John W. Frazier is one of the best examples of an academic geographer who has balanced a career between academia and the private sector. As an academic geographer, John has been a leading author and proponent of applied geography. His writings, both in journal articles and a classic text, have emphasized the long and significant history of applied geography, its reemergence in the United States during the 1970s, and the long-term importance of applied geography to a healthy discipline.

As a university professor, John has secured substantial external funding for his own applied research. Students have greatly benefited from this activity, both as paid assistants, and in learning how to study applied problems. John has produced more than forty graduate students, most of whom have taken employment in the non-academic sectors.

As a practitioner, John has served in a variety of consulting capacities, both for private and government employers. An important part of his work has been as a consultant with federal HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, where he has provided strategies for incorporating mapping analysis for fair housing assessments. John and his staff have also trained HUD field office staff in the use of these strategies.

Finally, John W. Frazier is the principal founder of the national Applied Geography Conference, which was first held in Binghamton, NY in 1978. Joined by his colleagues from Kent State University (especially his co-director Bart Epstein), John has provided national leadership in bringing together public and private geographers in an annual forum that strengthens geography as a discipline.