Dr. Chuck Ziehr began his career in higher education in 1978 at East Carolina University and came to NSU in 1990. He was appointed Chairperson of the Department of Social Sciences in 2004. He has served as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice President, and President of the NSU Faculty Council. Chuck was awarded the NSU Faculty Circle of Excellence Award for Teaching in 1994 and the Distinguished Teaching Achievement Award by the National Council for Geographic Education in 1999. He has served on the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and on the Faculty Advisory Council of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Dr. Ziehr is an economic geographer who also teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He has a Ph.D. from Indiana University, an M.S. from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. from the University of Arkansas. His research interests are in regional development, land use planning, and geographic education teaching methods.