2026 Heads and Chairs Workshop
Sunday, December 6, 2026, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Prior to the AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
Overview
This one-day workshop provides an opportunity for leaders of geoscience departments to come together to learn, share, and build community to collectively strengthen geoscience programs and departments. The workshop is focused on bringing research into practice by sharing evidence-based strategies and resources that you can take back to your department to implement. The full day consists of two highly interactive sessions with a break for lunch, allowing time to gain insights, explore resources, and engage with colleagues.
Workshop goals
By the end of this workshop, you will:
- Learn about the changing landscape of geoscience departments
- Gain awareness of and explore research-based resources and strategies to prepare students for the geoscience workforce through your courses and programs
- Explore and adapt web-based resources for attracting students to your geoscience program
- Learn about and access resources you can bring back to your institution to support systemic change
- Work with colleagues in similar and different settings to develop strategies for implementation.
Registration
There is no cost to participate in the Heads and Chairs workshop; we ask you to register in order to better plan for participation and evaluation. Although the workshop is associated with the 2026 AGU Fall Meeting, registration for the workshop is separate, and you do not need to be registered for the meeting in order to register for and attend the workshop.
Register for the 2026 Heads and Chairs workshop
Workshop leaders
Workshop organizer
Anne Egger is a professor in the departments of Geological Sciences and Science and Mathematics Education at Central Washington University. She served as chair of the Geological Sciences department for two years, and is currently the assessment coordinator for the department. Anne is also the Executive Director of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and frequently leads workshops to support departments in adapting to change and thriving through NAGT's Traveling Workshops Program. In her recent research, she worked to define the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that geoscience employers are seeking in bachelors-level graduates. She is currently developing resources to support instructors and departments in helping their students develop these skills and dispositions through courses and programs.
Session leaders and presenters
Chris Keane is the Director of the Geoscience Profession and Higher Education Program and the Interim Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI).
Susan Riggins is a lecturer in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at California State University, Chico.
Rachel Teasdale is a professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at California State University, Chico, where she also served as department chair. More recently, she spent three years as a program officer at the National Science Foundation. In her current research, she is collaborating with social scientists to better understand the strategies that work for recruiting students and develop resources for departments to implement on their websites and other promotional materials.
Karen Viskupic is an associate professor in the Geosciences Department at Boise State University. Her research interests include curriculum design and development to improve student learning and increase retention and graduation, and to promote career awareness and professional preparation. Most recently, she has been exploring workforce development, including what types of skills and dispositions are sought after by employers and how these are fostered in university curricular and co-curricular frameworks.
Additional workshop support
Ashanti Edwards, Director, Ethics & Organizational Advancement, American Geophysical Union
Billy Williams, Executive Vice President, Ethics & Organizational Advancement, American Geophysical Union
Heads and Chairs Program sponsorship
The Heads and Chairs workshop is part of the Heads and Chairs program, sponsored jointly by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), and supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT).
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