Earth Sciences alumni play an important role in shaping the department’s future
Relaunched in 2024, the Earth Science Alumni Advisory Council pays it forward by helping future geosciences grads
During their time at , graduates gain a firm grounding in their discipline, form meaningful connections with faculty and prepare for career success. But their involvement needn’t end with Commencement’s pomp and circumstance.
Organizations such as the Earth Sciences Alumni Advisory Council play an important role in shaping future generations of scientists and scholars.
“An academic department is like a three-legged stool with the legs representing academics, research and alumni support. Shorten any leg and the stool wobbles; remove one and it falls over,” said Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Jeffrey Pietras ’96. “It has been my experience that the strongest departments have a solid foundation from that alumni leg which provides mentoring, contacts for career placement, and financial support to the department and its students.”
The council is currently headed by Chair David Dominic of Dayton, Ohio, who earned his master’s degree in geology from in 1983. After graduation, he spent several years working in oil and gas exploration before heading to West Virginia University for his doctorate, followed by a career as a Wright State University professor.
“I really enjoyed my time at , and I maintained a connection with my master’s advisor, Professor John Bridge,” said Dominic, who has since retired.
He continued to stay connected to his alma mater; during his time at Wright State, for example, he returned to during a sabbatical to conduct research. He joined the advisory council in 2019, after being invited by an acquaintance from his grad school days.
Formerly known as Geological Sciences, the Earth Sciences department is an old one; Glenn G. Bartle, the founding president of what is now the University, was himself a geologist.
It has, however, gone through tough times in years past. In 2005, Matt Telfer ’78 and other alumni noticed that older faculty were retiring without being replaced and became concerned about the department’s future. The department was at real risk of losing its ability to offer doctorates in the discipline, remembered Telfer, who has spent his career in the oil and gas industry, the last 35 of them at a Texas company he founded.
Through the years, he returned to often and kept in touch with faculty. He also joined the advisory council, which brainstormed ways to support the department.
“During this time, I mentored young geologists, invited groups to Texas, gave them tours of the oilfields and gave some their first jobs,” Telfer said.
The council advocated for the hiring of a geoscientist specializing in sedimentary basins — Pietras, a fellow alumnus as it turns out — and Telfer made a donation to cover the startup costs. In recognition of his efforts, he was named a distinguished alumnus in 2012. Through the years, the council has continued to shape the department, pushing for the recruitment of a hydrologist in 2018.
Supporting future generations
The council waned during the coronavirus pandemic but took root again in the fall of 2024 when eight Earth Sciences alumni held an on-campus meeting. The formal group is governed by a constitution and bylaws; alumni are typically invited to join the council, usually by way of strong connections to faculty or a current member.
Fifteen people were invited to attend the meeting at Homecoming in 2024; 10 responded, and nine showed up, either in person or on Zoom. Eight of those initial attendees ultimately went on to join the council. They aim to meet twice a year, once on campus and once on Zoom.
Their goal: to help students make the contacts they need for successful careers, fundraise for department needs, and use their expertise to guide the department in developing Earth Sciences programs and curricula, Dominic explained.
Alumni donations help support student research, fund field trips and more. One of the council’s first initiatives was to make donating easier by modifying the online giving process, in partnership with the Foundation. Currently, the group is working to set up a new fund to support student research, hopefully by the end of the year.
“Students will post descriptions of their research, which will be sent out to alumni, and faculty will administer the funds,” Dominic explained. “The idea is to forge a strong connection between student research and alumni interested in supporting specific research areas or projects.”
Their third initiative is one you’re reading now: the Geo-Bing newsletter, which highlights the accomplishments of students, faculty and alumni. The print newsletter has transitioned to a largely digital project in recent years, although it also took a brief pause.
After earning their degrees at , council members have taken a variety of paths, ending up in different fields. They range from retirees who earned their degree back in 1978 to recent grads from the 2020s. That diversity is part of their strength as an advising body.
But they hold a core experience in common: “We all feel that we owe our success to some extent to our education at , and for that reason we are vitally interested in the future of the department, the direction it’s going, the programs it offers and the ways that students can prepare for various careers,” Dominic said.
“There are opportunities for alumni to get involved,” he added. “Our varied careers give us diverse perspectives on what is needed to keep the department successful, which we can use to advocate for it. In addition, as former students ourselves, we are in a unique position to advocate for the department on behalf of current students. The Council Bylaws incorporate term limits so that new members are both welcome and needed.”
Today, the Earth Sciences Department is thriving — but also changing, with new lines of research and the development of impactful courses, Telfer said. One is Pietras’ class on Energy and the Earth, which addresses the possibilities and obstacles of bridging to renewables.
“Students can begin to grasp the magnitude of Earth systems and the depth of time — to understand how science works, ask questions and see how to answer them, before being bombarded with false information,” Telfer said. “Supporting this effort is the essence of trying to be impactful as an alumnus.”