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Show Geography adds new professor Geology is not just about rocks By CHRIS TAYLOR JO URNAL STAFF WRITER According to a 1988 Gallup survey, one in seven American adults could not identify the United States on a world map; one in four couldn't identify the Pacific Ocean. Many cartoonists capitalize on the fact that Americans don't know a whole lot about geography. One cartoon depicts a family at the breakfast table. The mother looks up from her newspaper and says to her daughter, "This study says that most American high school students don't know where Santa Barbara is." The daughter replies, "Oh, that's easy. It's right between 'Days of Our Lives' and 'All Paul Larson My Children'." Here at SUU, - - - -- - - - - - - - however, student have ample opportunities to broaden their knowledge of geography with the help of the physical science department. In fact, this year there is a new dot on the map of SUU's geography faculty. Paul Larson, a native of Utah, will be teaching geography as an assistant professor throughout the year. Larson received his bachelor's and master's degrees in geography from BYU, and is hoping to finish his doctorate program from the University of Utah before the end of the year. Larson has experience teaching geography at Phillips Junior College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and at the University of Utah. Academically, I don't think this school (SUU) is second to anybody in the state," said Larson . He also said the reasons for SUU's success lies in "a 11 good student body, as well as a good faculty." Larson, who usually teaches Cultural Geography, is excited to bring some new courses to SUU. For the first time here, students will be able to enroll in a cartography class, which will deal with the science of drawing maps. Another program to be enacted by Larson is Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS is a database which can tie information from many different sources to geographical information. Data from demographic to biological statistics can be combined and analyzed in one major system. GIS is expected to go on-line within the year, after which classes will be taught to teach its use. "We'll be able to do a lot of stuff," said Larson, who is excited for the new systems that will increase the efficiency in the department. Larson enjoys Cedar City and the environment it produces for teaching and learning alike. "Students can feel lost at the University of Utah because of its class size," said Larson. Sometimes class enrollment at the U of U could exceed 100 students in Larson's classes. Larson said the smaller classes of SUU add to student motivation and overall performance. Larson points to a record of success in teaching, with many of his students going on to do graduate work in geography. He does, however maintain an air of humility, and is quite content to continue teaching his students, and helping them to understand geography in-depth. Geography courses at SUU include physical geography (GEOG 110), world cultural geography {GEOL 120), world political geography (GEOG 130), human geography (GEOG 145) and urban geography (GEOG 333). When taking geography courses, not only do students learn about the land, they learn about the cultures of the people who inhabit the land. In the world political geography course, for example, students discuss factors affecting the internal and external affairs of state and environmental determiners of national policy. Another example, human geography, focuses on contemporary geographical perspectives on peoples, their environments, cultural regions, towns and cities and also overviews global econom ic and political conditions. (continued from page 22) chemistry, physics and mathematics to study rocks, minerals, and fossils to develop an understanding of geologic principles and the processes that shape the earth and its environments." Other classes offered in the geology area include geomorphology, sedirnentology, paleontology and geochemistry. Geomorphology, GEOL 333, is the study of the dominant processes which shape the landscape and the major types of features related to volcanism, glaciation, water and wind. Sedimentology, GEOL 327, is an introductory course in sedimentary processes, environments and products. Also discussed in this class are classification and interpretation of sedimentary rocks, emphasizing both hand specimens and petrographic determinations. The Paleontology course (GEOL 322) deals with description Robert Eves and classification of fossils and the uses of paleontologic data. Geochemistry, GEOL 408, focuses on geochemical principles and techniques related to the abundance of elements in earth materials, distribution and migration of elements, geochemical prospecting, sampling techniques and evaluation, thermodynamics, crystal chemistry and isotope geology. 1n the physical science department, two geology majors are offered: geology, and geology-earth science teaching. A minor is also offered for students interested in education, business, technology or industry. Geology faculty m embers include C. Frederick Lohrengel II, associate professor; Assistant Professor Stanley C. Hatfield; and Associate Professor Eves. Facilitating education is the primary concern By HEATHER GREEN OF TH£ JOURNAL STAFF "I've always wanted to be a teacher, " said Lee Morrell, professor of physical science. When Morrell came to SUU he brought with him a dedication to teaching and learning. "My fa ther taught at Ricks and my mother also taught !school!." Morrell came to SUU, then known as the College of Southern Utah, in 1966 after spending time as a teacher's assistant at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and he has taught courses in chemistry ever since. This year Morrell is scheduled to teach the 121, 122,123 chemistry series, physical chemistry and chem 101. For the past four years Morrell has taught the organic chemistry workshop during summer quarter. He said it is a popular program and that last summer, approximately 66 students attend the 12 credit hour class. Students who attend this course come not only from Utah but from California and Nevada as wellspecifically to attend this course. When asked if he would be teaching this particular course again for the 1995 summer quarter, Morrell said he suspected that 1 he would not be teaching the course. Since Morrell came to live and teach in Cedar City, he has become a vital part of the physical science program at SUU. Many of his students have expressed an appreciation for his personality and teaching style. "I think we've got a good department .... bu t not many people know we' re here," Morrell said. He was complimentary about the university and commented on the area in which it is located. Morrell interviewed with Kodak after he finished his degrees, but decided to come Lee Morrell to Cedar City to - - -- - - - - - - - teach instead. He liked the community and the fact that the university is small enough that he could teach what he wanted to teach. There was also never a question in Morrell's mind that he would teach in a university instead of in a high school. "Kids are here because they want to be ...They have a greater desire to learn." Another aspect of SUU that Morrell admires is that it is primarily a teaching institution and will, he thinks remain as such. At research universities like MIT, undergraduates are expected to provide the money to keep the university going, that they know it, and often resent it. "One drawback is that we're Ithe class sizes in the department! getting too big," he said. The department, he also said, is, as other departments on campus, in need of more m oney and equipment . He said a mass spectrograph would be beneficial to the department and to the students. Despite the need for money and equipment, Morrell stressed the fact that graduates from their department generally do well in the job market. Many go on to medical or dental school, and many others, after graduate schools, go into research for major companies like Dow, Polaroid and pharmaceutical companies. |