Paul Knox wins 2005 Text and Academic Authors Association Award

Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies Dean Paul L. Knox has been awarded the 2005 Text and Academic Authors Association Award in Humanities/Social Sciences for “World Regions in Global Context: People, Places, and Environment.”

Judges noted the book “is current and its ancillaries offer both teacher and student the flexibility to present and learn the material in several different approaches. “The authors score highly in terms of providing an authoritative text.”

The work is co-authored by Sallie A. Marston and Diana Liverman, both of the University of Arizona. It is published by Pearson Education/Prentice Hall Publishing Company.

“World Regions in Global Context” employs a global approach to world regional geography and examines the interconnections between people and places at different scales. It features an emphasis on core regions, key cities, and distinctive landscapes, stressing global connections while still maintaining a traditional focus on places at the local scale. Chapter topics cover a world of regions; the foundations of world regions; Europe; the Russian Federation, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus; the Middle East and North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; North America; Latin America and the Caribbean; East Asia; Southeast Asia; South Asia; Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific; and future regional geography.

Knox received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Sheffield, England. After teaching in the United Kingdom for several years, he moved to the United States in 1985 to take a position as professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech. His scholarship focuses on urban and regional development, with an emphasis on comparative study. In 1989 he received a university award for teaching excellence. He has written several books on aspects of economic geography, social geography, and urbanization. He serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals and is co-editor of a series of books on world cities. In 1996 he was appointed to the position of University Distinguished Professor.

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest of its type in the nation. The college is composed of two schools and the departments of landscape architecture, building construction, and art and art history. The School of Architecture + Design includes programs in architecture, industrial design and interior design. The School of Public and International Affairs includes programs in urban affairs and planning, public administration and policy, and government and international affairs. The college enrolls more than 2,000 students offering 22 degrees programs taught by 160 faculty members.