In Memoriam - Janis Treworgy

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NAGT Janis Treworgy in the field

Provenance: Erica Zweifel, Carleton College
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Janis Treworgy, a member of NAGT's Executive Committee, passed away peacefully on April 7, 2015 at her home in Grafton, Illinois. Janis's involvement with NAGT began in the mid-1990s when she was asked by the Illinois State Geological Survey to develop curriculum materials and workshops for middle school teachers to address new Earth science standards that had been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. Janis subsequently became very active in NAGT's Central Section serving as its secretary/treasurer, 1^st vice president, 2^nd vice president, and president. It was after Janis joined the faculty of Principia College in 2000 that she became active in NAGT at the national level. During her term as NAGT president, the Journal of Geoscience Education transitioned into an online publication, the Geo2YC division was established, and NAGT began publishing In the Trenches. Following her year as past-president, Janis was elected to serve as NAGT secretary/treasurer.

Dr. Treworgy was Professor and Chair of the Geology Department at Principia College where she had been teaching since 2000. Prior to that, she spent 25 years as a Paleozoic stratigrapher and sedimentary geologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey where, for her last three years, she focused on running workshops for K-12 teachers around the state as part of a program with the Illinois State Board of Education. While in Urbana-Champaign, IL, she co-founded a K-8 independent school and served on the Board in many capacities for eight years. At Principia College she had the opportunity to direct the excavation of a wooly mammoth found on campus. She used this project as the basis for a general education geology course in which the students did all the excavating and bone preparation while learning about mammoths and the Pleistocene. She and her students have hosted school groups and many other visitors and conduct hands-on workshops on mammoths for teachers and the public. In 2005 Janis was named a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

When she was not working, Janis loved to hike in the mountains with her family, serve her church in a variety of capacities, and play tennis and hockey. Janis is survived by her husband Colin Treworgy and her two children, Bonnie and Eric. The family asks that memorial contributions may be made to Principia College.