Memorial map reflects Bob Myers’ support for Penn State GeoGraphics Lab

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A large-format map created by Penn State students now hangs in a California theater as a tribute to conservationist David Myers, while also reflecting the growing impact of donor support on the Department of Geography’s GeoGraphics Lab.

Commissioned by Penn State alumnus and donor Bob Myers in honor of his late brother, the piece traces the reach of the Wildlands Conservancy, the nonprofit David Myers founded to protect natural areas across the American West and connect people to those landscapes through recreation and environmental education. The map now anchors the David Myers Donor Lounge at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, California.

For Bob Myers, a map felt like the right way to honor his brother’s life and work.

“When he died a year ago, I thought one of the ways to honor him was through a map,” Bob said. “The breadth of the Wildlands Conservancy properties throughout California, Oregon and Utah dictated a geospatial tribute, because the number of properties that have been preserved is impressive. A map seemed like the anchor point for the tribute and the Ruskin Group Theatre’s new arts center the perfect display venue given David’s connection to it.”

Michael Myers, producing artistic director of the Ruskin and Bob’s son, said the new arts center would not exist without the lessons he learned from his uncle.

“Having this map of David’s life’s work displayed in our donor lounge feels especially meaningful because his mentorship is woven into the very fabric of this theatre,” he said.

The project also gave cartography students the chance to take on a detailed, client-based assignment for a public audience.

The project was developed through Penn State’s GeoGraphics Lab, a multimedia cartography lab in the Department of Geography where students work alongside faculty and staff on geospatial visualization, design and research projects for clients at Penn State and for local and regional community partners.

The design was developed over several months, as Bob engaged directly with graduate students Lily Houtman and Zhaoxu Sui through multiple rounds of collaborative design and refinement. Foundational support was provided by GeoGraphics Lab Director Anthony Robinson, Creative Director Alicia Iverson and input from 10 other lab student cartographers.

The piece brings together a central map of the conservancy’s preserves, a timeline of land acquisitions and photographs of landscapes and people tied to the Wildlands Conservancy’s work.

Houtman said the team aimed to balance that level of detail with a design that still felt inviting.

“We were able to communicate something that’s very complex in a way that’s pretty clear and also beautiful,” Houtman said. “I feel proud that it all came together in a way that works really nicely.”

Sui said the team wanted viewers to understand both the geographic scale of the Wildlands Conservancy’s work and David’s role in shaping it.

“We wanted people looking at this poster to recognize David Myers and the contributions that he made to establish these preserves,” Sui said. “By looking at all the preserves scattered across California, readers can build immediate connections between the preserves geographically and all the activities they are doing.”

Bob said that public-facing work was central to his brother’s vision.

“One of the unique things about the Wildlands Conservancy is that it doesn’t just hold land,” Bob said. “It opens it up to the public, to children. They have naturalists and other outdoor education employees who help share nature with people who don’t get to experience it on a regular basis.”

For Bob, commissioning the map was meaningful not only because it honored his brother, but because it gave students the opportunity to work through a large and complex project.

“I thought commissioning the GeoGraphics Lab to do the work would give students an opportunity to work with a very large-format map,” Bob said. “It was a complicated mapping project because it mapped time, place and a lot of separate properties. It was fun to work on with the lab and see the progress and the final product.”

That project reflects a broader investment Bob has made in Penn State Geography and the GeoGraphics Lab.

A senior partner at Vanaman German and campus counsel for Santa Monica College, Bob has earned multiple Penn State geospatial credentials, including a master of geographic information systems degree in 2018 and a master of science in spatial data science in 2025. He also completed a postbaccalaureate certificate in geographic information systems in 2016, a graduate certificate in remote sensing and earth observation in 2020 and a graduate certificate in geospatial programming and web development in 2023.

Since first supporting the lab in 2023 by establishing the Geographics Lab Projection fund, Bob has expanded that philanthropy through gifts for student cartography, a $25,000 matching campaign, the Myers Award for Cartographic Excellence and a new $100,000 commitment that will support the long-term growth and sustainability of the GeoGraphics Lab.

He said he sees that support as an investment in both students and the future of cartographic work.

“I view the GeoGraphics Lab as a hub of creative activity that can support students and the institution and keep the tradition of beautiful cartographic products,” Bob said. “The GeoGraphics Lab provides an opportunity for students to have experiential learning opportunities, which I believe are very valuable to a student’s education.”

That support is already shaping student opportunities.

Safia Javed, a fourth-year geography student and this year’s recipient of the Myers Award for Cartographic Excellence, said the award will help her attend the North American Cartographic Information Society conference, something she had hoped to do before learning she had received the recognition.

“I was really surprised and happy to be selected for the award,” Javed said. “I really want to go to NACIS. Being able to do that now is so exciting, and I’m really looking forward to going and just having that opportunity. It means a lot.”

Javed, who graduated in May, said the lab has shaped her undergraduate experience through both project work and the collaborative environment it provides.

“It’s such a great community and space, very collaborative, and everyone is just so nice and helpful,” Javed said. “I feel like we all learn from each other, and everyone’s ideas are so great and diverse. Being part of that environment has been really rewarding.”

Sui said that kind of experience is what makes the lab distinct from classroom instruction alone.

“College-level education in cartography usually gives students the basic techniques of mapmaking and lets them experiment,” Sui said. “But when you actually do cartography for others, whether for nonprofits, government or community partners, there are many things beyond simply map production. The GeoGraphics Lab provides a complete workflow of how to make maps for clients that is far beyond a typical cartography class.”

Bob said he was drawn not only to the lab’s focus on student learning, but also to its public-facing mission.

“What particularly attracted me to the GeoGraphics Lab was the commitment of Anthony Robinson, professor of geography and director of Penn State’s Online Geospatial Education programs, to provide free mapping services to community organizations and others that could not afford such services,” Bob said. “I think my support is helpful to accomplishing that mission.”

The mission also made the memorial project a good fit for the lab. Bob said the commission gave students the chance to create something public-facing that reflected the work his brother cared about through the Wildlands Conservancy.

Now on display in Santa Monica, the map and poster bring that full circle. The piece honors David Myers through the places he helped protect, while also preserving his legacy in a form shaped by Penn State student cartographers.

Gifts to the GeoGraphics Lab advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.