In this Issue:

• President's Column
• Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award - new structure
• NAGT funding deadlines for funding opportunities for 2YC faculty and students
• Lots of NAGT-sponsored options for GSA abstracts (due Aug 5)
• Geoscience clubs check in
• NAGT webinars are for Geo2YC, too
• Colleague connections: Fireside Chats
• Research opportunities for 2YC students
• Field Notes: ICC Southwest U.S. field studies and beyond
• Book review: Frankie MacFarland Mystery series
• Geo2YC pencils

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Sean Tvelia

Provenance: Sean Tvelia
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President's Column

Sean Tvelia, Suffolk County Community College

Thankfully summer is here. Finally, time to rest... and also to plan.

I don't know how everyone else feels but this last semester was a doozy, at least in some ways. On the federal level, the shifting landscape with respect to grants and other federal funding and policies kept us on our toes at an institutional level. For those of us with active grants, policy changes at NSF were—and continue to be—frustrating to say the least.  However, on an academic level, thank goodness for my students! Based on our Division fireside chat conversations, most of you agree that keeping our focus on our students has helped get us through these challenges.

Across the Division, it seems student participation has dramatically increased in our courses and programs, and after the last few years, that is a welcome change. Although some of that change has been driven by social changes within the national student population, the best practices discussed during fireside chats and those championed by NAGT, which have been implemented by many of us, have led to more welcoming, inclusive and engaging classes and more active learning environments. I'm hopeful that those changes persist and lead to increased student involvement in the geosciences.

We must remain aware of the existential threats facing our disciplines and programs and be proactive in addressing them. To reverse negative trends and continue meeting the needs of our regional communities and workforce, we must act where we can. Although there is growing federal recognition of the need to strengthen the nation's critical mineral infrastructure, state and federal funding for geoscience and related fields has stagnated or declined. At the same time, an increasing emphasis on program "sustainability" has resulted in the closure of many geoscience—and more broadly, science—programs, particularly at four-year institutions. Alarmingly, this trend is now extending into the two-year colleges and by the time these changes reach a department, the opportunity to mount an effective response is often limited.

So, what can we do? First, stay engaged and stay ahead. I'm reminded of DuPont's "Better Living Through Chemistry" campaign. While the slogan later became a target of satire, it was originally a celebration of science and technology—and it helped boost enrollment in related fields. I'm not suggesting that Geo2YC launch a national ad campaign, but I am asking what each of us can do locally—within our institutions and communities—to spotlight geoscience careers and their vital role in supporting our regional workforce and community well-being. As an organization, how can Geo2YC help?

Whether it's through NAGT's travelling workshop to help develop stronger departments, webinars that introduce new pedagogies or classroom activities, or our fireside chats to deal with more contemporary issues, NAGT and the Geo2YC division are here to help so you don't have to go it alone.

Later this summer we will be doing just that with our next fireside chat, which will explore how we can address sustainability reviews and some activities aimed at reversing negative enrollment trends. These programs enable us to learn from each other and also provide the division with opportunities to develop materials for the larger NAGT community.

Finally, as you plan your fall semester, consider how you might introduce your geoscience colleagues (including those in K-12 and in 4YCs) to NAGT. Over time, as colleagues retire, we lose touch with once-active programs, and the remaining geoscience faculty become more secluded. If you plan to attend one of our virtual meetings, consider inviting a colleague.  Although there are a number of professional societies out there, none do as good a job as NAGT and the Geo2YC when it comes to improving our classrooms and fostering the success of our students.

 

Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award Updates

From the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award Committee

As of this year, the OAFA award will be shifting from quarterly recognition to an annual recognition with year-round nominations. This revised structure aligns with other successful recognition programs in our field which are awarded once a year (like the Outstanding Earth Science Educator Award or the NAGT Teaching Assistant Award). We believe these changes will provide more meaningful recognition to all nominees, while creating a more competitive and engaging selection process.

To our readership - please tell us about yourself or your adjunct colleagues!  What wonderful ideas and strategies are you bringing to your corner of the geoscience world?  Note, these colleagues DO NOT have to be current members of NAGT or the Geo2YC Division to be recognized. Please complete an Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award nomination today. Please give yourself or your colleagues the recognition they deserve!

