Workshops
These workshops provide opportunities for discussion of key issues and challenges facing geoscience departments, and for sharing strategies that work in a variety of institutional settings. Program pages from past workshops include such resources as the invited speakers' presentations, participants' contributions, and any summary documents produced during or after the workshop.
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HideVisiting Workshop Program
- Beginning in the fall of 2009, we will offer tailored workshops for individual departments. Departments will be able to select topics of high interest from a list of our areas of expertise. We will work with the department to develop a customized program and deliver the programming on (or near) campus. Each session will feature presentations based on research results, discussions, and action planning.
Upcoming Workshops
2008 AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
December 14, 2008; AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
- This one-day workshop will provide an opportunity for both new and experienced heads and chairs of Earth and Space Science departments to learn more about being an effective department leader, to discuss successful strategies with others, and to meet other heads and chairs.
Assessing Geoscience Programs: Theory and Practice
February 22-24, 2009; Carleton College, Northfield, MN
- Departments are increasingly called upon to assess the impact of their programs on students and to measure the degree to which they meet stated goals. This workshop will showcase the methods and instruments that geoscience departments are using for this assessment, as well as providing opportunities to learn more about evaluation theory and practice from experts in the field.
Strengthening Your Geoscience Program: A Practical Workshop with Ideas and Examples
June 2-4, 2009; College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
- This workshop will focus on areas of high interest to participants, such as curriculum, assessment, programming, recruitment, or management. We will draw on strategies and examples from past workshops to develop practical solutions to the challenges facing participants' departments. Teams of participants are strongly encouraged, particularly from departments in the mid-Atlantic states.
Past Workshops
2007 AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
December 9, 2007; AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
- This one-day workshop provided an opportunity for both new and experienced heads and chairs of Earth and Space Science departments to learn more about being an effective department leader, to discuss successful strategies with others, and to meet other heads and chairs.
Strategies for Successful Recruitment of Geoscience Majors: Conceptual Framework and Practical Suggestions
October 27, 2007; GSA annual meeting, Denver, CO
- This workshop explored effective strategies for recruiting geoscience majors from a variety of institutional settings. Read the brief workshop summary.
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science: New Structures for Research and Curriculum
April 25-27, 2007; Carleton College, Northfield, MN
- This workshop explored the paired topics of where our science is heading in the coming decades and how to prepare ourselves and our students for that future. Read the brief workshop summary.
The Role of Departments in Preparing Future Geoscience Professionals
January 10-12, 2007; College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA
- This workshop explored geoscience workforce trends and how we can prepare our students for the changing landscape of their future careers. Read the brief workshop summary.
2006 AGU Heads and Chairs Workshop
December 10, 2006; AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco
2006 AAG Workshop
June 9-11, 2006; Athens, GA
- The American Association of Geographers's Healthy Departments Initiative has organized a series of workshops to assist Department Chairs and facilitate sharing of successful strategies for maintaining healthy departments.
AGU/AMS Heads and Chairs Meeting 2005
- Wuebbles, D.J., 2005, Tackling Strategies for Thriving Departments, Eos, 86(19), 187-190. (Link to article on AGU website. AGU membership required.)
Developing Pathways to Strong Departments for the Future
February 24-26, 2005; College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
- Participants in this workshop shared information on strategies that had strengthened their own departments and brainstormed ideas for collective action that would strengthen departments across the United States. Read the brief workshop summary.
PKAL Workshop: Strengthening Undergraduate Earth and Planetary Science Programs
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Starting from the premise that faculty working as a department team can create stronger programs than individual faculty working alone, this workshop focused on developing a coherent curriculum for students studying the earth and planetary sciences. Participants articulated specific goals for their department and explored issues associated with building strong departments which are well-connected to other programs across campus.
Workshop Report Presented at 2002 AGU Fall Meeting:
Macdonald, R.H., and Manduca, C.A., 2002, Developing Strong Geoscience Programs and Departments, Eos Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED52A-0002.
PKAL Workshop: Developing Successful Programs for Earth and Planetary Science Majors
- This workshop asked participants to articulate their goals for their department and to consider how to implement changes to meet the goals. It explored issues related to the developing of students' skills across a departmental curriculum and associated co-curricular activities. Participants discussed over-arching issues related to working at the departmental level, including strategies for implementation of changes and assessment of departments and programs.
