Mission Statement

Geology Department, Bryn Mawr College

The demand for highly qualified Earth scientists is growing nationally and internationally. Increasingly, society demands that the scientific establishment work to solve critical social issues, many of which focus on sustainability. By virtue of the history of our modes of integrative inquiry involving complex systems, operating on varied temporal and spatial scales, and handling incomplete data, geoscientists are uniquely qualified to fill a central role in addressing many present and future problems confronting humanity. With the ever widening demand for natural resources, the realities of global warming and the constant threat of natural disasters, students with expertise in Earth systems have the opportunity to contribute to the global community at many different levels. The mission of the Geology department at Bryn Mawr College is to develop, apply and convey scientific knowledge about the Earth and its systems today, in the future and throughout its 4.6 billion year history. This mission includes:

• Providing a high-quality undergraduate education that is transdisciplinary, problem- and process- oriented, and quantitative;
• Developing highly competent geoscience students prepared to analyze and comprehend the linkages among Earth system components and their physical and social context;
• Educating Bryn Mawr's general student population about Earth's natural systems, its resources, the role of humans as part of these systems, and our responsibility as planetary stewards;
• Developing and communicating new knowledge to the broader geoscience community through fundamental research that stems from application of emergent technologies;
• Applying geoscience knowledge to address problems affecting human society locally and globally, including effective stewardship of the natural world;
• Providing relevant geoscience information within the College community and beyond;
• Maintaining a faculty comprised of individuals with expertise in specific disciplinary areas of geology;
• Encouraging and support collaboration within and beyond the department among colleagues that share similar or complementary scholarship and teaching goals;
• Maintaining an environment within the Geology Department characterized by mutual respect, support and kindness among students, staff and faculty members.