Missouri University of Science and Technology Geology and Geophysics Advisory Board Meeting

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Geology and Geophysics Advisory Board Meeting

March 13, 2015

2-3:15 pm

Attendees:

• 
  Rolla: Keith Wedge, Franca Oboh-Ikuenobe, John Hogan, Bob Laudon, Tory Freese (DO)
  
• 
  Phone: Suzan Wiemers, Amy Boulch, Ann Hagni, Bill Tedesco
  

Program Update:

Faculty retreat was held on March 12^th. The purpose was to discuss ways to “move forward”. John Hogan reported that it was productive and having the offsite away from the office distractions helped make it a real retreat. The new department structure was discussed.

Franca reported that the new dean (Ian Ferguson) has requested that the three programs in the GGPE Department work closer together. Effective August 1, 2015, there will no longer be program heads. There will be one department chair (Franca is interim chair until June 30, 2016), and one associate chair (Runar Nygaard). Dr. David Wronkiewicz will be serving as interim G&G Program head. There will also be graduate and undergraduate coordinators selected in the department. These positions will rotate among the GGPE faculty.

The dean encourages immediate advertisement to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dr. Alan Chapman. The program can decide which discipline is most needed. The goal is to have a new person in place by Fall 2016.

Devon is coming to campus in May. John Hogan reported that 90% of their interns get full-time placement at Devon. He credits the start of this relationship to a field camp visit to a Devon frac job one summer. The campers usually go to a drill site, and at a trip arranged through Runar Nygaard’s relationship with Devon, they went to the Devon frac site. Devon was impressed with the students and has since started recruiting/visiting the Rolla campus. Beginning Fall 2015, Devon will give a $10K donation toward graduate scholarships. Addendum: The Devon visit was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

Seismic Observatory Update:

At the April 2014 board meeting, it was noted that $60K had been raised to date for the seismic station. At that time it was noted that an additional $20K would be needed to complete a second stage of work that would enable data visualization within McNutt Hall. At the October 2014 board meeting, this amount was adjusted to $10K for finalizing the installation. Franca reported that the need is again $20K. This is above and beyond the $60K already raised for Phase 1. There is a vault integrity issue…it is leaking. So the extra cost is to finish what should have been completed in 2014, and also do the maintenance/repairs. The new goal is to have everything completed by Fall 2015 for Phase 1 plus some steps completed that support Phase 2.

Microscope Lab Update:

John Hogan reported that this is a showcase laboratory:

• 
  Intended for active learning
  
• 
  Driven by teaching, not technology
  
  • 
    Focus is on learning and teaching
    
  • 
    Smart Boards are nice to have, but not the main focus (Suzan shared that ExxonMobil’s corporate campus selected Microsoft PPI Smart Boards as their solution
    
• 
  Thin sections
  
• 
  Panoramic visualization (ex: show northern NM volcanic field)
  

The excitement is building:

• 
  Dean Ferguson is supportive
  
• 
  IT is behind it
  
• 
  Corporate sponsorship is sought (to put name on room...ConocoPhillips is interested… they want a proposal). Suzan noted that this is on the list for program needs and asked Bill Tedesco to note what he and David Bardsley are working on to further corporate gift strategy.
  
• 
  Total cost not yet determined…there are technology issues
  

Alumni Field Camp Trip in June:

Suzan: a few more people have joined since the last report: now up to 28 participants.

Bob Laudon: Guidebook is in preparation; it will be funded by the program. Suzan asked if the guidebook could be spiral bound instead of a three-ring binder to make less bulky.

New Alumni Contact List from the Development Office:

Tory Freese: Use data mindfully. This information needs to stay within the board leadership. All data is self-reported from alumni. If we discover changes, please share with DO to help keep records current. This a more comprehensive list than what we had before.

Member Strategy:

Keith Wedge: We should consider retiring 4 board members who were graduates from 1950s-60s. A few of our board members were not listed in a recent university honor roll that is now available on the university web site to recognize donors and volunteers. Franca will need an updated membership list for next year’s university listing.

Regarding our efforts to build the Board membership, Keith expressed concern setting a target of 100 members as one member suggested. He believes we should set a goal of 25 members and consider non-alumni members from industry…like the Mining and Nuclear Engineering Department. There is also consideration to having a GGPE advisory board to replace individual program boards.

There was also a report on member status that Suzan prepared. Several inactive members were now ”on probation” due to lack of response to notify the Board by our March 13 meeting that they wished to remain on the Board.

Suzan noted that there are 11 active and 11 inactive members based on participation in the last two years. Two of the inactive members recently resigned. Four potential new members were nominated and confirmed at this meeting.

The Board meeting this Fall will be on Thursday, October 22, 2015 (Homecoming Week), and the same day as the Program annual banquet. Bill Tedesco confirmed that this was a good time for the Board to meet. Bill suggested that we reconsider the date of the Spring 2016 Board meeting so that it does not occur during Spring Break. He would like us to consider mid-April, when the Academy meeting is scheduled.

Keith expressed a desire to revisit the Board’s bylaws, charter, mission, and member expectations. He also shared that he wants to establish monthly meetings with Program faculty leaders. He also suggested we look at OGS membership and recipients of professional degrees as potential Board members.

Ann Hagni suggested we have a goal of 20 active members.

Franca also asked that we consider one board for the entire department, combining G&G with the other programs. The G&G board could continue as a sub-set of a new department board.

Suzan identified four new members to be nominated to the Board: Bill Tedesco, Kelly Whitsett, James Studer, and Emitt Witt. The nomination was made and approved.

Corporate Gifts:

Bill Tedesco reported that he and David Bardsley will coordinate with Keith Wedge to use the new alumni contact list just received from the Development Office. Bill requested a letter from Franca or Dean Ferguson to use for communicating with alumni targeted for contact about corporate gifting. Bill said a mining rep would be good to have since neither he nor David have deep knowledge about that industry. Suzan suggested that Amy join this sub-committee with Bill and David to represent the mining perspective. Addendum: The College of Engineering and Computing recently hired Pamela Rathe as a development officer. Franca will introduce her to David and Bill to get her input.

Suzan suggested Bill and David move ahead with their 2014-15 contact list. New contacts from an updated list can be phased in.

Bill mentioned that perhaps broadening the contacts in line with the dean’s suggestion of combining the 3 programs into one board would also widen the field.

Franca mentioned that the department will have a booth at AAPG in Denver this year, May 31-June 3. Patty Adams will work the booth. The university will also host an alumni reception. There will also be participation in AAPG’s research showcase booth.

Faculty Increase:

The new Hasselmann Alumni House is being dedicated on Saturday, March 14, 2015. Keith attended a dinner Thursday evening and spoke briefly with Dean Ferguson who invited Keith to further discuss board interest items with him.

There is a new chief of staff in the Chancellor’s office: Elizabeth (Bax) Smith

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 pm.