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Department of Geology and Geography
History of the
Department
Note: The original version of this history, covering the period through 1997, was written by Dr. Gale A. Bishop. Dr. Dallas D. Rhodes began writing the annual installments in 1998. He also added new information to some of the earlier history.
Founding of the Department of Geology (1966-1979)
The Department of Geology was founded in 1966 by petrologist Dr. H. Stanley Hanson who arrived at Georgia Southern in 1964 as a member of the Department of Chemistry. In 1966 two new faculty members, Dr. Bill Neal and Dr. Tom Bond, were hired to assist in service functions for freshman science requirements and to design a new major for Georgia Southern College. Dr. Wong, a clay mineralogist, joined the faculty in 1968 and left in 1969.
A major offering a B.A. or B.S. in Geology was instituted in 1968 and the first students graduated in 1970. That year, palynologist Dr. James H. Darrell joined the faculty, replacing Dr. Bond who moved to Idaho State at Pocatello, Idaho, as Associate Dean. In 1970, Dr. Harold McDonald replaced Dr. Wong and subsequently left Georgia Southern, taking a job at the University of Arkansas in 1971.
Dr. Richard M. Petkewich replaced McDonald and Dr. Gale A. Bishop joined the faculty, replacing Bill Neal, who accepted a position at Grand Valley State University, Michigan. By 1971, a stable faculty core for the Department had been established to service the heavy service teaching loads that averaged 15 contact hours per quarter at that time. The number of majors stabilized at about 20 to 25.
Creation of the Department of Geology and Geography (1980-1987)
Dr. Daniel B. Good, who came to Georgia Southern as a member of the Department of History and Geography, moved to the Department of Geology during an institutional reorganization in 1980. With the addition of Dr. Good, the Department of Geology became the Department of Geology and Geography.
In 1979, the Georgia Southern College Mosasaur was collected in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Through the efforts of Dr. Bishop, the mosasaur fossil was donated to Georgia Southern University by the Museum of Geology at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. This gift resulted in the formation of the Georgia Southern Museum in 1980, with Dr. Bishop as its first director.
In 1987, Dr. Hanson retired, opening the position of Department Head to a national search that succeeded in attracting Dr. Fredrick J. Rich, who assumed Department’s administrative duties in 1988. Upon Dr. Hanson’s retirement, the faculty established the H. Stanley Hanson Geology Scholarship. The first scholarship awards were made in 1994.
Regional University Status and Rapid Growth (1987-1990)
During 1981, football was reinstituted as an intercollegiate sport at Georgia Southern. This event helped to trigger a period of explosive growth that was nurtured by efforts to recruit new students while maintaining academic excellence. Georgia Southern College grew from a predominantly undergraduate state college of about 5,000 students in 1985 to a diverse, comprehensive Regional University of 14,000 students in less than 10 years.
During these growth years, core curriculum requirements in science were partly served by the Department of Geology and Geography by hiring temporary instructors to handle the load. Temporary faculty included Sally Harris, Bill Morris, David Quattlebaum, JoAnne Shadroui, R. Kelly Vance, and Brian Meyer. David Ferrell, Grace Holder, Wade Holder and Paul Sacks served in the hard rock area.
During 1983, Dr. Richard Petkewich led a team to collect and document an archaeocyte whale from nuclear Plant Vogtle in Burke County, Georgia, a task accomplished with 11 days of fieldwork. This specimen would eventually prove to be the oldest fossil whale in North America.
Dr. Wade Holder was hired as mineralogist and petrologist in 1985 and his wife, Grace Holder, was hired as a temporary instructor in 1986. Economic geologist, Dr. R. Kelly Vance, was appointed as a temporary Assistant Professor in 1986. Dr. Vance successfully competed for a permanent position in 1990; filling the vacant line created by Wade Holder’s departure.
Dr. Sandy Mitcham, a cultural geographer, joined the faculty in 1990 and left Georgia Southern in 1993.
Department Growth and Diversification (1990-1995)
Geologists Dr. Denise A. Battles and Dr. Mark A. Evans and cultural geographer Sandy Mitcham joined the department’s tenure-track faculty in 1990. David Linsley and Richard Hulbert arrived that same year as temporary geology faculty. In 1993, Dr. Hulbert secured a tenure-track position within the department, allowing him to continue his work on Georgia Southern’s Vogtle whale specimen as well as curatorial duties in the Museum. A college reorganization in 1994 resulted in the establishment of the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology, created when the science units were relocated from the College of Arts & Sciences and merged with the College of Technology. As part of reorganization, there was a comprehensive assessment of the proper placement of the geography program, and the Department re-affirmed its decision to be a combined unit. Also at this time, Dr. Battles took on an administrative role in the new college office, while retaining her faculty position.
