Jennifer L. Rahn
Associate Professor
Howard College of Arts and Sciences
Geography and Sociology
234 Ingalls Hall
jlrahn@samford.edu
205-726-2109

Jennifer Rahn is a native of the great state of New Jersey and has lived and taught courses in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, and Texas before finally settling in Alabama. Her research specialty is coastal geomorphology (especially in the Caribbean) and she also is skilled in GIS and cartography.

Courses

The courses she teaches at Samford include:

Geospatial Courses

  • GEOG 216 Mapping a Changing World
  • GEOG 316 Applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • ENVS 509 Environmental GIS (graduate level in ENVM program)

Physical Geography and Science-Related Courses

  • GEOG 150 Physical Geography: Understanding Planet Earth
  • GEOG 350 Coastal and Marine Geography: Modern Marine Science
  • GEOG 397 Andes to Amazon: Physical Landscapes of Latin America
  • GEOG 351 Caribbean Field Course
  • MARS 406 Coral Reef Ecology

Upper Level Courses

  • GEOG 301 Independent Study
  • GEOG 311 Directed Teaching Experience
  • GEOG 351 Caribbean Field Course
  • GEOG 490 Special Topics in Geography
  • GEOG 499 Senior Seminar

She is an active member of the Southeastern Division of the Association of America Geographers, National Council on Geographic Education, Alabama URISA, and the Association of America Geographers.

 Video Links

Degrees and Certifications

  • BA, Villanova University
  • MA, Temple University
  • PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville

Awards and Honors

  • Bernards High School Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted May 2003
  • Chair of the Coastal and Marine (COMA) specialty group of the Association of American Geographers, 2009-2011 
  • Chair of the Education committee of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers 2011-present 
  • Alabama representative for the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG) 2011-present 
  • Chair of the Samford University Athletics Committee 2013-present 

Presentations

  •  Co-authored over 20 student presentations at AAG, SEDAAG and SWAAG
  • October 2013 Sea & Learn Environmental Awareness on Saba. Presented a lecture on the remediation of the Tent Bay Beach fill attended by 86 people
  • October 2013 – DCNA Bionews article on Underwater Mapping on Saba.
  • August 2013 – Jennifer L. Rahn, Heidi J.L. Lannon, and Joann Mossa, 2013. Diver Depth-Gauge Profiling beyond Wading Depths: A New Simple Method for Underwater Surveying. Journal of Coastal Research. Online publication.
  •  March 2013 - Association of American Geographers in Los Angeles, CA. Chaired and presented in a COMA sponsored illustrated papers session. Digital Depth Gauge Diver Profiling: A simple method of beach profiling
  • April 2012 - Association of American Geographers annual meeting. Beach and Coral Reef Interactions: Using Low Cost Survey Equipment to Map and Monitor Coastal Subaerial and Nearshore Environments for Responses to Sea Level Rise and Tropical Storms. 
  • March 2009 - Association of American Geographers annual meeting, Las Vegas, NV
    Chaired Coastal & Marine specialty group meeting, co-author with baccalaureate student Leiser Watkins:
    A Sense of Place: Mapping the Collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art Presented: Christian Uses of Geotechnologies at the Advent of the 21st Century
  • October 2008 - Southeast Division of the Association of American Geographers annual meeting, Greensboro, NC
    Paper reviewer and Active Learning Panelist
  • April 2008 - Association of American Geographers annual meeting, Boston, MA
    Chaired Session on The Geography of Culture and Place and presented:
    Geography Awareness and Thematic Seasonal Maps