Dr. Michael Kukral teaches geography and specializes in cultural and political geography, European, Middle East, and African geography and the environment and cultural ecology. He conducted research at Charles University in Prague through a Fulbright fellowship and has led student trips to Europe and Kenya. Dr. Kukral also is involved with both Faculty Without Borders and Engineers Without Borders student groups. He advises the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and has a collection of reproducing player pianos and music rolls that includes rare instruments.
Academic Degrees
- BS, Ohio University, 1982
- MSc, Ohio University, 1986
- MA, Ohio University, 1987
- PhD, University of Kentucky, 1995
Awards & Honors
- Fulbright Fellowship, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1989-90 and 1991
- Outstanding Professor of the Year, Triangle Fraternity, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2013
- Faculty Member of the Month, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2005 and 2004
- Outstanding Geography Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Geography, United Kingdom, 1989 and 1991
Research Experiences
- Cultural and political geography
- Czech settlements in America
- Geography of Africa and Europe
- Environmental issues and land in Africa
- Student overseas travel study programs
- Environment and cultural ecology
- Coastal dairy industry in Oregon
Select Publications & Presentations
- “Geography Study Abroad Programs: Filed Experiences from Africa II,” Africa Specialty Group, Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, 2015
- “Czech Settlements in the Pacific Northwest,” Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 2013
- 14 programs/presentations, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Terre Haute, Indiana, 2004-present
- “Study Guide to Accompany The Human Mosaic (12th edition),” Addison Wesley Longman Publishers, 2011
- “The Decades After the Velvet Revolution: Prague 1989: Theater of Revolution,” The Czech Reader: History, Culture, Politics, Duke University Press, 2010
- Prague 1989: Theater of Revolution, A Study in Humanistic Political Geography, Columbia University Press, 1997
Teaching Interests
- Geography of Africa
- World geography
- Geography of Europe
- Medieval Europe
- Cultural geography