Webinar: “Foundations of U.S. Geoheritage Efforts: Preserving the Past, Advancing the Future” — Geological Society of America. May 14, 10am US Central. Watch recorded video (free registration required).
From the GSA announcement:
Join our esteemed presenters to learn more about geoheritage in the United States and how the History, Philosophy, and Geoheritage Division is looking ahead to bridge its current work with geoheritage initiatives:
- Melanie Brandt, MBA, CAE, Executive Director and CEO of The Geological Society of America
- Tom Casadevall, Ph.D., Chair of the U.S. Geoheritage Advisory Committee and Scientist Emeritus of the USGS Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, Colorado
- Renee Clary, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Dunn-Seiler Museum in the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University
- Kerry Magruder, Ph.D., Chair of the GSA History, Philosophy, and Geoheritage Division and Curator of History of Science Collections at the University of Oklahoma Libraries (Slides pdf)
- Drew Andrews, Ph.D., GSA Strategic Outreach Consultant and Mapping Manager for the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (Moderator)
Update: For anyone who is new to geoheritage, I can’t imagine a presentation better crafted than Tom’s to provide an overview of current geoheritage efforts. It is well worth the time to watch and take notes. Renee and I followed up with two short talks to illustrate why the US Geoheritage Committee is being located within the History and Philosophy of Geology Division of the GSA — which just this past March was renamed the History, Philosophy, and Geoheritage Division (retaining the same acronym HPGD). Renee recounts the ways in which geoheritage and the current work of the Division overlap to a remarkable degree. She is the ideal person to make that case, and in so doing crafted a winsome welcome to the Division for everyone in geoheritage. My short talk is more of an addendum addressed to existing members of the Division, who may have been tuning in with questions about whether we are diluting our focus. All of us could have talked about where we are going with future initiatives, but first I wanted to put on record the reasons why this expansion into geoheritage is not contrary to our nature as defined by our past experience even in the “history of geology” per se. So Renee’s survey of recent and current activity, and my delving into early Division activity, provide a basis for the future initiatives that we will be focusing on at the Connects 2025 meeting in San Antonio this fall.
