A Sense of Place

For UC geology students in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, their place is clearly at the center.

Date: 4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM
By: Wendy Beckman
Phone: (513) 556-1826

UC|21: Defining the New Urban Research University is UC’s strategic plan for charting its academic course for the 21st century. The first goal of UC|21 is to place students at the center. If you want to see what this looks like, go to the Web pages for the Department of Geology. For example, the graduate student page prominently displays what is important to their students — with links to take them there: admission requirements, financial aid, graduation deadlines and resources, such as the geology student handbook.

Graduate student Alex Bartholomew explains the geologic time scale at UC's 2006 Science & Engineering Expo.

Doctoral student Alex Bartholomew confirms the student-centered atmosphere in geology. “I have had a wonderful time working with everyone here at UC, especially with Dr. Brett who is extremely selfless in his attitude toward his students,” he says.

Department chair Arnie Miller, left, and Associate Professor Lewis Owen were judges for UC's 2005 Science & Engineering Expo.

Another of the UC|21 goals is to provide to all a “sense of place” at UC. Arnie Miller, chair of the Geology Department in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, is almost as much an expert at providing a sense of place as he is at paleobiodiversity. What are some of the tools in his kit?

Weekly academic colloquiums

Field trips, involving faculty, students, alumni and other interested guests

Active geology club

Frequent get-togethers, both social and academic

Interdisciplinary discussions

Weekly newsletters to all faculty and staff

Faculty, students, alumni and friends of the UC Geology Department on the 2005 field trip.

Entitled “Friday Tidbits,” Miller’s newsletter to geology insiders and near outsiders emphasizes accomplishments of people within the department, concerns shared by many, news of interest and upcoming events — both academic and purely social.

Here’s a look at the items in a recent edition. In it, Miller …

Arnie MIller and student Chad Ferguson in St. Croix. Yes, this is research.

congratulated a graduate student for winning a university fellowship;
announced the date and location for the geology spring banquet;
promoted the Geology Club’s Monday “coffee hour”;
reminded all to attend a colloquium on using marine death assemblages to infer past ecology (hmmm, coffee and death assemblages — what more could you possibly want?);
asked for RSVPs for the spring picnic and softball game;
informed all of the new student-led university shuttle program, with a link for more information;
gave an update on the condition of a faculty member’s son who had recently undergone surgery; and — oh yeah —
announced that U.S. News & World Report had ranked paleontology at UC as 7th in the country, an improvement of two steps since the last ranking in 1999.