Robert Cramer teaching and traveling . . .
Article regarding the career of Robert Cramer. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.Citation for this article is: "Robert Cramer teaching and traveling . . . " Pieces of Eight, December 1, 1982.
When Bob Cramer retires at the end of this semester it won't be to begin a life of lazy ease at home; he and his wife will be getting ready for another of the long journeys they've taken together -- this time to the southern hemisphere.During his 28 years on the East Carolina geography faculty, Cramer has spent many months organizing and directing travel-study tours for students. Those programs have taken him into all regions of the U.S. and to Mexico, Europe, Canada and the Middle East. Most recently he directed four semesters of the ECU-Universidad Nacional program in Costa Rica, and established a new summer study program in the northern African kingdom of Morocco.
"I believe students of geography should travel and observe intelligently," he says. "There is much more to the study of geography than the textbook." In line with this belief he spent seven months of 1978 teaching at Tokyo Gakugai University and doing field research in Japan under a program sponsored by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Of the 253 scientists from many nations involved in the program, Cramer was the only geographer.Photographic Record
During all his travels, Cramer has meticulously recorded what he sees with his 35mm Canon cameras and assorted lenses. Exotic birds and other wildlife, active volcanoes, tropical rain forests, barren mountain peaks and crowded city marketplaces are captured in the more than 40 thousand color slides he's collected. His friends in the East Carolina Camera Club find especially appealing his close-up shots of dark-eyed waifs from four continents.
Travel to distant places hasn't been Cramer's sole preoccupation during his years here; his accomplishments and contributions include many relating to North Caroina.Growth and Development
He conceived the idea for establishing the ECU Regional Development Institute and was its co-founder and first director. He's led many workshops and seminars for the state's geography teachers and lobbied policy-makers to increase geography programs in the public schools. He was a founder and past president of the N.C. Geography Society and has been a member or officer of the Greenville Zoning and Planning Board, the Governor's Advisory Board for Regional Development and the N.C. Coastal Plains Development Commission.
Upon receiving the PhD degree from the University of Chicago, where he was a Salisbury Fellow, Cramer taught at Memphis State University and spent three years as an Air Force Intelligence senior research anaylst. In 1954 he was recruited by President John D. Messick to join the East Carolina faculty; since then he's seen, and been responsible for, a lot of growth and change on campus.Geography Leadership
Cramer was appointed chairman of the four-member geography faculty in 1962. By the time he stepped down in 1975, the Department had 15 full-time faculty members and achieved national recognition as the third largest in numbers of undergraduate students enrolled in its geography classes.
Two master's degree programs and a planning major were developed during Cramer's leadership, and East Carolina became an official depository for the U.S. Geological Survey topographic sheets. The department also acquired a training program for cartography students leading to employment with the U.S. Army Map Service.
A tireless advocate of geography education, Cramer has written several text-workbooks along with research reports and journal articles and has been a leader in the National Council for Geographic Education. (The Council is marketing six of his slide sets.) He has also been international president of Gamma Theta Upsilon honor society in geography and founder of ECU's own Beta Iota chapter.More Travel Time
Next year, he'll have some well-earned leisure time. "It's going to take me at least two years to sort through all the slides," he said. "I plan to spend my retirement traveling, noting and photographing the geographic landscape. This will result in published articles, talks and more slide sets for educational use."
Hundreds of students have benefitted from Cramer's teaching and leadership; upon retirement he's leaving behind a tangible gift to future students -- an initial fund of $5,000 to establish the Robert E. and Margeryfay R. Cramer Scholarship to be awarded each year to an ECU geography major participating in a class-travel program abroad.
Meanwhile, as soon as the Christmas holidays are over, the Cramers will take out their well-worn passports, pack their bags and camera gear and depart for their journey to Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Fiji. There'll be plenty of slides to show when they return; the Cramer luggage will carry enough film for shooting a 36-exposure roll each of the 45 days of the trip!
