Faculty Profiles

Colleges and Departments

Dr. Michael Solem

  • Professor - Dept of Geography & Environmntl Studies
Portrait of Dr. Michael Solem

Biography and education

Ph.D., Geography. Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder. December 1999.

Dissertation: The Diffusion, Adoption, and Effects of Instruction with the Internet in U.S. College Geography.
Ph.D. Committee Chair: A. David Hill.

M.S., Geography. Department of Geography, Pennsylvania State University. August 1995.

Thesis: Fire History of the Caribou Wilderness, Lassen National Forest, CA.
MS Committee Chair: Alan H. Taylor.

B.S., Earth Sciences (Geography Minor). Department of Earth Sciences, Pennsylvania State University. August 1993.

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

  • Boehm, Richard G (Principal), Solem, Michael. GO West!, Texas Fund for Geographic Education - THECB & NGS, State, $48775. (Submitted: September 4, 2017, Funded: January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018). Grant.
  • Solem, Michael (Principal), Huynh, Niem (Co-Principal), Boehm, Richard G (Co-Principal), Summers, Emily J (Co-Principal). Geospatial Resources, Materials and Tools for STEM Teacher Preparation, National Science Foundation - RAPID, Federal, $199816. (Funded: August 15, 2014 - August 15, 2015). Grant.
  • Solem, Michael (Principal), Huynh, Niem Tu (Co-Principal), Boehm, Richard G (Co-Principal). Building Capacity for Learning Progressions Research in Geography, National Science Foundation, Federal, $292491. (Funded: January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2016). Grant.
  • Solem, M., Boehm, R. G., & Zadrozny, J. (2024). Powerful Geography for Powerful Teaching and Learning in Social Studies. Social Education, 88(5), 294–300.
  • Solem, M., & Vaughan, P. W. (2024). Reducing Inequality in Student Outcomes in U.S. Geography Education: The Importance of Understanding Student Attitudes. Education Sciences, 14(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14010009
  • Zadrozny, J., Crane, M., Boehm, R. G., & Solem. (2023). Teaching Climate Change through Powerful Geography. The Geography Teacher, 20(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/19338341.2023.2261480
  • Solem, M., Vander Weil, B. P., Boehm, R. G., & Zadrozny, J. (2022, November 8). Powerful Geography at Work. AAG Newsletter. https://doi.org/10.14433/2017.0121
  • Solem, M., Vaughan, P. W., Savage, C., & De Nadai, A. S. (2021). Student- and school-level predictors of geography achievement in the United States, 1994-2018. Journal of Geography, 120(6), 201–211.
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Gilbert M. Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education, American Association of Geographers. April 2015
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Research promoting excellence in geography teaching and learning, Journal of Geography in Higher Education. April 2010
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award, National Council for Geographic Education. October 2003
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Significant Achievement Award for Centers, College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Excellence in Research Funding and Sponsored Programs, College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University. 2020
View all awards
  1. Chair

    Search Committee, TXST Global Assistant Professor of Instruction

  2. Chair

    Scholarships and Awards

  3. Co-Chair

    IGU Commission on Geographical Education

  4. Chair

    National Center for Research in Geography Education

  5. Member

    Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education

  6. Coordinator / Organizer

    AAG Geography Faculty Development Alliance

  7. View all activities