Mansfield University Home Page
Dr. Russell Dodson is chair of the department and teaches both geography and geology courses. He developed the program in Environmental Science and is advisor to students in that emphasis. The outdoors are important to him and he enjoys taking students hiking, whitewater rafting, caving, skiing- and dinner and a movie. He has been advisor to the Geography Club since its inception in 1983. Listening to live music (bluegrass, folk, old timey) and dancing (contra dancing mostly) are his favorite pastimes.
He has even been known to clog in class - at the request of students, of course. He is also learning to play the mountain dulcimer, though it's proving to be a slow process. Recently, he has acted in a number of non-professional plays and skits, written a humorous song and poem about a dreaded childhood experience (the Saturday night bath), and concocted a story suitable for a Liars Club presentation. Dr. Dodson joined the Mansfield faculty in 1982. He is a graduate of Wayne State University (B.S.E. Geography, 1972), and Michigan State University (M.S. Geography 1974; Ph.D. Geography, 1985). In his nonacademic life he has had jobs ranging from surveyor in the Army to production foreman at Ford Motor Company.
rdodson@mansfield.edu (570) 662-4614
Dr. Jennifer Demchak leads the Watershed Management program in the Geography and Geology Department. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Watershed Management, Introduction to Soils, and Hydrogeology. Her main professional interests are acid mine drainage remediation.
She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (B.S. Biology, 1996), Clarion University ( M.S. Biology, 1998) and West Virginia University (Ph.D. Plant and Soil Science, 2005). From 2002 to the present she has been president of an environmental consulting company which focusses on watershed management and mine drainage treatment. She is the advisor of the Watershed club and has instilled a passion for watershed restoration in many students in the department.
To contact Dr. Demchak call (570) 662-4613 or email to jdemchak@mansfield.edu
Dr. Christopher Kopf teaches a range of courses in Geology and directs the Earth & Space Science Education Program for middle and secondary school teachers. Dr. Kopf’s courses stress the importance of basic field observations and geologic mapping. In his courses he helps students to understand connections between geologic processes that impact the world at the scale of tiny mineral grains all the way up to giant mountain ranges. Dr. Kopf is also the advisor to the campus Geology Club.
Dr. Kopf joined the faculty at Mansfield in the fall of 2008. He first became interested in geology as an undergraduate at Colgate University, and received his doctorate in Geology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1999. Dr. Kopf was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Uiversity of Minnesota and taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Uiversity of Pittsburgh at Johnstown prior to joining the Mansfield faculty. His primary research interests revolve around the behavior of the deep crust and the (very!) long-term growth and evolution of North America, but he also maintains a broad fascination with most aspects of the world around us. His research has allowed him to spend extensive time mapping and enjoying the outdoors in Northern Canada, the Baja Peninsula of Mexico, the Adirondacks, and Sierra Nevada mountains of California. He is an avid backpacker, cyclist, and canoeist.
To contact Dr. Kopf call (570) 662-4615 or email to ckopf@mansfield.edu
Dr. Bingqing Liang is a new faculty member who supports the Mapping Technology program in the Department of Geography and Geology. She teaches a number of courses including World Regional Geography, Infographics, GIS/GPS, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Research. She will also oversee the department computer lab.
Dr. Liang joined the department in the fall of 2009. She obtained her B. S. in Geography Education from South China Normal University, China in 2002, and an M. A. and a Ph.D. in Geography from Indiana State University, United States in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Dr. Liang was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Geography at Western Illinois University prior to joining the Mansfield faculty. Her main research interest is in the application of remote sensing and GIS to urban analysis at multiple scales, including urban land use and land cover change detection, urban temperature modeling, urban quality assessment, and residential population estimation.
To contact Dr. Liang call (570) 662-4612 or email to bliang@mansfield.edu
Retired Faculty
Dr. Kathy Thorne retired from Mansfield University in the Spring of 2009. We all wish her the best in her new home in Louisiana. Her current email address is:
A webpage dedicated to the men and women who have graduated from the Department. Take a look at some of the interesting jobs they have! 
Our new emphasis in 
Students practice with current meters that they will use to estimate the discharge of the Tioga River. 
Check out 
The Geography Club is a great place to meet great people. Recent activities include trips for skiing, white water rafting, bike riding, hiking and more. Membership is available to all students. View pictures from past excursions at the 
Geology Club sponsors mineral collecting trips, visits to science museums, trips to science teacher's conventions and more. All students are welcome! Visit the