October 2009 NAGT e-Newsletter

Panorama of Meteor Crater. Photo by Ron Wirgart.

President's Corner

The time has once again come for us to review NAGT's major goals and objectives while assessing what has worked well (and not), to think about what we have done over the past several years and to plan for the future. Yes I know – many of us join in a collective yawn when we discuss such things as strategic planning at our respective institutions. However, for a primarily volunteer organization such as ours, such planning is essential for responding to the ever-evolving education landscape and to remain cognizant of your needs. This President's Corner is intended to open that dialog as the Executive Committee and Council reengage in these discussions over the next year. I encourage you to provide input as we revise our National Action Plan and Priority Action Agenda that was last approved in 2004. If you are interested in the details of the existing Strategic Plan and supporting documents, you can find them under the "NAGT Organization" button on the main NAGT site. In this article I will briefly review what is in the Strategic Plan and potential actions we will take to update those guiding documents. Continue Reading...

October 15 to be Inaugural Women in Geosciences Day

AWG, in conjunction with AGI, is proposing to initiate a "Women in the Geosciences Day" which will take place on the Thursday of each Earth Science Week. October 15 will be the 2009 Women in the Geosciences Day. Continue Reading...

Opportunities at GSA

Not attending GSA?

If you aren't going to make it to GSA this year, keep your eyes on plans for the AGU meeting in December in San Francisco. NAGT will post the list of education themed sessions once the technical program becomes available. There is also a workshop planned by On the Cutting Edge on creating effective assignments for urban students. Watch the Cutting Edge website for more information.

Further in the future, the International Geoscience Educators Organization has released dates and a website for its 6th Quadrennial Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa beginning August 30, 2010. The organization is interested in having presenters from all over the world attend. So mark it on your calendars.

On the Cutting Edge Receives Website Award

The Geoscience Information Society has named the NAGT-sponsored On the Cutting Edge program the Best Website of 2009 Award along with Discovering Antarctica from the UK. The awards will be presented at the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting.

Opportunities to Have a Speaker Visit Your Department

The Building Strong Geoscience Departments project has started a new Visiting Workshop Program this year and is offering speakers to come to your department to run workshops on important departmental issues for your faculty. A second application deadline is coming up on November 16, 2009. Check out the website for more information.

And NAGT's own Distinguished Speaker Series accepted applications for speakers year round on a rolling deadline. Bring one of these fantastic educators to talk to your faculty and students.

National SFES Search

A group of Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) has been conducting research on faculty in California for whom educational issues make up a significant aspect of their appointment. They now want to learn more about this type of faculty across the nation. Continue reading...