Dr. Jonathon Lieb and Dr. Mark R. Welford joined the faculty to increase offerings in geography as the Department built toward a major in geography. (The Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Geography was approved in 1997 by the Board of Regents.) This cadre of junior faculty members formed a strong Departmental coalition, which was assimilated with changing assignments and key resignations.
Ms. Frances Troutman joined the Department in 1994 as its first full-time secretary, enhancing Department’s programs in many ways. Ms. Troutman left in 1997 and was replaced by Ms. Sarita Warren.
Dr. Vernon J. Henry (Emeritus Professor of Geology at Georgia State University) joined the faculty on a part-time basis in 1994. Dr. Henry’s work led to the creation of the Applied Coastal Research Laboratory (ACRL) on the campus of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO). The ACRL became Georgia Southern’s “foot hold” at SkIO and provided facilities for faculty and student research.
Dr. George Lynts, visiting Professor of Geology, taught service courses and initiated computer development activities in Earth Science Education while at Georgia Southern University.
Facilities Renovated (1995-1998)
In 1995 the Department of Family and Consumer Science moved into new facilities and the Department of Geology and Geography was able to expand into most of the first floor of the Herty Building. At this time (1995) a Model Technology Grant was received and Room 1113 was remodeled into the Distance Learning Laboratory and Room 1114 into the Earth Science Computer Applications Laboratory.
The implementation of these facilities allowed Dr. Good and Dr. Bishop to receive two of three Georgia Southern University grants in 1996 from the Board of Regents Office of Information and Instructional Technology for “Connecting Teachers to Technology,” modeling the utility of facilities in grantsmanship. These renovations were further enhanced by renovations to the Vertebrate Paleontology and Museum Preparation Area in 1996 that also upgraded the Palynology Laboratory to a competitive facility.
Mr. Craig Oyen and Mr. Derek Alderman joined the faculty in temporary capacities to assist in covering service commitments and to relieve the instructional pressure so the entire faculty could consider alternative roles in instruction, research, and service.
Dr. James Reichard, a hydrologist, joined the permanent faculty in 1996 and Ms. Victoria Berry joined the faculty in a one-year temporary geography position for academic year 1996-97.
In 1997, 1.4 million dollar project was funded by the NSF Academic Research Infrastructure Program, Georgia Southern, and the state to modernize geology and chemistry labs in the Herty Building for training students in scientific research. With Dr. Denise Battles as the PI, the Soft Rock, Hard Rock, and Rock Preparation Labs as well as some chemistry labs, were renovated.
In 1997, Dr. Pranoti M. Asher, an igneous petrologist and geochemist, joined the regular faculty as a full-time replacement for Dr. Battles, whose administrative appointment had become ongoing. At the same time, regional geographer, Dr. Samuel L. Couch became the third tenure-track geographer.
Dr. Rich announced his intention to step down from the chair at the end of the 1997-98 academic year and a nationwide search was initiated for a replacement. In March 1998, Dr. Dallas D. Rhodes, a geomophologist, was appointed as the third chair of the Department. Dr. Rhodes had previously held faculty positions at the University of Vermont and Whittier College, where he spent the 21 years prior to the move to Georgia. Dr. Rhodes had held numerous leadership positions at Whittier College including Chair of the Faculty. He served for many years as the Director of the Fairchild Aerial Photography Collection at Whittier College and the W.M. Keck Foundation Image Processing Laboratory.
The Department’s faculty received two University Awards for Excellence at the 1998 Spring Commencement. Dr. Richard C. Hulbert received the Excellence in Research Award and Dr. Gale A. Bishop was honored for his Excellence in Teaching. This was Dr. Bishop’s fourth University Award for Excellence.
Dr. Rhodes assumed his role as the Department Chair on August 1, 1998. At the same time, Dr. Charles H. Trupe III began his tenure-track appointment in the structural geology line.
During the 1998-99, a search for a new tenure-track position in the geography program academic year did not identify a suitable candidate. Dr. Michael J. Breedlove was employed as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography for the 1999-2000 academic year.
New Programs and Facilities (1998- )
In fall 1999, Dean Jimmy Solomon appointed an interdisciplinary ad hoc committee to advise him on creating a geographical information systems program at Georgia Southern. The committee, chaired by Dr. Rhodes, delivered its initial report in December 1999 and a final report the following spring. As a result of the committee’s efforts, a formal minor in GIS was approved in 2000. The Spatial Analysis and Geographical Information Systems (SAGIS) Laboratory opened in the Carruth Building in Fall 2000.
