It has been a couple of years since the Department of Geology and Geography sent out a newsletter. Ordinarily we have sent out just a brief sketch, and have asked our alumni and former faculty for news of themselves. Assembling that information, we put together a fairly extensive report on the activities of everyone that replied and sent that out. This time we're going to do it a bit differently, at least at the beginning. We're going to let you know what has been going on around here, and give you a chance to supply your own remarks, family updates, etc., then we'll try to get that information out at a later date, probably next Spring.

The Long Silence
You may want to know why the department has failed to keep in touch recently. Actually it's a pretty simple answer - there has been an awful lot going on around here, and I (Fred Rich, the former Chair) simply didn't get the information together. We've faced some very demanding tasks over the last few years, and that is part of the news we've got to share with you.

The University System of Georgia has gone to the semester system finally. That change required complete re-writing of the department's curriculum. Those of you who were here up until two years ago wouldn't even recognize the course names any more. It has given us a chance to reconfigure classes that really needed it (e.g., Historical Geology) and it has provided us with an opportunity to implement new courses (e.g., History of Life and Principles of Oceanography). We are also teaching Environmental Geology with a laboratory as part of a new set of required environmental science lab courses that will be taken by every Freshman. Preparing for the transition was long and demanding. Implementing the courses has been easy by comparison.

Former Chair, Fred Rich (see the smile!)

Another very demanding task was the structuring and implementation of a new degree program, the Bachelor of Science in Geography. Yes, we finally have a major in Geography! It took four years to write the proposal, then rewrite it, and rewrite it yet again. The major was approved by the Board of Regents a year ago, but it is this year (1998-99) that we have the first real opportunity to administer it with some sense of confidence.

A great deal of time has been spent on faculty searches over the past two years. It seems that every time we turned around there was another search committee forming. In the list of brief faculty sketches you see below you will find names of people that most of you have never heard of. It's a symptom of growth, which is good. As the University and the programs we have responsibility for grow, so must the numbers of faculty. Our faculty is fairly large, and very diverse. Some of the familiar faces are still here, and others have vanished. Most of you are probably aware of Dr. Petkewich's passing. He died in the spring of 1997; that in itself was traumatic for his colleagues of ten and twenty years, and it took a while to recover from it. While his position has been replaced, he never will be.

Finally, our department and the Department of Chemistry succeeded last year in bringing in $1.4 million in National Science Foundation and State monies in order to renovate the undergraduate research and teaching facilities (the hard rock and soft rock labs). Since that time, the building has been swarming with contractors who, working steadily through winter, spring, summer, and fall have brought the project to completion. We now occupy nearly all of the main floor of Herty Building, as well as a portion of the basement, so the space we have available to us is considerably greater than it was ten years ago. We and Chemistry did not have much trouble spending the $1.4 million that came from NSF and the State, and our new labs are truly wonderful. We had a surprising windfall come to us from the University Administration in the form of improvements to our large lecture hall, Dr. Petkewich's old office (he wasn't here to appreciate it, unfortunately), and one of the undergraduate teaching labs, so they have been similarly redesigned. All together, something over $1.5 million was spent this year on physical facilities. Just as is the case with the course numbers, you won't recognize your old classrooms if you see them, and that is something of which we are proud!


Hard Rock Lab (former sewing room)

New Faces

The other big news that we have to announce this year is that we successfully completed two searches last year. One was for a new Department Chair. I had been in the saddle for ten years, and the ride was getting kind of bumpy, so I decided to get off and walk. The new Chair is Dr. Dallas D. Rhodes, who comes here from Whittier College. Dallas was affiliated with Whittier since 1977, having been the Chair there over three different intervals of time. Dallas is a geomorphologist by training, and earned his degrees from the University of Missouri (BS, 1969), and Syracuse University (MA, 1973; PhD, 1973). His recent work involves research into tectonic geomorphology of active strike-slip faults in California.

