Projections and Perceptions-Editorial Comment: Geography's Future: Professional or Academic?

The 21st century brings to the fore the age-old arguments about the functions of colleges and universities. The University as the host for scholarly thinking and activities has dominated in most countries. But the late 20th century saw an increased demand for professional training. Some faculties continued to develop along both fronts (e.g., medicine, law) where research was indeed an important component, but where training of practitioners was, at some places, even more important. Other areas focused more on training, and developed " professional schools" where related academics were combined with technical or other training programs to " certify" practitioners. Geography faces this dilemma in its future. The greatest pressure comes from the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) area. The discipline has already identified an academic footprint-Geographic Information Science or GISc-to anchor this part of the discipline in traditional academic territory. But there is growing demand for certification programs to undertake GIS training without any " academic baggage." Such programs are being developed in private technical colleges, in community colleges, and in fee-paid training programs run by private businesses.