[after Chancellorsville, on the march to Gettysburg] “…the solider who would finally get the army through its trials was a profane, weary one with no stars on their shoulders and scant hope of any in their crown, the everlasting high private who was being challenged now, once and for all, to show what kind of person they really were.” – Bruce Catton, The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road Greetings all from what might, just might be our turn away from a year of isolation and anxiety towards one where we live and work with new and better practices, and a renewed sense of collegiality and partnership. I have re-read many of the Friday Field Notes sent out over the past year that document the difficulties and dislocations everyone faced as the pandemic took over. Many of us, truth be told, had aspects of our lives that involved unexpected turns for the worst. We experienced plenty of sadness, worry, frustration, and fury during the past year of turmoil. Family life faced inwards, oftentimes for the better, but not always. Our villages shrunk down to moms and dads. But by now, time and space and the wonder of modern vaccines has put much of this trouble in our rear-view mirrors. I choose to be very cautiously optimistic that the virus will be contained, that our return to campus will be lasting, and that better times lie ahead. Despite everything, the Department had a very good year. The faculty were tremen-
4 | The Upper Crust
dously productive in research, teaching, and service. Along with our graduate students -- typically as first authors -- we published 70 peer-reviewed papers; adding the astonishing 47 papers authored by Tom Algeo and his research team, the total hits 117. Thirteen externally-funded grant proposals were active, and another 22 proposals were submitted to external agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Energy, and the ACS’ Petroleum Research Fund. New external funding this past year totaled nearly $1.6M, a record. We taught 35 courses, nearly all of them 100% online, and nearly all of them online for the first time. The faculty adapted gamely to this mode of teaching as the curtain fell – boom! --on in-person classes, a tribute to their commitment to the next generation of geoscientists. Our courses were just about as sophisticated as the new technology allowed; zooming in colleagues from across the country to participate regularly in seminars was a notable silver lining. And other activities kept on: advising graduate students, reviewing papers and proposals, serving as editors-in-chief and assistant editors (for Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, Geology, Quaternary Research, and PALAIOS, for example), and doing the selfless work of doing service for a diverse host of committees, boards, and committees. Graduate students submitted 32 grant proposals last year; 12 of them were funded. I’m fortunate to be serving as chair