The Department completed the installation of a network of 6 monitoring wells in Spring 1999. The well field consists of 3 well clusters. Each cluster contains a deep and shallow well and each well is instrumented with a data logger that continuously records water level and temperature. Approximately $33,000 in funding for this project was obtained through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Course and Curriculum Development (CCD) and Instrument and Laboratory Improvement (ILI) programs and from matching Georgia Southern University contributions. The monitoring well network is intended for the instruction of both introductory environmental geology and upper division hydrogeology courses.
In March 2000, the National Weather Service (NWS) commissioned an official weather station on the Georgia Southern campus. Dr. Good worked with the NWS to finally put Statesboro on their maps and provide official weather data through the Internet.
At the end of the 1999-2000 academic year, the Department began holding an annual dinner and awards ceremony, the “GeoParty.” Newly established awards included presentations for the Outstanding Geology Student and the Outstanding Geography Student. Other awards, from both students and faculty, were far less serious. Dr. Rich received the University Award for Excellence in Research at the Spring 2000 Commencement.
Dr. Richard Hulbert left Georgia Southern in June 2000 for a research/curatorial position at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. Biogeographer and ecologist Dr. Susan K. Langley joined the tenure-track geography faculty in the Fall of 2000.
Physical geographer, Dr. Nancy J. Leathers and vertebrate paleontologist, Dr. Jonathan H. Geisler became part of the faculty in August 2001. Dr. Couch left Georgia Southern in the summer of 2001 for a faculty position at Young Harris College in the Georgia mountains. Mr. John C. Jacobs was a visiting instructor for the 2001-2002 academic year, temporarily filling Dr. Couch’s position. Dr. Soren C. Larsen was selected to fill the tenure-track position beginning August 2002. Mr. Jacobs moved to another temporary position at Northwest Missouri State University where he latter became a tenure track member of their faculty.
The Department completed its Level III Strategic Plan in April 2002 with the stated strategic goal “to become generally recognized as the outstanding program for undergraduate studies in geology and geography in the University System of Georgia.”
In March 2003, the space in the Herty Building to be vacated by the Department of Chemistry’s move to a new facility was redistributed. The Department was assigned use of the entire first floor and about 40% of the ground floor and second floor. This additional space provided most of the faculty with research space for the first time in the history of the Department.
Dr. Nancy J. Leathers resigned her faculty position effective at the end of the 2002-2003 academic year. A search for a replacement was halted by budget cuts throughout the University System.
Dr. Daniel B. Good retired after 34 years of unbroken service to the Department and the University on May 31, 2003. Dr. Jason N. Dittmer, a political geographer who completed his PhD at Florida State University, assumed Dr. Good’s line in human geography.
The most distant field trip sponsored by the Department occurred in May 2003 when students, faculty, and alumni spent 12 days in Hawaii. Led by Dr. Pranoti Asher and Dr. Michael Kelly, the trip focused on the volcanic geology of the islands.
On June 30, 2003, Dr. Vernon J. Henry resigned his position as Director of the Applied Coastal Research Laboratory and assumed the title of Adjunct Professor of Geology. Dr. Clark R. Alexander assumed the duties of the Director on an interim basis. During the fall semester 2003, Dean Anny Morrobel-Sosa changed the College’s organizational plan to place the ACRL directly under the Dean.
As the 2003-2004 academic year began, three major goals were identified and all were accomplished. The first called for plans to utilize newly acquired space in Herty Hall. To this end, a Dr. Reichard established Hydrogeochemistry Lab and Dr. Asher and Dr. Kelly organized an X-Ray Analysis Lab with funds from a NSF ILI Grant. Working plans were produced for complete use of the new space; however, limited funding prevented any of the renovations. Replacement of the geography faculty position lost to budget cuts during the previous year was the second goal. The position was approved and a search was conducted for a GIS specialist. In January 2004, Mr. Wei Tu, a PhD candidate at Texas A&M University, accepted the position. The third goal was the approval of the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Geography degree program. The Board of Regents approved implementation of the program in February 2004.
In April 2004, the Department began conducting a field trip to Tybee Island for introductory level geography and geology students. The field trip was organized and led by Dr. James S. Reichard and Dr. Clark Alexander. The optional trip will be conducted once a semester to provide an enrichment opportunity.
