GeoVision Campaign

Dear Geology/Geography alumni,

In this holiday season, we hope you and yours are well and prosperous.

I write to you about a new initiative from the GEOS Department External Advisory Board. This is the group that started in 2006 and transformed our department to include a PhD program, endowed chair, and over $1M in PhD Fellowship support.

Over the years, our alumni have given generously to endow Foundation accounts that bear familiar names to some of us: Kern Jackson, Walt Manger, Doy Zachry, and others. Endowed Foundation accounts have the funds invested and generate annual spending income. Taken together, our endowed Foundation accounts generate enough funds to 1) support Geology Field Camp scholarships for all UA undergraduate Geology majors who take this required course,  2) support two PhD students, and 3) award scholarships to our 12 Geology MS teaching assistants to make their annual income competitive with peer institutions.

While previous and continuing Donors have changed the lives of hundreds of Geoscience students, these contributions usually place restrictions on Foundation gifts that reflect the Donor’s passions. But, taken cumulatively, these restrictions leave parts of our student body stranded without opportunity for scholarship support, including our six MS Geography teaching assistants, a large group of MS students who are not teaching assistants, and undergraduates who are high-performing and/or in financial need. These are the students who need our help.

To address this issue, the Board has initiated the GeoVision campaign to build an endowed Foundation account for unrestricted student support. This has unanimous support of the Board members and Geosciences faculty. Both groups have already contributed to GeoVision so the account is up and running. This means that any size contribution -- $20, $50, etc. – can go to the endowed account to build up resources for all our students.

In 2019, I will be traveling to spread the word about GeoVision, but we wanted to get this opportunity in front of our alumni before the end of 2018. If you choose to support our fabulous Geoscience students in this way, a contribution can be made by check to the address below (write  GeoVision in the subject line). Credit card options are also available, please call for details.

Melody Kouchehbagh

UA Fulbright College Development

1 University of Arkansas, 525 Old Main

Fayetteville, AR 72701

479-575-2732

melodyk@uark.edu

A GeoVision donation is tax-deductible, qualifies for employer Gift Matching programs, and will grow in the years ahead as an endowed account, allowing the Geosciences department to better support all of our students.

Thank you in advance for considering this request and happy holidays.

Chris Liner

Prof. Christopher L. Liner 

Department of Geosciences Chairman

Storm Endowed Chair of Petroleum Geology

University of Arkansas

LinkedIn response to this alumni note (12/7/2018)

GEOS Course Notes Spring 2019

GEOS Course Notes Fall 2018

Enrollment Update 2018

All plots represent Fall Semester enrollment data from UA Institutional Research and Assessment

Total enrollment history. Both undergraduate and graduate numbers are sill dropping, largely because of an ongoing oil price bust in 2015 that strongly affected geology enrollments.

Degrees awarded are steady, but this is a 4+ year lagging indicator of enrollment.

Undergraduate student history and breakdown. BS Geology is down 24% from 2015 high, and BA Geography is down over 40% on the same period. Meanwhile the BS Earth Science degree is growing rapidly, up 200% since 2015. 

Graduate student history and breakdown. Geoscience PhD students have flattened out at 18, underpinned by 9 hard-funded teaching assistant (TA) slots and supplemented by 9 research assistant (RA) positions. Conversion of Geography MA degree to MS is almost complete (MA Geography degree is discontinued). Geology MS continues to be impacted by slow hiring in the oil and gas sector following the price collapse of 2015-6 and industry rotation to unconventional resource plays that are driven more by data analytics and less by geoscience. 

Geology field camp enrollment history. Perhaps the tide has turned on Geology Field Camp. Non-UA students increased by over 50% from 2017. Special thanks to UA Chancellor Joe Steinmetz who worked to get in-state tuition for all Field Camp participants starting with summer 2018.

GEOS Colloquium

You should be able to scroll U/D and L/R to see everything. Yellow highlight dates are open. As we fill slots, this site will stay up to date.

Final colloquium schedule will be posted before the beginning of each semester at

https://fulbright.uark.edu/departments/geosciences/eventsandcolloquiumcalendar/

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Process notes from Jo Ann Kvamme (4/27/18):

1. Speakers are solicited from the Geosciences Faculty
2. one slot each semester is reserved for a speaker sponsored by the GEOS External Advisory Board
3. Suggestions for speakers are solicited from the Geosciences Faculty
   1. Off campus speaker expenses are generally covered by the inviting faculty member
   2. If a speaker requires Department funds, prior approval from GEOS Chair is required.
4. Society sponsored speakers (AAPG, AWG, AAG, AGU, etc)
   1. Expenses are generally mostly covered by the organization with some expenses paid by the department – all department expenses require prior GEOS Chair approval
5. All suggested speakers are considered, prioritized and contacted about participation (in the event the slots for the semester are full I ask if we want to place the speaker on a “potential speaker” for the next semester or can set a date for the next semester).

It is best if we can fill the lectures for the semester the previous semester.  I keep a running calendar (now live above) so we can also place suggestion speakers and dates for two semesters out.

Scheduling priority:

1. Sponsored speakers are usually locked in first since these must be booked early
2. Faculty bringing speakers to campus (we try to accommodate speakers who are visiting – however this is not always possibly depending on the speakers previously booked.)
3. Faculty on Campus (we try to have campus faculty (or those not needing a hotel room] on football, BBB weekends since hotels may be hard to find and require multiple night stay)
4. We try to insure there is something for everyone in the department with a variety of subject matter

MS Geology Course Tracks

Geochemistry/Petrology Track:      see Drs. Suarez/Potra

Geoinformatics Track:                      see Dr. Aly

Hydrogeology Track:                        see Dr. Hays

Petroleum Track:                               see Drs. Sharman /Liner

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Petroleum Track Detail

     Fall

         GEOS 510V(3) Dyn of Sed Transport (alt yrs, 19, 21)

         GEOS 5283       Economic Geology (alt yrs, 19, 21)

         GEOS 5393       Math Modeling Geol Proc (alt yrs, 19, 21)

         GEOS 5433       The Solid Earth (alt yrs, 18, 20)

         GEOS 5563       Tectonics 

         GEOS 5723       Petroleum Geophysics (alt yrs, 18, 20)

         GEOS 5743       Petroleum Geology

     Spring

         GEOS 5143       3D Seismic Exploration (alt yrs, 18, 20)

         GEOS 510V(3)  Imperial Barrel Award (limit 5 students)

         GEOS 5423       Remote Sensing of Nat Res (alt yrs, 18, 20)

     Irregular

         GEOS 510V(3) Advanced Strat and Sedimentation

         GEOS 510V(3) Subsurface Geological Mapping

         GEOS 5123       Stratigraphic Principles

         GEOS 5223       Sedimentary Petrology

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Petrology/Geochemistry Track Detail

     Fall

         GEOS 5663 Low Temperature Geochemistry of Natural Waters

         GEOS 5283 Economic Geology 

         BIOL 5933 Global Biogeochemistry: Elemental Cycles and Environmental Change

     Spring

         GEOS 5863/ANTH 5863 Quantitative Techniques in Geosciences

         GEOS 5853 Environmental Isotope Geochemistry

         GEOS 5273 Introduction to Geochemistry

     Irregular

         GEOS 5223 Sedimentary Petrology 

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Support links

     1. GEOS Faculty contact info can be found here

     2. GEOS course descriptions can be found here

Fall 2018 GEOS Courses

Full resolution image here