S.99-37
10
?
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC ?
MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate
From: ?
D. Gagari, Chair
Senate Committee on Academic Planning
Subject: ?
Faculty of Science -
Establishment of the Department of Earth Sciences
(SCAP Reference: SCAP 99- 19)
Date:
?
April 19, 1999
Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning gives rise to
the following motion:
CD
?
Motion:
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board
of Governors as set forth in S.99 -37, the establishment of the
Department of Earth Sciences."
0
SCAt'
99-19
a
To:
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
Alison Watt, Secretary
?
From: M. Plischke,
SOAP
?
?
Acting Dean, Faculty of
Science
Subject: Formation of
a
Department
?
Date: April 7, 1999
of Earth Sciences
At its meeting of March 23, the Faculty of Science approved the proposal for the
formation of a Department of Earth Sciences as outlined in the attached paper.
Please include this item on the agenda of the next meeting of SOAP
for
consideration and approval.
t7P6i4
M. Plishcke
C.
?
M. Roberts
0
16
DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES ?
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
?
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
The Earth Sciences Program was initiated at SFU in 1994/5 to broaden the academic
base of the Faculty of Science by adding to it a teaching and research capacity in the
geological sciences and particularly in environmental geoscience. The Program was
funded for its initial five years by the university's Academic Enhancement Fund; this
funding will end as of March 31st, 1999 and the Program's budget will become part of the
base budget of the Faculty of Science. The five-year implementation plan as spelled out
in the original Academic Enhancement Fund proposal, and in Senate document (S88-22:
which passed Senate on April 20, 1988), has been successfully completed.
Faculty and Staff
The Program began with two joint appointed
faculty and has grown during the last five
years to a complement of ten faculty with an
eleventh (an FRBC Chair) the subject of a
current search; it is served by a three person staff:
Dr. E.J. Hickin, (Sept.
1994)
Professor (Joint App. Geography)
Dr. M.C. Roberts (Sept.
1994)
Professor (Joint Appt. Geography) & Director
Ms. R. Dunlop (May
1995)
Laboratory Instructor
Dr. J. MacEachem, (Sept.
1995)
Assistant Professor
Dr. P. Mustard, (Sept.
1995)
Assistant Professor
Dr. D. Thorkelson, (Sept.
1995)
Assistant Professor
Ms. C. Alexander, (Sept.
1995)
Administrative Assistant
Dr. D. Allen, (Sept. 1996)
Assistant Professor
Dr. B. Ward, (Sept.
1997)
Assistant Professor
Mr. P. Johnstone, (Jan.
1998)
Dept Resource Specialist
Ms. C. Papaianni, (Aug.
1998)
Graduate Secretary & Receptionist
Dr. A. Calvert, (Sept.
1998)
Assistant Professor
Dr. D. Marshall, (Sept.
1998)
Assistant Professor
Dr. J. Clague, (Sept.
1998)
Shrum Chair
To be appointed (Jan. 2000)
FRBC Endowed Chair in
Terrain Analysis and Forest Geoscience
Even though Earth Sciences is a young program it has been the recipient of two endowed
chairs. Dr. J.J.Clague, FRSC, was appointed to the Shrum Chair of the Faculty of Science
in September 1998. Funding has been approved for the Forest Renewal BC Chair in
Terrain Analysis and Forest Geoscience which will be filled in the Fall Semester (99-3).
Academic Program
B.Sc. Major & Minor.
One of the challenges in developing a program in environmental
geoscience was to insure that the program had sufficient emphasis on traditional fields of
geology to allow graduates to meet professional registration requirements (Association of
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia: APEGBC). The practice of
geoscience in Canada is now regulated by acts of the respective provincial legislatures.
Graduates from the SFU Earth Sciences program have the academic prerequisites to
meet professional registration requirements from other provinces thereby insuring their
ability to practice geoscience throughout Canada. The Earth Sciences' Minor program
has mainly attracted Physical Geography majors who need a suite of EASC courses to
fulfill their APEGBC requirements; these students represent the main service teaching of
the Program. Unlike the other departments in the Faculty of Science our courses are not
required as part of other science degree programs. The dedication of the faculty to
undergraduate teaching is reflected in the consistently, positive reviews of the courses by
our students.
As of March, 1999, there are 52 majors and 29 minors in the Earth Sciences Program. In
1998 an SFU Earth Sciences student was awarded one of the three Geological
Association of Canada Student Internship Awards for the whole country. There is a very
active Earth Science student society which is involved in activities ranging from running
field trips to organizing social events.
M.Sc.
The first graduate student was admitted into the Program in September, 1996 and
by next Fall (99-3) we anticipate 14 students will be enrolled in the M.Sc. Program. One
student has been admitted under Special Arrangements for a Ph.D.. All of these students
have, or will have, some form of external funding from their supervisors to support their
field and laboratory research. It is an objective of the Program to achieve Ph.D. granting
authority in the next five years. This will hopefully coincide with the programs move into
its allocated space in the Applied Sciences II building.
Co-op Program.
Several of our majors have been involved in the Co-op program. There
is a demand in the summer months for our students in the mining, forest and petroleum
industries, and by geotechnical consulting firms. Such positions provide work experience
for both Co-op and non-Co-op students. In addition, there are companies that prefer to
hire students who will work both the summer and fall semesters - an ideal situation for
many Co-op students. We have every expectation that the Co-op program will continue to
grow.
Community Activities
One of the distinctive features of the geoscience disciplines is the frequent mounting of
continuing education courses for practicing professionals, and researchers in academe
and government. Faculty members in this Program have mounted short courses and
workshops for such groups as the Geological Association of Canada, the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Lithoprobe Annual Conference (the largest NSERC
funded geoscience project) and the Canadian Geomorphology Research Group. Faculty
members are also frequently asked to give talks on a variety of geoscience issues to their
peers, teachers and the public. Active links are maintained with local schools whereby
classes visit our main undergraduate teaching laboratory for hands-on demonstrations.
Conclusion
The Earth Sciences Program has been successfully launched: it has a strong and
growing group of majors and minors; the graduate program also is growing in numbers,
and the faculty have established research programs with funding from NSERC,
government funding agencies and industry.
The program is now operating as a department in all but name.
D
0
