Dr. Chris Lukinbeal, Director of the GIS Technology (GIST) program at the University of Arizona, has been appointed Associate Director of the School of Geography and Regional Development (SGD) in the College of Social and Behavioral Science.  Dr. Lukinbeal has been involved in a number of endeavors over the past several years which make him a valuable asset to the School, especially in this transitional period as Dr. Lynn Staeheli will join the University of Arizona in Fall 2015 as Director of the SGD.  For the past two years, Dr. Lukinbeal has been the Geography Department’s lead representative on the committee overseeing the design and construction of the School’s new building, ENR2, which it will share with the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Institute for the Environment, and the Mathematics Department.  As such, he is well-positioned to oversee SGD’s transition to the new building when completed and will provide administrative continuity between the current School leadership of Interim Director Dr. Connie Woodhouse and Dr. Staeheli.  Among his other duties as Associate Director, Dr. Lukinbeal will be supervising the self-study portion of the school’s septennial Academic Performance Review (APR), due next year, as well as a complete overhaul of the School’s technological resources.  Although he will certainly have many new responsibilities, Dr. Lukinbeal will not be leaving GIST.  He will remain its director; however, day-to-day operations will be shifted more toward Associate Director Iris Patten.  Additionally, GIST will be hiring a Geospatial Instructional Specialist, who will be in the Spatial Analysis Laboratory during the MSGIST class time every night beginning this summer.  GIST will also be hiring a program coordinator specifically for GIST to help manage administrative responsibilities.  Congratulations, Chris, on your promotion!