  He is a demanding instructor because he believes that students should continuously improve on the quality of work they do in order to prepare themselves for life and work after graduation

 What is one experience that occurred during his undergraduate or graduate school experience that made a definite impact on his approach to his academic career?

 The experience of being a Resident Assistant in the dorms for three years gave him an appreciation for some of the challenges students face as well as examples of what students are able to often overcome and be successful.  This experience also helped him realize that he wanted to continue working with young adults.

 What book would he recommend to his students?

The Milagro Bean Field War by John Nichols, because it’s an entertaining and engaging novel that is a commentary on land use and social relationships that covers a number issues like geography, power and resistance.

What does he like to do outside of work?

He enjoys playing with his Doberman named Ruxin, working out, binge watching Breaking Bad, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, spending time with his friends, and coming up with new mind blowing assignments for his classes.