Our second search was for a structural geologist. Dr. Charles H. Trupe, III, comes to us from a one-term appointment at Appalachian State University. Chuck was schooled at George Mason University (BS, 1985), and the University of North Carolina (MS, 1989; PhD, 1997). Chuck's main research interest is in the structural evolution of the Blue Ridge. He currently teaches introductory geology classes and structural geology.

Pranoti Asher, an igneous petrologist by training, is in her second year with us. She has taught courses for majors and non-majors. Last year she organized a meeting and fieldtrip for the Board of the Association for Women Geoscientists (a group with which she has very close ties), and she was able to acquaint quite a few woman geoscientists with our programs and our area. This summer she and one of our majors participated in a W. M. Keck Foundation- sponsored student-faculty research project on "Melting in pelitic schists in central Massasschusetts".

Sam Couch is also in his second year. Sam taught a variety of geography classes, and spent much of his time cultivating ties with the Irish Studies Program, as well as the U.S. Forest Service. USFS is the proprietor of a Warren, Idaho, archeological site that Sam has been involved with. Right now, it appears that the Irish connection is going to be developed very successfully, and Sam spent the last days of summer in the vicinity of Donegal. Both connections lead to establishment of summer field schools for 1999 - one in Wilderness Field Methods, and one in Irish cultural geography.

Jim Reichard is in his third year here. He has taught many introductory geology classes, and is now in charge of the installation of an observation well-field. We secured an NSF-ILI grant last year which will help us install piezometer nests at an on-campus site. The well-field is being established as a component of our developing Environmental Geology courses.

Other faculty news follows:

Kelly Vance is entering his tenth year. Still slugging it out in the classroom, Kelly has also been heavily involved with our searches. Late this summer he took advantage of a course development grant to do fieldwork in New Mexico in anticipation of running a regional field geology class next semester with Pranoti Asher that will focus on volcanic terranes.

Denise Battles continues in her role as Assistant Dean. Her primary activity in the department has been in coordinating two NSF grants - the ARI grant which lead to the building modifications, and a Course and Curriculum Development grant which centers about the new Environmental Science courses that all the science departments are offering this year.

Soft Rock Lab (former kitchen)

Jim Darrell was President of the Georgia Academy of Science this last year. The tasks associated with that job, as well as advising, and teaching Environmental Geology and Teaching Science in the Middle Grades have kept him pretty busy.

Dan Good continues to help keep the Geography program rolling. Now that we have a major, he and the other geographers have new courses to teach, and people to advise. Dan spent part of the summer doing volunteer work in Panama, and continues in his role of trying to forecast the behavior of hurricanes. Good luck, Dan!

Mark Welford continues to explore innovative approaches to geographic education. He was rewarded with nomination to Project Kaleidoscope (a national alliance of educators) for his efforts in the classroom. In addition, this summer he spent seven weeks in Ecuador; four weeks conducting field research, and two weeks teaching a biogeography field class that combined his interest in physical geography, conservation and ornithology. Furthermore, he was appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of Geography, the flagship journal of the National Council for Geographic Education. He is responsible for submissions pertaining to physical geography

Gale Bishop is in his last year at Georgia Southern. He is one of the founding members of the department, and intends to retire in June of 1999. Gale is our leader in the development of innovative teaching techniques, particularly those involving Distance Learning and computer applications in the classroom. This year Gale, and his colleague Nancy Marsh, continued with the extremely successful St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Internship program. They are the best allies the sea turtles have on the Georgia coast.

Richard Hulbert, Jr. remains in charge of the Georgia Southern Museum's paleontology collections, and has succeeded in puting the final touches on the Plant Vogtle whale. Georgiacetus is described in print, and an unveiling of a new whale display took place in October. Aside from those activities, Richard teaches Physical and Historical Geology, and a successful new course, History of the Earth.



Richard Hulbert and Georgiacetus

Jim Henry remains at his outpost on Skidaway Island. Jim is the Director of the Applied Coastal Research Laboratory, and continues to write successful grant proposals to continue his studies of the Georgia Coastal Zone. He is working very closely with Dr. Clark Alexander, an adjunct member of our faculty and research geologist with SkIO.

