Mission Statement

Department of Geology and Astronomy, West Chester University

In keeping with the mission of West Chester University, the primary mission of the Department of Geology & Astronomy is to provide high quality undergraduate education for geoscience professionals and future teachers in the broad fields of the earth and space sciences. Our secondary mission is to provide graduate training, mainly in the field of science education but also including continuing professional instruction. The Department seeks to strengthen its educational roles by supporting individual scholarship and creative exploration undertaken by faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, and by striving for the optimal use of student, faculty, and material resources. Within the University, we provide general education for all students and service courses for those in the School of Education. In the larger community, we serve as resource people in our respective fields for local government, schools, and industries. Within these constituencies, we further seek to contribute our unique perspectives as astronomers and geoscientists to decision-making processes. Our program is unique to the area by virtue of the recognized excellence of our teaching, the personalized attention we give to our students, the breadth and quality of our equipment base, and the flexibility and adaptability of our curricula to students with disparate backgrounds both with and without prior scientific training.