Maureen Feineman was the associate head for undergraduate programs from 2016 to 2022, a time that saw great change in geosciences, higher education, and the world. In 2016 and 2017, we were riding the crest of the largest enrollment of undergraduate students in recent memory, peaking at 220 enrolled majors. More than 60 percent of the students at the time were Geosciences bachelor’s of science majors, and just a little over 10 percent were enrolled in the Earth Science and Policy BS. program. By 2021, the number of students in the Earth Science and Policy major had doubled, and enrollments in Geosciences subsided, and in 2020—an anomalous year by any measure—we produced more Earth Science and Policy graduates than we did Geosciences graduates. The arrival of COVID-19 in spring 2020 sped up the rate of some changes we were already starting to see. The rapid transition to remote learning led to a step-function increase in the use of technology in undergraduate education and data analysis in research. Graduates are following career paths in data analysis, risk assessment, environmental protection, sustainable finance, in addition to the classic oil and gas or hydrogeology career paths. Looking forward to the next ten years of higher education, Feineman honestly does not know what it’s going to look like, but she is certain it will be very different from what it has been in the past. She is excited to see where this next generation of earth scientists takes us.
From 2018 to 2022, Mark Patzkowsky was the associate head for graduate programs. Mark is now a “regular" faculty member again and focuses on his teaching and research. He is continually amazed by the energy and creativity of our graduate students and that was the main reason he agreed to step into the position four years ago. He enjoyed working with students to advance their career goals and learned a lot in his four years in the position, but two things stand out. One is that students face many challenges in pursuing graduate studies, such as mental health, financial and emotional support, and that never ending feeling that they don't belong. These challenges were only magnified by the pandemic. Second, he learned that despite all the challenges of graduate school, students are persistent and resilient. Research continued, teaching continued, and students made great progress toward their degrees and future careers. Watch this group. They are doing, and will continue to do, amazing things!
Effective July 1, 2022, Donald Fisher was appointed the associate head of graduate programs, and Chuck Ammon was appointed the associate head for undergraduate programs.