I guess that leaves me, Fred Rich. I spend a lot of time smiling. When I'm not doing that, I teach introductory geology classes, count pollen grains, run fieldtrips in the Okefenokee Swamp, and measure the orientation of joint sets on the Coastal Plain.

Foundation Accounts and Funding

Our department has been very fortunate in being able to bring in money from sources external to the University. The National Science Foundation and various State agencies have provided considerable funding for the renovations described herein. Those are not our only sources of money, however. In fact, our faculty have given generously over the years through the A Day For Southern campaigns (we had 87% participation this fall). We also like to receive money from our friends and alumni, however, and we hope you will give careful consideration to sending us a gift of your own. Now, while a collection of minerals would be nice, money would be even nicer! We are interested in building our Foundation accounts in order to continue providing scholarships, and to help pay for the expenses incurred by faculty and students as they travel to meetings, perform field work, or conduct research in our new labs. No gift is ever too small (unless it has a value of "0"), and we will appreciate every one we receive. We have three accounts that money can be placed in, as follows:

Hanson Geology Scholarship - Principle derived from this account is used to award cash scholarships to Geology Majors who qualify. We have made several awards over the past few years, and hope to continue.

Good Geography Scholarship - This is a new account established by Dan Good in order to build a fund that will work similarly to the Hanson Scholarship. With our new Geography major we hope that one day soon we will have enough money in the account (a principle of at least $10,000) to be able to award scholarships to qualified geography majors.

Petkewich Service Award - This account was established in honor of Dr. Petkewich. Dick's many years of unselfish contributions of time, effort, and expertise were central to the development of the Department and the Georgia Southern Museum. Contributions to this account will generate funds that can be awarded to recipients of the award.

Geology and Geography Account - This is an account that can be used to meet any qualified need. We can pay for student travel to meetings, fieldtrips, publications, and guest speakers out of this account. As far as the faculty themselves are concerned, this is our most versatile account.

Distance Learning Lab (former Home Ec. lecture room)

Departmental e-Mail Addresses

We are all interested in hearing from former students and colleagues. It is often times easier to communicate electronically, so, if that is your pleasure, here are our addresses.

Pranoti Asher: pasher@www2.gasou.edu
Denise Battles: dbattles@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu
Gale Bishop: gabishop@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu
Sam Couch: scouch@www2.gasou.edu
Jim Darrell: jdarrell@www2.gasou.edu
Dan Good: dangood@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu
Jim Henry: henry@skio.peachnet.edu
Richard Hulbert: rhulbert@www2.gasou.edu
Jim Reichard: jreich@www2.gasou.edu
Fred Rich: frich@gasou.edu
Dallas Rhodes: drhodes@www2.gasou.edu
Chuck Trupe: chtrupe@www2.gasou.edu
Kelly Vance: rkvance@www2.gasou.edu
Mark Welford: mwelfgeog@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu

Departmental Web Site

Our department has an excellent website, as does the campus generally. To get right to the Department of Geology and Geography, use the following address:
http://cost.gasou.edu/geography /G%26G.html
Information is updated regularly by our web author, Pranoti Asher.

Now It's Your Turn!

You've read a little about us, now, and you know more about what's happening. There's more to tell, but we want to save it for the newlsletter that has all of you personal information in it. What we want to do is ask you to fill out the information sheet that appears on the back of this page. Please do so now, while the idea is fresh in your mind, and mail it back to us at:

Department of Geology and Geography
P.O. Box 8149
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Georgia 30460-8149,

or e-mail us. Send the information to our secretary, Ms. Sarita Warren, at: sanawa@gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu

We'd love to hear from you, and hope you will reply soon. And, please, don't forget to include a check made out to the Georgia Southern University Foundation. If you want your gift to go to a particular account you can specify it on the check or in a cover letter. We can promise that your money will work hard for you, and for us!


Dallas D. Rhodes, the new Chair

So, now that you have read all the news, it's time for a little test. Give us your best estimation as to the identity of the person on the following page. Send us your answer and personal data, soon!

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