College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
Associate Professor of Geography
Dr. Jess Porter is an associate professor of geography in the Department of History. He incorporates experiential learning and innovative practices into his curriculum.
Dr. Porter is responsible for maintaining the geography minor and has developed and taught 10 distinct courses at UA Little Rock. His courses incorporate technology and his innovative curriculum has been credited with increasing enrollment in geography classes. Incorporating technology has enabled Dr. Porter to develop four pedagogical publications with Pearson’s “Encounter” series. His teaching activities, “have transformed geography classrooms, giving students guided, interactive discovery experiences that set a new paradigm in geographic education,” according to one of the series editors.
One particularly innovative course Dr. Porter developed and teaches is the interdisciplinary “History and Geography of China” in which he travels with students to China to show them that country’s geography firsthand. He has also assisted with a similar course for travel to Korea. Both courses are extremely popular, underscoring Porter’s mentorship and passion for teaching.
Dr. Jess Porter has a B.A. in geography and environmental studies from the University of Colorado. His M.S. and Ph.D. in geography are from Oklahoma State University.