 

2YC Funding Opportunities for fall activities

Apply for a Geo2YC Faculty Development Grant! Next deadline is September 15. 
Open to members of the Geo2YC Division of NAGT, the Geo2YC Faculty Development Grant offers mini-grants of up to $500 to support an activity (workshop, field trip, etc.) which benefits faculty from multiple institutions and travel grants of $100 to support attending professional development activities. If you plan on attending GSA or AGU this fall, this is a chance to get a bit of support!  Rolling deadlines annually are on April 15 and September 15.  Apply here.

 

Submit an abstract for GSA this fall - Abstracts due Aug 5

Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX  October 19 - 22, 2025 - Early registration deadline is Aug 27
We hope to see you this fall at GSA Connects 2025.  Check out the following Technical Sessions sponsored by NAGT and its Divisions:

• T57. Disabled and Neurodivergent Perception, Community, and Identity in Geoscience
• T69. 2YC and 4YCU Geoscience Student Research Poster Showcase
• T70. Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Evolving Geoscience Curricula for a Changing World
• T71. Current Advances in Geoscience Education Research
• T72. Diversifying Geoscience Education Across the Academic Playing Field: Using Creative Methods to Foster the Current and Next Generations of Geoscience Professionals
• T76. Iris Moreno Totten Research in Geoscience Education Session
• T77. Making Sense of Methodologies and Theoretical Frameworks in Geoscience Education Research
• T78. Quantitative and Data Analysis Skills in Geoscience Education: Supporting Student, Course, and Program Outcomes
• T170. Planetary Exploration and Education: How We Learn About Our Solar System and Beyond

 

Geoscience student clubs - community, advocacy, and fun!

In our last issue, we put out a call to hear from our 2YC geoscience clubs.  Read on for some excellent submissions.

Santiago Canyon College, California

Sara Gasca, GEO Club Secretary

At Santiago Canyon College (SCC), the GEO Club (geology and geography) is all about bringing our love for geosciences to life in creative and meaningful ways. We're a group of students who love the outdoors, care deeply about the planet, and enjoy finding fun ways to share what we learn with others through outreach. We are always finding new ways to connect with our campus and local community. We run educational pop-up booths on beach nourishment, the carbon cycle, and coyote conservation. One of our favorite projects is the Plushie Museum of Paleontology—a mobile, hands-on exhibit featuring plushies from each major era of the geologic timescale. It's a playful and educational way to get people of all ages excited about Earth's history. You'll also find us volunteering at public science events like the Alf Museum's outreach days and Cosplay for Science, where we combine creativity and storytelling to make science more accessible and fun. We also lead group hikes and partner with local movements focused on land conservation and stewardship. Over time, our members have even branched out to start "sister clubs" like the SCC Native Plant Garden, Audubon chapter, and Youth Mappers Chapter. The SCC GEO Club is about more than geoscience. We are building community, promoting curiosity, and doing our part to take care of the world we all share.

 

Wake Technical Community College, North Carolina

Nicolas Weaver, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists club member

This semester we participated in Wake Tech's annual club fair at the beginning of the year. We had trilobites, magnetic sand, and volcano models on our table to help recruit club members for the club. It was great interacting with other students who had an interest in the club and geology! Since Wake Tech is a two-year community college, the club sees many members come and go, and thanks to campus outreach, we are able to keep the club going. One thing that helps attract and sustain members is the format of our meetings. We meet twice a month, and have a set agenda with field trip ideas, club information, snacks, and show and tell, along with an end-of-semester pizza party. We saw cool samples during our show and tell this year, including megalodon teeth, fossils, quartz, Herkimer diamonds, pyrite, sulfur, and many more. We have a club t-shirt, and we participated in the GSA Geology Club Tee-off which was a bracket of geology club t-shirts by regions where people voted on their favorite design. This year we made it to the second round but lost to Clemson University. Although we didn't win, it was still cool that a community college geology club was competing with big universities. The geology club has been a great way for students to make new friends, explore new places, learn about the field of geology, and grow a connection with our community college.

