Building Strong Geoscience Departments: A Workshop Report Cathy Manduca,

Carleton College

Heather Macdonald, Geoff Feiss,

College of William and Mary

Randy Richardson,

University of Arizona

With NSF funding (03-31930)

Supporting individual departments Strengthening the geosciences as a whole •Promoting communication and discussion •Sharing information and resources •Enabling collective action

Establishing interest Starting a discussion Characterizing success • • • • Feb 05 Workshop at William and Mary Survey of geoscience department chairs Professional society sessions/town meeting Advisory Board meeting

First Order Outcomes • • • Much in common that could learn from one another Time of challenge and opportunity Collective action could be very helpful

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Key Themes

A part of the institution: being central, effective metrics/reporting, forging strategic partnerships, Exciting research opportunities : interdisciplinary programs Teaching students: Program design, curriculum, mentoring, professional development, student research, assessment, accreditation Beyond the academic program: alumni relations, being part of the community, K-12 outreach Developing a strong team: leadership development, teamwork, planning, mergers/splits Recruitment, development, and retention: of students, faculty, and staff

Sharing Information •Letter to heads and chairs •Professional society sessions •Website: serc.carleton.edu/departments

http://serc.carleton.edu/departments

Advisory Board Recommendations

• • • A Program for Departments to Foster discussion and sharing around topics of high interest to geoscience departments. Collect, develop and disseminate resources that assist departments in addressing the challenges and opportunities they face Foster improved leadership and team building within geoscience departments and enhance their ability to behave strategically.

Advisory Board Recommendations

• • • • With Long-term Goals To: improve leadership capacity of the profession broadly defined help geoscience departments/units thrive internally and as members of their institutions promote the ability of geoscience to contribute to society and enhance recognition that geoscience is fundamental to society and academia develop longitudinal thinking about and approaches to the education of geoscientists

Advisory Board Recommendations

• • • • • • And several program elements Thematic workshops on topics of high interest Information gathering via interviews, surveys and sessions Community viewpoints developed by advisory board Continued website development Training of consultants Collaboration with professional societies

Next Steps

• • • • Prepare proposal • • Continue sharing and discussion this session and its poster session website • • Build resource collection via contributions Resources Department profiles E-mail discussion list serc.carleton.edu/departments [email protected]

Characteristics of Thriving Departments • • • • • • Dynamic and upwardly mobile, managing change Degrees are highly valued by students, institution, employers Student centered with loyal alumni • • • • Know the rules and play by them Communicate excellence Balance research, teaching and service Students meet stated goals Strong enrollments Congenial and collaborative Diverse, balanced, happy faculty and staff