I intend this to be a place to assemble my thoughts and findings having to do with realistic possibilities for GIS at W&L, specifically in the International and Global Stewardship and Environmental Studies areas... but certainly including departmental developments and potentials as well.
Most schools with GIS Web presence are primarily concerned with teaching GIS in the context of certificate programs and (often) Geography departments, and it's rare to find reference to "teaching with GIS" [but see USGS RMMC]
Some contexts for elaboration:
GIS and 'critical thinking' in data-rich environments: ==> analytical thinking
GIS as a tool for Information Fluency
GIS in various professions
GIS in Environmental Studies
visualization
exploration, "discovery-based pedagogies", "inductive examination of data"
analysis
presentation
management
decision-making
support and training
data: acquisition, curation, distribution
spatial data and the Library
collaboration (ACS and other consortia)
A persistent Question: how to have (promulgate, develop) GIS without a Geography department, and as a broadly-applicable tool rather than a technical specialty? What are the practical necessities for support and training and data-handling, and how can they be met? Some level of dedicated support is really required --it can't be done successfully [and 'success' means growth and spread of skills and active use] on an ad hoc and in-addition-to basis, which is what we have at the moment. The Brandeis report is the most thoughtful and eloquent exposition I've found of practical requirements.
Oberlin's experience is reported in an article in GeoInfoSystems (April 2000)
Spatial Data Needs: the future of the National Mapping Program (from National Academy Press, which has LOTS of other useful stuff, like Distributed Geolibraries: Spatial Information Resources --Summary of a Workshop (1999))