In What Ways Can I Help?

          Geology

For those who graduated with any degree from our program, and even for some who took a few courses but were not majors, they knew us by our mantra:

"It's a great day for a field trip!!!"

Across the curriculum, and as a special senior capstone experience, field work in geology and earth science in general is the best way to learn. Gone are the days, however, when we could afford the WVU bus to take undergraduate students on the Pendleton County field trip. Even a trip around Morgantown is hard to justify for the more than 1500 introductory students we have EACH SEMESTER! We tried to run busses on weekends to at least get students to Cooper's Rock, but the mandatory trips just became too much of a burden to bear. We now have three department vans (all 15 passenger vans), but during the prime weather weekends of both spring and fall semester, the demands are too great on our own little fleet. We still have to rent vans from time to time. We do collect a lab fee from students enrolled in several courses, but that money has to stretch for samples and materials as well as for van rentals.

Further, we are ideally situated for weekend trips. Through the years, many students had the opportunity to spend some time in the field with the professors, such that the department paid for the vans, mileage; and for a brief time, we could even pick up the two nights of motel stay (the ever popular FALLS AND FOSSILS trips in the 90s). If this brings back warm memories, it should!!! Some folks out there even recall the fall trips to New England for four days and three nights.

The point is that geology study at WVU is alive and well. We have plenty of students, and the importance of studying geology, earth science, and environmental geoscience is felt by many on the Morgantown campus. We want to be sure we are able, with adequate support, to share our enthusiasm with future generations of geology students, especially when they hear that mantra--"It's a great day for a field trip!"

GEOLOGY PRIORITIES

• An endowment to support undergraduate field trips
• A graduate student enrichment endowment to support students in the field--travel, lodging, thin sections, radiometric dates, photographs, film, etc
• A faculty and student travel fund, to be used especially for GSA and AAPG
• Renovation funds for Brooks Hall which will be the new home for Geology and Geography. Naming opportunities are available for administrative rooms, faculty offices, student areas, teaching laboratories, faculty research space, classrooms, and computer facilities.