The long awaited renovations of the space formerly occupied by the Department of Chemistry began in the Summer 2004 and continued through most of the year with the work confined to the second floor and exclusively in the spaces to be used by the Department of Biology. The spaces for geography and geology programs were discussed and preliminary architectural drawings were drawn.
By the start of the Fall 2004 semester, renovation of the Herty Building second floor for the Department of Biology was in full swing. Noise and dirt from the work dogged the Department throughout the fall semester and through the first two months of the Spring 2005 term. Planning for the space to be occupied by our Department was continuous for most of the academic year with the job finally going to bid in late May. To make way for the work, the Department scheduled classes in seven different buildings, with only the introductory geology labs and the mineralogy and petrology classes remaining in Herty. All faculty members with offices on the first floor of the building were also required to relocate to allow for removal of asbestos floor tiles laid when the building was constructed. The Department’s office moved to the ground floor (basement) of Herty and the remainder of the faculty moved to Anderson Hall.
Change among the faculty was a second theme for the year. At the end of the Fall semester, Dr. Fredrick Rich accepted an offer to oversee the NSF-sponsored Partnership for the Reform of Science and Math Education (PRISM). Dr. Donald Thieme was hired to replace Dr. Rich’s teaching during the Spring 2005 semester. Soon after the beginning of the Spring term, Dr. Soren C. Larsen accepted a position at the University of Missouri—Columbia and a search was begun to identify a temporary replacement. At the same time, the search for a tenure-track replacement for Dr. Susan K. Langley ended with the hire of Dr. Xingyou Zhang (PhD, University of Cincinnati). Dr. Zhang was a medical geographer who used GIS extensively in his research. A search was also conducted to select a replacement for Dr. Rich for 2005-2006. Dr. Eleanor J. Camann, a new PhD from the University of North Carolina, was hired as a coastal geologist to fill the position. Ms. Jennifer Kopf (ABD, University of Kentucky) was hired in a temporary position to fill Dr. Larsen’s line. Finally, Dr. Denise A. Battles accepted the position as the first dean of the College of Natural and Health Science at the University of Northern Colorado, ending her 15-year career at Georgia Southern.
During this busy year, the Department recorded a number of other accomplishments. In Fall 2004, the Department began to produce CD’s for the introductory level geology laboratories. A milestone was reached in December 2004, when the number of geology and geography majors topped 100 for the first time in the Department’s history. During Spring Break (March 2005), Dr. Mark R. Welford led the Department’s first field excursion to another country. Seventeen current and former students, three members of the Department’s (Dittmer, Larsen, and Rhodes) faculty, and two friends spent a week in Ecuador learning about the country’s geology and geography. The Department graduated 11 students at the Spring 2005 Commencement and Dr. Pranoti Asher was announced as the recipient of a University Award for Excellence in Teaching at the ceremony.
The 2005-2006 academic-year saw the completion of Phase II of the Herty Building renovations. When the fall semester began, the building was very much a construction zone with bare concrete floors, dangling light fixtures, open ceilings, and no operational restrooms. Both faculty and students worked under difficult circumstances with dirt, noise, clutter, and constant disruption the daily facts. As the project drew toward a close most of the faculty with offices in Anderson Hall moved to Herty during the winter break. Work was finally declared to be “completed” in March and the remaining faculty left Anderson during Spring Break. With those moves, the Department had the entire faculty under one roof for the first time in more than 30 years. The renovations resulted in the creation of new laboratories for: 1) Compositional Analysis of Solid Earth Materials, 2) Qualitative Methods in Geography, 3) Planetary Geology and Remote Sensing, and 4) Structural Geology and Geomorphology. A conference/seminar/meeting room was also built in Herty 1107. With these additions, the Department had the greatest amount of space in its history.
In November 2005, Dr. Michael S. Kelley became the first member of the Department’s faculty to set foot on the Antarctic continent. Dr. Kelley was member of the 2005-2006 U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Expedition. While camped on the ice, Dr. Kelley authored a web log with narrative, photographs, and the opportunity to ask questions of the team members.
Although the renovation project dominated the year, personnel changes were also significant. Eleanor J. Camann was hired in the tenure track opening created by Dr. Darrell’s retirement. After 36 years of uninterrupted service to the University, Dr. Darrell was awarded emeritus rank and his friends and colleagues joined in celebrating his career at a reception following Spring Commencement. Robert Yarbrough (PhD, Georgia) was hired into the cultural geographer’s line in March and Keith Bosak (PhD, Georgia) took the temporary position vacated by Xingyou Zhang’s resignation as a member of the faculty. In June, Dean Anny Morrobel-Sosa resigned her position. This event started a series of interrelated changes. Associate Dean Bret Danilowicz was named Interim Dean of the College. His position was offered to Pranoti Asher, who accepted in June. Dr. Mathieu Richaud (PhD, Northern Illinois) was hired in July to replace Dr. Asher for the 2006-2007 academic-year.
