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December 1999 Dear Alumni and Friends: Welcome to the Thirteenth Annual Report from the Department of Geology at The College of Wooster. Through the efforts of our secretary, Amy White, we have another volume of news from alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the department. I would like to point out some of the major accomplishments of the department and invite you to read more about these activities in the following pages. Last year, the faculty were co-authors on ten publications in a variety of different journals; Steve Dornbos ('97) was first author on one of those papers. The College supported student presentations at the W.M. Keck Geology Consortium Symposium, the Geological Society of America annual meeting, and the Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill. The faculty continued their research in sometimes remote parts of the globe: Greg Wiles in the Alaskan wilderness; Mark Wilson in the United Arab Emirates; and Bob Varga at over 2500 meters sea depth in Alvin. Three of us directed student research projects for the W.M. Keck Geology Consortium. Mark led a group of seven students through the fossil-rich units of the Cincinnatian Series in southern Ohio, while Bob and I worked with nine students in the Bonanza Caldera, located in south-central Colorado. Greg received NSF-REU support for last summer and took Ryan McAllister ('00) to Alaska. For a small group of mid-westerners, we sure get around! Our departmental curricular review went well. Barbara Tewksbury of Hamilton College and David Rea, Chair of the Department of Geology at the University of Michigan, visited campus last Winter and presented their comments on our program to the College's Educational Policy Committee last March. They were impressed with the overall curri-cular structure and the research accomplishments of faculty and students. As a result of our conversations, we are considering establishing an annual departmental field trip that would include a foreign field site once every three to four years. Once again, several generous gifts have been presented to the Department. Please read about the James R. Baroffio Fund for Geologic Research, recent donations to the NSF-NYI program, and the F. W. Cropp III Endowed Fund for Independent Study Field Work in Geology on pages 10 and 11 of this Report. We sincerely appreciate the support of our alumni and are grateful for their foresight in establishing endowed funds and providing funds for equipment purchases. Many students will benefit from their generosity! Happy Holidays and best wishes for a prosperous new year!
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