Generous. Selfless. Encouraging. These are just a few of the words that colleagues and students use to describe Shannon White, associate director of William & Mary’s Center for Geospatial Analysis.

Now, another word can be added to that list: deserving.

On May 6, White will be honored with the Shirley Aceto Award, presented annually by the university to a member of instructional or professional faculty “who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to excellence in service to the campus community.” 

White said she was “surprised, flattered and honored.” She had learned of the recognition while prepping for her class early one morning when Erica MacLeod, executive assistant to the dean of arts & sciences, told her she had an email she needed to look at.

“I was like, ‘Whoa. Wow,’” she said. “It’s surprising. I work with such amazing colleagues across campus, and I think that a lot of the things that I do in service are just (duties) I see as part of my job.”

In her current role, White oversees daily operations of the center, including coordinating applied geospatial research sections; supervising two fellows, student employees and other staff; and providing technical leadership for the center. Additionally, she teaches courses in geospatial analysis and others on geovisualization and maintains a drone program to further students’ understanding of data collection.

“I believe in service to the university,” White said, noting that she previously served as president of the Professionals & Professional Faculty Assembly and sat on the Board of Visitors as a representative for faculty and staff. “I take it very seriously.”

Creating a sense of community

White joined William & Mary in 2017. Previously, she served as an assistant extension professional and geospatial extension specialist at the University of Missouri and as an assistant director for the Florida Center for Instruction Technology at the University of South Florida. She has been published 25 times in various academic journals writing on data, geospatial analysis and technology. 

Born in Williamsburg, White first returned to the city after receiving her undergraduate degree and worked at Colonial Williamsburg. Her more recent return to join W&M’s professional faculty has blended a long career of service in education alongside a hometown connection.

White took the helm as interim director of the CGA at an unconventional time, starting in March 2020 right as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning. With just her and two CGA fellows working in the center, White learned the new systems alongside them, slowly building her network. 

Later, as she began to get more acquainted with her new stomping grounds, White also changed the physical landscape within the CGA, moving couches and opening the spaces to create a more welcoming feel.

“(I knew) we needed to have both doors open,” she said. “How do you make people feel like they belong and are part of the community?”

White’s work to create further collaboration within the CGA does not go unnoticed, particularly by Jennifer Swenson, director of the Center for Geospatial Analysis.

“Shannon is the heart of CGA,” she wrote. “She goes to great effort to make everyone feel welcome, to stay late helping individual students with technical issues, and goes the extra mile for faculty who are interested in incorporating spatial analysis or maps in their research and teaching.”

Students from across White’s tenure at William & Mary also recognize how her work ethic and genuine passion for her job shines through in day-to-day interactions.

“Shannon has encouraged our career growth by giving us responsibilities that exceeded our initial expectations of this fellowship, which is a testament to her belief in her students and staff,” wrote Meara Carlin ’23 and Erin Horrigan ’23, CGA fellows, in a nomination letter.

White credits her positive relationships with students to the doctorate in curriculum and instruction with a specialty in instructional technology that she earned at North Carolina State University. She explains that her teaching goes far beyond just making and studying maps; for students to truly excel, her philosophy is to trust them with their own learning. By doing this, she’s found that students will invest time and resources that exceed her own expectations.

“The more responsibility you give a person, the more they will excel,” she said. “I appreciate that – I don’t want to stand in front of a class and just simply lecture from a PowerPoint. That’s not what life is about.”

Bringing real-life experiences to the classroom

One example of White giving her students a great deal of responsibility is the campus mapping project. For her Geovisualization and Cartography class, students are given data on building names, locations and sizes across William & Mary’s campus with the goal of replicating the data into a clean visual. Students only have one week to complete the project, and some data is nearly seven years old, requiring students to go the extra mile in ensuring the maps they’re producing are accurate.

Ultimately, the project is a taste of what real-world cartography and data visualization can be as students enter the workforce. 

“Every day at my job, I think back to the lessons that Dr. White taught me,” said Christina Sabochick ’22, a former CGA fellow. “I know I would not have the problem-solving, leadership, collaboration and communication skills I have today without her guidance.”

Looking at the year ahead, White is excited to find new ways to challenge her students and uplift them to do their best work. A year ago, she didn’t think she’d have undergraduate student projects focusing on Indigenous Brazilians or a project examining jury pools and their proximity to courthouses. Whatever is next, she’s eager to get started.

“(White) is always willing to offer her expertise, whether it be GIS, sewing projects or life in general,” said Molly Moran ’24. “Those of use who are lucky to have her as a professor leave feeling not only more knowledgeable but also valued.”