As Fall Semester classes began in August 2006, the Department was rejuvenated by new students, new colleagues, and new spaces. During the College’s annual faculty meeting, Dr. James H. Darrell was received a special Career Service Award from the College of Science and Technology. The annual homecoming festivities were held in the conference room now occupying Herty 1107 where so many classes had been taught over the years. The saddest event of the semester was the death of Emeritus Professor of Geology Dr. Hiram Stanley Hanson in early December. Dr. Hanson was the founding Department Chair and was associated with the University for more than 40 years. The Hanson Geology Scholarship honors his memory by recognizing excellence in the discipline.
Final preparations for the 56th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of the Geological Society of America dominated the Spring 2007 semester. A record number (414) abstracts were submitted for the meeting resulting in a technical program with 39 sessions. The meeting was held at the Savannah Hyatt Hotel and had 856 registrants, the largest number in the recent history of the section. Dr. Orrin Pilkey gave the keynote address on March 29. The Department’s faculty organized nine sessions, presented 15 papers, and led three field trips. Comments received by both GSA Headquarters and the organizing committee were entirely positive.
The Spring Semester also produced awards and changes in the Department’s faculty. Mr. Thomas E. Chapman (ABD, Florida State) was hired in the tenure-track line previously held by Xingyou Zhang. Dr. Jason N. Dittmer received the Wells – Warren Professor of the Year Award at the Honors Day convocation on April 5. This is the first time that a member of the Department had been honored by Georgia Southern’s students with this award. Dr. Jonathan H. Geisler received a major three-year research grant from the National Science Foundation for his study of fossil dolphins and their close relatives. The AT&T Foundation awarded a research grant to Dr. Wei Tu to continue his work on industrial ecology. Dr. Keith Bosak conducted a field study course in India before moving on to his new position at the University of Montana. Dr. Matheiu Richaud accepted a tenure-track position at California State University – Fresno. On the final day of the spring semester, Dr. Jason N. Dittmer resigned his position to accept a Lectureship at University College – London. Mr. Adam Parrillo (ABD, University of Cincinnati) was hired in a temporary position to replace him during the next academic year. After a year serving as Associate Dean of COST, Dr. Pranoti M. Asher returned to her faculty position. Biologist Bret Danilowicz was named the Dean of the College.
The first notable event of the 2007-2008 academic year was the creation of new full-time staff position in the Department. The first Lab Coordinator, alumna Jessica van der Maas, was hired in October and began work in January 2008. In October 2007, the Department also participated in the Savannah Area Geographic Information System (SAGIS) sponsored GIS Day event in Savannah. This was the beginning of a number of contacts with SAGIS that promise to have many positive outcomes for the Department, including summer internship opportunities. During the fall term, the geography faculty also began work on a University level review of the BA in Geography Program.
In November 2007, Dr. Michael Kelley accepted an offer with NASA. Along with other assignments, Dr. Kelley became Program Scientist for the Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program and the Planetary Data System. He also served as Program Scientist for the EPOXI and Stardust-NExT Discovery Spacecraft Missions. Musa Hussein (PhD, Texas-El Paso) was hired to replace Dr. Kelley for the Spring 2008 semester. The search conducted to fill the line previously occupied by Jason Dittmer resulted in the hire of Brian Bossak (PhD, Florida State) in February 2008. Dr. Bossak trained as a physical geographer with an emphasis on hurricanes. At the time of his hire, he was working at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health at Emory University. As part of the University’s drive toward its new classification as a Carnegie Doctoral Research University III, the Department initiated discussions of a master’s degree in applied geography.
The Department’s 9th Annual GeoParty was hosted by Tom Chapman and served as an occasion for recognizing one of the largest graduating classes in the Department’s history. Students and faculty also joined in celebrating Sarita Warren’s years of service as Department Secretary.
Days after the spring commencement, Mark Welford and Rob Yarbrough lead the Department’s second field trip to Ecuador. In late May, Dr. Eleanor Camann resigned her position to accept an appointment at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado. Mr. Alessandro Zanazzi (ABD, South Carolina) was appointed as Dr. Camman’s replacement for the Fall 2008 semester. On July 31, 2008, after 11 years as the Department Administrative, Mrs. Sarita Warren retired.