Ali Thiam, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists club member

In my experience, being a part of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (or AEG) at Wake Technical Community College has been an enriching experience that sparks my eagerness to continue involving Earth Science in my studies and hobbies. One of my favorite memories of my time in AEG is our yearly t-shirt design contest. As the main artist of the t-shirt design for the Spring 2025 contest submission, it was especially fulfilling to present my design idea to my classmates and receive their encouragement to develop and submit it. I share this story to show that this club has a place for students with a diverse set of interests and career pathways, whether to be a designer, geologist, professor, mathematician, or anything else, this club is a great way to connect your other interests with geology.

I had the pleasure of viewing speeches given by Sarah Kalika, Geologist and President of AEG 2023-2024, and Dr. John Kemeny, the 2024-2025 Jahns Distinguished Lecturer. Ms. Kalika's speech on professional opportunities in geology gave me a good look into the opportunities one could pursue with the help of AEG if they are interested in studying Geology. Dr. Kemeny's speech was almost like an intriguing and educational sales pitch, where he breezed over the benefits of using AI to assist monitoring and characterization technology in forecasting geological hazards, largely as a result of climate change.

I had the pleasure of joining the group on a trip to Raven Rock State Park, where we walked trails surrounded by a sanctuary of various plants, rocks, bodies of water, and animals. Our trip to Treasure Quest Mining, a mineral shop in Apex, where we filtered buckets of gravel with water to discover various crystals, was a relaxing experience. The displays and products inside the store were also breathtaking, much like the large collections of crystals featured at the Tar Heel Gem & Mineral Show the group got to attend. Lastly, to balance out the out-and-about activities, you can expect some fun movie nights with even more free food. I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite experiences being part of Wake Tech's Chapter of AEG!

Now...what's happening at your campus?

We'd love to keep highlighting our 2YC geostudent clubs - please encourage your group to send us a report. Need some ideas - consider this list:

• Tell us about your advocacy/outreach days - how do you interact with your campus or local communities?
• How do you attract and sustain members?  What makes your club successful?  Have you had any challenges to overcome?
• How are you filling a need on your campus?  
• Does your club have a favorite mineral/rock/fossil?  
• Show us your cool club t-shirts!

Please share your stories and pictures with us by September 19, 2025!

 

Get involved with NAGT Webinars

NAGT Webinar Series 
Check out the schedule for the NAGT Webinar Series!  Lots of great opportunities for learning and discussion through these events, and even if you cannot attend, you can register so the link to the recording is sent straight to your inbox. An archive of prior webinars is also available.

NAGT Webinar Committee is looking for webinar hosts
NAGT offers a wide range of webinars each month to bring the latest in geoscience and pedagogy to our members. The NAGT Webinar Committee is looking for members who would be willing to host a webinar this coming academic year.  Consider sharing a fun teaching technique, resources you've used in your classroom, or collaborate with colleagues to tell us more about what's been going on in your professional world. If you have some ideas, please reach out to the current chair, Beth Pratt-Sitaula (beth.pratt-sitaula@earthscope.org).

 

Next Fireside Chat

Join us on Wednesday, September 17 at 7P Eastern/4P Pacific as we discuss: Rebranding for a Successful Department.  

Geoscience programs are struggling with enrollment across the country. Geoscience majors are often referred to as "found majors," but with lower enrollment and fewer programs for students to "find", how do we develop the next generation of geoscientist? In this fireside chat we will discuss the various strategies programs and departments have used to reinvigorate courses and programs to attract students and introduce more students to geoscience majors.

Click this Zoom link to join.

Fireside Chats are informal discussions over Zoom, facilitated by the Geo2YC Division officers and open to all members (and anyone you would like to invite). It's a great way to network, share ideas, and find encouragement - we'd love to see you there!

 

Research opportunities for students

Here is an up-to-date list of ongoing research programs that are accepting 2YC students!  Please share widely with your student networks.

