Professor of Geography
cary.komoto@uwc.edu
Phone: (715) 234-8176 ext. 5416
Department: Geography and Geology
Office: R 222
B.S., University of Minnesota
M.A., University of Minnesota
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Cary was born and raised in Minneapolis. His family consisted of his parents, an older brother, and a younger sister. His father passed away in 1999, and his mother recently sold the house in south Minneapolis in which he grew up, and moved to a condo in the Twin Cities. His brother is a family practice physician who lives in a small town in central Minnesota. His sister is a special education teacher and administrator and lives in the Twin Cities.
Cary attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a B.S., a M.A., and a Ph.D. all in geography. He stumbled into geography after an unsuccessful attempt as an engineering student. At the time I had no idea what I would do with a geography major, but I decided that I would major in something that interested me and then see where it would take me. In the end, things worked out quite well.
He started at the University of Wisconsin - Barron County in the fall of 1991, before he had finished his Ph.D. Initially, Cary had planned on taking the position as a temporary one, but the continuing challenge of helping students learn in this setting has been a very rewarding one, so for the foreseeable future he is happy to work here. Writes Cary, “I think that education is one of the keys to improving our society, and I’m pleased to be able to contribute to helping students learn about the world.”
