James (Jim) Wysong, Jr.

Professor of Earth Science - Program Manager for Sciences
Hillsborough Community College - Brandon Campus
Science Department BSCI-108A
10414 East Columbus Drive
Tampa, FL 33619 jwysong@hccfl.edu

Phone:813-253-7805

Background Information

Jim Wysong is Professor of Earth Science and Program Manager for Sciences at Hillsborough Community College – Brandon Campus, in suburban Tampa, Florida. Jim's educational background includes undergraduate degrees in Geology and Geography from the University of South Florida (U.S.F.), and a master's degree in Physical Geography – also from U.S.F. In 25 years of teaching at the community college level, he has primarily taught Earth Science (with lab), Meteorology, and Astronomy courses. Jim has long been active in curriculum issues, serving as General Education Committee chairman at his college for the past 12 years, board member for the Florida Geographic Alliance since 1990, committee member/representative on Florida's state-wide Physical Sciences Committee, and most recently, a member of the SAGE - 2YC Advisory Committee. In addition, Jim has been associated with the Chautauqua Program for faculty development, under the direction of the Center for STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin, serving as course director for numerous field courses in the United States, Greenland, and Iceland.

Related Pedagogical Projects

At his college, Jim is presently working with fellow faculty members to develop a cohort-based approach to improve student success and retention in the university parallel (2+2) program tracks for STEM students intending to transfer to Florida's state universities. This will involve progressing students through their math, chemistry, and physics sequences together, in a variation on the "learning communities" approach. Partial funding and support for this effort will come from the Title III, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) STEM and Articulations Program Grant the college recently received from the Department of Education. At the national level, Jim continues to participate in a variety of faculty development initiatives and projects. He is currently working with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and the University of Texas at Austin to offer a faculty development program on the history of the geosciences, to be offered next summer in Scotland. Since 2010, Jim has been a part of the Geo2YC program and is a member of the SAGE - 2YC Advisory Committee, committed to exploring best practices and advancing geosciences education in two-year colleges.