The Anastasia Van Burkalow Award for Distinguished Service is the highest honor award given by the department for service to the Department of Geography and Environmental Science.

Dr. Anastasia Van Burkalow (1911-2004), a pioneer in the geosciences when the field was dominated by men, was the first woman to be appointed to the prestigious Kemp Fellowship in Geology at Columbia University. A daughter of a Methodist minister (as were both her grandfathers) and a musician, Van Burkalow graduated from Hunter College in 1931 with a B.A. degree in geology, received M.A. degree in 1933 and the Ph.D. in 1944 in geology from Columbia University. She was elected chair of the then Department of Geology and Geography at Hunter College in 1961 and served four consecutive four year terms. Under her leadership the department prospered and its reputation for excellence in undergraduate geoscience education grew. She was elected to the Hunter College Alumni Hall of Fame in 1973. In recognition of her years of service to the department, college and discipline, Hunter College-CUNY awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science in 1996.

In addition to her commitment to teacher preparation programs, during her tenure and well into the retirement, Van Burkalow produced an outstanding amount of scholarship. She published numerous articles and reviews, gave lectures and actively participated in professional organizations including the American Geographical Society and the Society of Woman Geographers-New York Group. Her research interests included geomorphology, physical geography, cartography, conservation, resources, and medical geology and geography. She produced one on the first analytical works on the New York City water supply system and a four-part Transcontinental Excursion Field Guide for the 1952 International Geographical Union’s annual meeting in the United States. She edited the Journal of Geological Education (1954-56), and the classics Megalopolis by Jean Gottman (1960-61) and Economic Geography by Jones and Darkenwald (1961-62).

Outside of academia her passion was church music. She played organ during masses in several churches in the city.

To mark her 50 years of service to Hunter College, the Anastasia Van Burkalow Distinguished Service Award was created in 1990. It continues to be awarded annually to a person or organization that espouses the values and goals she set for herself.

 

Recipients:

	1990		Anastasia Van Burkalow
	1991		The American Express Co.
	1992		National Geographic Society
	1993		Alan H. Strahler
	1994		Alice Hudson Map Division, NYPL
	1995		Saul B. Cohen
	1996		Environmental Systems Research Institute
	1997		Jacobs Family
	1998		American Geographical Society
	1999		Society of Women Geographers New York Group
	2000		Commissioner Allan H. Dobrin NYC Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications
	2001		CARSI Laboratory, Hunter College - CUNY Sean C. Ahearn, Director
	2002		Clyde P. Patton
	2003		US Army Engineer Research and Development Center Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory
	2004		Karl-Heinz Szekielda
	2005		Anthony F. Grande
	2006		Jeffrey P. Osleeb
	2007		Teodosia Manecan
	2008		Thomas B. Walter
	2010		Charles A. Heatwole
	2012		Samuel Kess
	2013		Ela Shapiro
	2014		Sara L. McLafferty
	2015		Jack Eichenbaum
	2019		Dana Reimer
	2022		Martha Taylee
	2023		Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab
	2024		Dean of School of Arts & Sciences Andrew J. Polsky