 

Field Notes: 2025 Illinois Central College Field Studies in the Southwest United States

Cheryl Resnick, Illinois Central College

Since 1975, Illinois Central College has offered a general education field studies course. Unlike other 2YC geoscience field study courses, there is no prerequisite for this course. Any student who needs a lab science course and has a sense of adventure can register. The current iteration of the course has two faculty (one geoscience and one life science) and up to 16 students travelling cross-country to various state and national parks to learn basic principles of geology and biology while applying them to the landscapes we visit. From a geoscience perspective, the course covers rock and mineral identification, geologic time, map reading, structural geology, and modern landscape evolution with respect to uplift, river and glacier dynamics, and differential weathering. We camp in tents and do a lot of hiking, museums and visitor centers, ranger programs, and faculty lectures at our evening meetings. We alternate the areas we visit each year between the Southwest U.S. and the Rocky Mountain region. Students are graded based on cooperation, the daily notebook they keep, two exams while on the trip, and a project they turn in 5 weeks after we return to campus. One of the more important aspects of this course is introducing students to national parks, some for the very first time. Three students from our recent trip to the Southwest had the following to share:

Johnny T.: "Given the option to choose between a sixteen week BIOL 110 lab/lecture course and a sixteen day field trip to a great variety of national parks and monuments across southwest soils, how would you choose to fulfill a life science general education credit? The trip our class of sixteen embarked on taught and tested us on both the biology and geology of the regions we visited, regardless of the discipline you were to receive credit for. I needed the life science credit, though my whole life I've heard my father rave to me about how beautiful rock formations can be, and how fascinating their geological explanations are. At our class's first stop in Palo Duro Canyon, students assembled at a lookout point where Professor Resnick began to explain various properties of the canyon and the sedimentary rocks stacked up on the opposite side. She explained the visually apparent evidence of geological phenomena such as mass wasting and the significance of bedload in the Red River's erosive poser. Having little knowledge of anything scientific, the instruction initially sounded alien. The remainder of the trip seemed to improve by the day as our class grew into a family and the teachings formed a more developed informational structure within our minds."

Natalie B.: "One of the biggest difference between taking this field class versus taking a typical on-campus Bio/Geo class is having the ability to see the material in person.  A moment that sticks out to me was our hike into the Grand Canyon. It was so spectacular to actually see the things that you were reading about in your assigned texts! I find that it is one thing to sit down and memorize the different layers of the Canyon and be tested on it, but it's another thing to memorize it and see it in all its glory. I also thoroughly enjoyed applying my knowledge when identifying different flowers, trees, cacti, and other animals throughout our trip.

Not only do you learn a multitude about the Biology and Geology of the locations you visit, but there are some latent lessons you learn too. Things from teamwork/cooperation to trip planning to even trail etiquette and respect for the parks."

Auggy C. (STEM major): "I had just decided on environmental science for my program track, and I was trying to figure out which career path I could take with my degree. I was enthused to know Illinois Central College offered 4-credit field class to the Southwest and the Rockies.

My overall goal for going on this trip was to get a field experience perspective. I knew I didn't want to end up working indoors all day, so I needed a taste of an outdoor profession. Now, I have my sights on working for the National Park Service, but I have gained more than just a career idea. I've gained a stronger ability to work with people I might not always agree with. I've gained a better understanding of the parks and why we have them, as well as their geological history. Lastly, at times like these, I strongly feel it is our job to keep these parks open and the ecosystems we call home safe, and I want to be a part of that conservation.

I thrived learning in an outdoor environment. My classroom was literally the content we were studying; it cannot get more in depth than that. In a couple of parks, we were let loose to hike and explore our area, giving me more freedom than I needed to identify every plant and rock in my vicinity. I quickly got used to catching up when I fell behind on a hike after identifying something. Everything we learned about in lecture seemed to come together much more completely. I could understand it better out there, much better than I might have been able to if I were cooped up in a classroom.

One of the greatest challenges I overcame on the Southwest trip came from camping. I am an introverted person, and I sometimes struggle socially, so being around a whole new group of people for two weeks was daunting for me. Many mornings I woke up feeling like I wanted to talk to no one, especially on those first few days. It was a huge struggle for me to overcome, but I was able to rise to the challenge. Many evenings we spent laughing, and many van rides we spent studying. After a while, I eased up, and I was able to feel at home."

