Initial Publication Date: June 8, 2017

People of SAGE 2YC

Principal Investigators

Heather Macdonald
Chancellor Professor, Geology Department, College of William & Mary

I am a professor in the Geology Department at the College of William & Mary and am co-director of the Marine Science Minor Program. I teach a variety of courses including Reading the Earth (a freshman seminar), Improving America's Schools: Mathematics and Science Education in the 21st Century (another freshman seminar), The Sedimentary Record, and College Science Teaching (for marine science graduate students). I am interested in improving undergraduate geoscience education and have worked on a variety of professional development programs, including On the Cutting Edge, a professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty that is funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education, and the Building Strong Geoscience Departments Program. I was Chair of the Geology Department for eight years. When I was Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Arts and Sciences, at William and Mary, I was the Chief Transfer Officer and also served on the State Committee on Transfer.

Eric Baer
Instructor, Physical Sciences/Geology, Highline Community College

I am an instructor at Highline Community College. I teach a wide variety of geoscience courses including Geologic Catastrophes. I also am a PI on the "Math You Need When You Need It", a project to develop and test online quantitative support modules for introductory geoscience students. I have a particular interest in developing a community of community college faculty to exchange information and ideas about the wide variety of roles that we fill. To that end, I have been involved in several projects that support 2YC faculty attendance and participation at the national meetings of the Geological Society of America. I have a PhD in volcanology from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Bachelor's degree from Carleton College.

Robert (Bob) Blodgett
Professor, Geology and Environmental Science, Austin Community College

I have taught geology and environmental science for over 25 years including full-time faculty positions at Ohio State University, Dickinson College, and for over 17 years, Austin Community College. In addition to teaching, I have worked as a geologist for the Texas State Public Drinking Water Program and Bureau of Economic Geology, and as an Air Force disaster preparedness officer and air weapons controller. My degrees in geology are from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (B.S.), University of Nebraska at Lincoln (M.S.), and University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.). My academic interests are in clastic sedimentology, paleopedology, natural hazards, and geoscience education. Most recently I have co-authored an introductory undergraduate earth science textbook on natural hazards and disasters, served as a NAGT Councilor-at-Large, and chaired the NAGT Geo2YC Division organizational committee. I am especially interested in reducing 2YC faculty isolation, compiling online resources for 2YC geoscience faculty and students, and increasing the diversity of geoscientists.

Jan Hodder
Senior Lecturer, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon

I am a marine biologist at the University of Oregon's Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB). I am the Institute's Academic Coordinator and the Director of the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence -Pacific Partnerships (COSEE-PP). The COSEE-PP project has concentrated on providing 2YC faculty with professional opportunities to work with ocean scientists and learn about current ocean science research that is useful for their teaching. We have also developed a research internship program, Promoting Research Investigations in the Marine Environment "PRIME" that brings community college students to Pacific marine labs for a summer research experience. I am interested in faculty professional development and was a PI of OIMB's G K-12 project and the Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST) project. I am currently a team leader for FIRST IV which provides professional development in student- centered teaching for biology post docs. I recently served as president of the Organization of Biological Field Stations and am a member of the education and diversity committee of the National Association of Marine Laboratories.

Web Team Support

John McDaris
Geoscience Web Content Developer, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College

I am part of a team of geoscience professionals who generate educational web content at the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College. For more information about what I do, see my profile page at SERC.