Geographically curious; globally engaged.
I am a professor of geography and international studies at Columbus State University in Georgia, USA. I am also the steward of the Mildred Miller Fort Foundation Eminent Scholar and Chair of International Education at CSU. Global learning is one of aspects I value most through my teaching and administration of international education. My research areas focus on the production of space, the politics of scale, and contested spaces/borders in Brazil and China.
I have been a SIO (senior international officer) for 24 years and am experienced in education abroad, international enrollment management, international student and scholar services, and international/regional studies. I currently serve as the elected chair of the University System of Georgia's System Council for International Education (SCIE) and as the President of the Alumni Board for the East-West Center's Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP).
My scholarship focuses on Brazilian urban political economy, Chinese political economy, the political ecology of the Georgia coastline, and more recently, on antique maps of colonial America.
I am a Rotarian (Columbus, GA Club 200, District 6900). "Service before Self."
Experience:
Professor of Geography & International Studies (Tenured/Full Professor)
Brazil/Latin America (Fluent in (Brazilian) Portuguese)
East Asian Studies (China and the Koreas)
International Studies Program Coordinator
Executive Director
Education Abroad
Academic Programs, Spencer House, Oxford, England
International Enrollment Management
International Student & Scholar Services
Fundraiser, Grant Writer & Steward of Endowments ($1.8 million)
Chairperson, System Council for International Education (SCIE), University System of Georgia (Regent's Academic Support Council)
President, Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP) Alumni Association/Annual National Academic Conference (Washington, DC, 2025)
USA Tel: +1 (706) 507-8545
UK Tel: +44 (0)1865 600113
Brazil Tel: +55 (11) 3042 9389
Email: eric.spears@fulbrightmail.org or spears_eric@columbusstate.edu
Follow me: LinkedIn