Thanks for sharing your field experience with us, ICC!

 

More field notes shared with us...

Kelsey Russo-Nixon, EarthScope

Geo-Launchpad and RESESS are internship programs facilitated by EarthScope for undergraduates interested in geophysics. Geo-Launchpad is inclusive to community college students only, but interacts with RESESS during orientation and professional development sessions to facilitate near-peer mentoring.

 

 

 

 

Kate Kramer, McHenry County College 

Here's a photo of our Intro to Physical Geology students in action, analyzing the Geoscene with their trusty NAGT pencils in hand! The Geoscene is a custom-built model that simulates a geologic cross-section. I designed it to help students visualize geologic structures in a hands-on way. It's become a central tool in my Physical Geology lab, sparking questions, collaboration, and those satisfying "aha" moments. Today's class put their observation skills to the test as they explored the Geoscene like geologists in the field, right in our classroom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To our readers - we want to hear about and see what you are doing with your students in the field - near and far. And hey, if YOU are doing field work or field instruction, we'd love to see it too! Please share your field stories with us - even a quick pic and a brief description are fun to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Need summer reading ideas?  Book review and author interview: Frankie MacFarland Mysteries by Susan Cummins Miller

Cheryl Resnick, Illinois Central College

I've loved reading since I can remember, especially mysteries and westerns. When I was 8 years old, I enrolled in a book club and eagerly awaited each box that contained two books every month from the series, The Happy Hollisters, about five siblings who solved mysteries everywhere their family traveled. As I grew older, it was The Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden series that drew me into the world of clues, detective work, and adventures. It's no surprise then that I became a geoscientist. My first geology professor introduced Historical Geology as "Mystery of the Earth:" The "Scene of the Crime" is any rock, fossil, or landscape we see, the clues are in the details both large and small, and sometimes we go off on the wrong track – literally, in the case of field work! Enter Frankie MacFarlane, the protagonist of the mystery series written by Susan Cummins Miller. In Death Assemblage, the first book of the series, Frankie is doing the last week of her dissertation research in the Basin and Range country of northern Nevada. Frankie is under a time crunch, as she starts a new job as a college geology instructor, so every day in the field counts. Her base of operations is a small town, Pair-A-Dice, where we meet several unconventional characters who have their own background mysteries that entangle Frankie in a web of ancient and recent murders, a manhunt, kidnappings, and blackmail.

The author of this series, Susan Cummins Miller, worked as a field geologist with the U.S.G.S., and as a college geology and oceanography instructor before turning her interests to writing both fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her background provides clear explanations of the geology, using descriptive terms in a delightful manner for those of us "in the know." As an example, Frankie describes a character in Death Assemblage with political ambitions as follows: "Lon always reminded me of a mica flake – shiny, sheet-like, and flexible. In my opinion, most politicians are mica-people because constituents want to see their own views reflected back at them...The problem with a mineral that has perfect basal cleavage is that only two dimensions are strongly developed; depth is rarely an issue." Sound familiar?

Frankie must finish her field research in this last push before returning to Tucson to start her new teaching job, which is contingent on having her degree by the end of the year. People in Pair-A-Dice tell her "There are other jobs, Frankie." After describing the downturn in geoscience career jobs in the 1970's and 80's in the oil industry and mining exploration companies, Frankie continues, "The situation at the public universities is just as critical. Geology departments are being scaled down, merged with other disciplines, or closed. And there's no one to blame but the earth scientists who've had their heads in the sand and their tails in ivory towers for one hundred years. When they weren't looking, the gap between the scientists and the public widened – but the public wields the money club." Even though Death Assemblage was published in 2002, Frankie's reply could apply to our current situation.

After reading all six books in the Frankie MacFarlane series, I realize that author Cummins Miller uses her protagonist and crafts her mysteries with a goal of STEM outreach, in addition to entertainment. The fourth book, Hoodoo, finds Frankie teaching geology at a community college in Tucson and leading her students on a field trip to the Chiricahua Mountains. In the process, she discovers that contrary to geological principles, the past IS the key to the present. Miller weaves together geoscience, Western history and culture, ecology, family, and place into a compelling puzzle narrated in Frankie's unique voice. Miller also introduces a student in Frankie's class who falls on the autism spectrum disorder, highlighting our experiences teaching to diverse student learning styles.

