Gil Latz Vice Provost for International Affairs Professor of Geography and International Studies Geography Department, Portland State University Post Office Box 751, Portland, Oregon, 97207-0751 latzg@pdx.edu

Gil Latz is Vice Provost for International Affairs and Professor of Geography at Portland State University with specializations in economic and political geography. He holds a joint appointment in the University International Studies Program. His graduate research training took place at the University of Chicago (1976-1980) and the University of Tokyo (1980-84); in 1978 he was granted the Masters and in 1986 the Ph.D., both from The University of Chicago. In 2002, he was appointed Vice Provost for the Office of International Affairs (OIA). OIA is responsible for 1600 international students, over 100 education abroad programs, and the University’s Internationalization Strategy.
Since appointment to Portland State University, Dr. Latz’s research has focused on regional development policy (agriculture and urban) in Japan, East Asia, and North America; this work continues with a specific focus on sustainable management of forested areas in Europe and the U.S. His research has been funded by the Japan Foundation, the Japanese Ministry of Education, the National Science Foundation, The Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadcasting Project, and the US Fulbright Commission. Recent publications include: “Comparative international research on agricultural land-use history and forest management practices in Italy and the US, in M. Agnoletti, ed. The Conservation of Cultural Landscapes, CABI Publishing, 2006; G. Curtis, G. Latz, M. Kimura, eds. Nihon no Chosen (Challenges for Japan), Shibusawa Foundation; 2005; and Special Issue on Controversial Issues in Japanese Politics and Society; Guest Editor, Asian Perspective (Vol. 29, No. 1), 2005.
Dr. Latz’s secondary interests focus on international trade and educational video development. The former included a six year appointment (1987-93) as Executive Director of the International Trade Institute at Portland State University, an organization with responsibility for conducting foreign market research opportunities for Oregon businesses. The latter includes extensive work as an educational consultant on telecourse development to the Annenberg / Corporation for Public Broadcasting Project (1987-present), e.g., The Pacific Century, 1992, the Power of Place: World Regional Geography, 1996; 2003; and Academic production consultant/ Co-Host (with S. Hardwick and J. Binko), Teaching World Regional and Human Geography: Standards–Content–Methods, Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadcasting Project and Cambridge Studios, 2003. The Pacific Century received, in 1993, an Emmy and the Columbia University Silver Baton for Broadcast Journalism.
In addition to his current administrative, and research and teaching appointments, Dr. Latz serves as: Senior Research Fellow to the Conservation Study Institute, US National Park Service and the Forest History Society; academic consultant to Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadcasting., Association of American Geographers, National Geographic Society, and Spannocchia Foundation; an editor of the journals Asian Perspective and Global Environment and contributor to Encyclopaedia Britannica; an advisor to the National Geographic Society’s Oregon Geographic Alliance. His advisory appointments include: the Internationalization Collaborative of the American Council on Education; University representative, Advisory Working Group for the US Department of State’s ‘Vietnam/US Education Task Force’; and the Japan-America Society of Oregon.