Geo2YC Division Marks First Year of Accomplishment

The Geo2YC Division of NAGT has completed an exciting first year as a formal organization. The vision for an organization devoted to two-year college geoscience education was developed at a 2010 NSF-funded workshop, "The Role of Two-Year Colleges in Geoscience Education and in Broadening Participation in the Geosciences." Participants at the workshop identified challenges and issues for 2YC geoscience faculty, including a need for more administration support, feeling isolated within the geoscience community, and struggling with limited teaching resources. The Geo2YC Division was formed to address these concerns and offer 2YC faculty and others interested in 2YC geoscience education a place to meet, network, and exchange ideas. Geo2YC became the first division within the NAGT in July 2011.

The mission of the division is to 1) serve as a forum for exchanging ideas, concerns, and resources, 2) establish a network of geoscience educators at 2YC and other institutions with shared interests, 3) sponsor 2YC activities and make recommendations to the NAGT Council, 4) support and coordinate research on 2YC geoscience education, and 5) advocate for 2YC geoscience education within NAGT and with other organizations.

In its first year, the division has grown to over 150 members, including geoscience faculty at both two- and four-year institutions, other education professionals, K-12 teachers, and students. To communicate the division's mission to the 2YC geoscience community at large, members staffed booths throughout the year at many sectional meetings of the NAGT and Geological Society of America (GSA). Division members also organized and sponsored well-attended technical sessions and social events at the 2012 GSA and at 2011 and 2012 American Geophysical Union (AGU) meetings and attended the first division business meeting at the GSA Annual Meeting in Charlotte this fall.

In addition, the Geo2YC Executive Board has advocated for 2YC issues to the NSF and Integrated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and in several education workshops. Additional information about these activities and other informative articles about 2YC geoscience education around the country, can be found in the exceptional quarterly newsletter of the division, Foundations, which is sent to members and is published on the division website.

In the coming year, the division plans to continue to recruit members and publicize its mission with its new trifold brochure and pencil photo scales, introduced at the 2012 GSA meeting in Charlotte. The Executive Board has plans to conduct an electronic survey of 2YC geoscience faculty in January of 2013 and to establish an Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award for 2YC adjunct faculty.

Division officers for 2012-2013 are:
President—Lynsey LeMay, Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton, Virginia
Vice President—Merry Wilson, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, Arizona
Secretary/Treasurer —Allison Beauregard, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Florida
Newsletter Editor—Callan Bentley, Northern Virginia Community College, Springfield, Virginia
Webmaster—Kaatje Kraft, Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona, and
Archivist—Suzanne Metlay, Front Range Community College, Westminster, Colorado

For more information about the division, its resources, how to join, and how to become involved in regional or national events and projects, go to: http://nagt.org/nagt/divisions/2yc/index.html.