I contacted Susan to ask if she'd be interested in answering some questions about her Frankie MacFarlane series and was thrilled when she replied, "Yes!". Following are the questions I posed to her, along with her responses. Some of the questions were shaped after reading an online interview Susan did with author Donis Casey in 2023.

Question 1: In other interviews, you mention that "From the beginning, I envisioned Place as a character." Would you please expand upon this idea?

SCM: I have always envisioned Place as 4-dimensional: the 3-dimensional landscape around us (which Frankie MacFarlane enters with the observing eye of a scientist) with the addition of Time. My degrees (history, anthropology, and geology/paleontology) all involved the concept of Time. They extended my understanding of the present through exploring the past... When I began writing the Frankie MacFarlane mysteries, I wanted to take readers along for the ride—to show her at work. But I also wanted to share with readers elements of the history and prehistory (and culture and ecology) of whichever geographic/geologic area Frankie was entering.

Question 2: In the interview, you state that the head of Texas Tech asked the Texas Tech University Press to find projects that integrated science and literature, books with a strong female protagonist, set in the Southwest. They wanted to reach an audience that was leery of science. Mysteries are a popular fiction style and science lends itself well to that genre. Death Assemblage was published in 2002. 23 years later, what changes have you experienced in the literary or publishing world towards books with a science theme and a female protagonist?

SCM: In general, the publishing world has changed drastically in the last decade, as publishing houses devoured each other, reducing the number of major publishers. Mystery imprints disappeared from many presses. I think readers and publishers continue to be open to well-told stories with a female scientist as the protagonist. Artemesia Publishing recently released my first historical mystery, My Bonney Lies Under. The protagonist, Keridec Rees, is a nascent scientist/mathematician, daughter of a geologist and a botanist, tutored by geologists. In this series I introduce readers to some of the geologists who helped map the West in the 19th Century (Samuel Franklin Emmons; Clarence King). I'm also working on my 7th Frankie MacFarlane mystery, tentatively titled Crater.

Question 3: My audience is mainly 2YC faculty. Since Frankie is an instructor at a community college, you've woven higher education into your stories. What was your motivation for giving Frankie that profession? Did it simply come from your own experience teaching geology & oceanography at a 2YC? Or did you see them as complementary approaches to have your main character promote STEM education?  What feedback have you received from your readers/reviewers with Frankie as a college instructor?

SCM: I wanted to make Frankie a college instructor because I was familiar with that setting, because it aided my overall goal of geoscience (and STEM) outreach, and because it gave me great reasons for my protagonist to tell stories set in different settings. Both of my sons took computer, math and science courses at our local community college, both before and during their attendance at the University of Arizona. They had wonderful teachers at Pima Community College, and I've always been grateful that that resource is available here in Tucson. In my fourth book, Hoodoo, I include a student with Asperger's. When that character strolled onto my pages, I asked my son if he would mind if Frankie had an Aspie student. "No," he said. "The more you can do to humanize Asperger's, the better it will be for all of us." Wyatt turned out to be the readers' favorite character, which delighted my son. And me.

One of the loveliest compliments on my Frankie series came from a professor at the University of Arizona. He said he recommends that his introductory geology students read the Frankie books so that they can see that "geology can be fun!"

If you're looking for entertaining geoscience mysteries this summer, I highly recommend the Frankie MacFarlane series. Some of the character names are quite fanciful but the geology in each book is a character in its own right. Especially in the sixth book, Chasm which finds Frankie teaching a class on a river trip through Grand Canyon. As Susan Cummins Miller told me about her own trip down the Colorado River before writing Chasm, it was the trip of a lifetime to the holy grail of rocks.

 

Where in the world are NAGT Geo2YC pens and pencils?

Don't have a pencil (or one of our snazzy new pens) and want one?  Email any of the Geo2YC officers and we'll get some out for you to keep and share with your colleagues.  Send us your pencil pictures to share in the newsletter.