Endowments to help UA recruit geosciences faculty, support field learning

The University of Arkansas announced Tuesday (July 15) two gift campaigns totaling $2.5 million that will help the Department of Geosciences create more access to field-based learning opportunities for students and attract faculty and students.

Geosciences is a department in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Fundraising is ongoing for both campaigns. A fundraising deadline has not been set for either campaign.

The UA has received a lead commitment of $1.2 million from alumni T.A. “Mac” McGilvery, Karen R. McGilvery and Maurice F. Storm. The gift will be used to create the Dr. T.A. “Mac” McGilvery, Karen R. McGilvery and Maurice F. Storm Field Experience Endowed Chair. The fundraising total for this campaign is $1.5 million.

The fundraising total for the Endowment for Field Experiences is $1 million. No money has been raised for it. This campaign will support the various field camps and trips coordinated through the first campaign’s McGilvery-Storm Field Experience Endowed Chair.

“Endowed chairs are among the highest honors a university can bestow on faculty,” according to a news release. The new chair is expected to help attract “the most distinguished scholars to teach, research, mentor and lead in the Department of Geosciences.”

The new chair will serve as the leader in the department and field experiences, which take place outside the classroom and are core to the department’s curriculum.

“The education we received and friendships we made while at the University of Arkansas have had a profound impact on our lives,” Mac McGilvery said. “Karen and I are thrilled to make this significant contribution to the Department of Geosciences to ensure that field experiences remain a key part of our curriculum for generations to come.”

Chancellor Charles Robinson thanked the McGilverys and Storm for their support, which he said will be transformational “not only for the department, but for the students who will now have even more chances to participate in these formative experiences.”

Fulbright College Dean Brian Raines highlighted the importance of hands-on learning outside the classroom, its impact on students’ education, and that it “is something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.”

Mac and Karen McGilvery met as UA students while they worked in the University of Arkansas Museum. Mac earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the UA in 1978 and 1980, respectively. His 35-year career in geology took him all over the world before becoming an adjunct professor of geosciences at the UA in 2015. Karen, a graduate of the Department of Anthropology, worked in museums throughout her career. She serves on the University of Arkansas Museum Advisory Board and volunteers her time at the University of Arkansas Museum and Apple Seeds Teaching Farm.

“Field experiences were transformational events in my education,” Mac McGilvery said. “For many of us, it was professors Walt Manger and Doy Zachry running field camp, spring break field trips or weekend trips. The learnings, the shared experiences and challenges are what bond us to the department.”

Maurice Storm earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the UA. He has previously supported the Department of Geosciences with the gift of an endowed chair, the Maurice F. Storm Endowed Chair in Energy.

“The geological sciences heavily rely on in-person observation, analysis and critical thinking,” Storm said. “The geologic sciences in particular require more time out of the classroom and out in the field than almost any other discipline.”

The money from the second campaign, the Endowment for Field Experiences, will cover travel logistics, supplies, equipment and scholarships “to reduce financial barriers that can prevent students from pursuing a degree in the geosciences,” the release shows.

Jason Tullis, professor of geography and chair of the Department of Geosciences, said the gifts will attract and help more students and “represent a sea change in our capacity to offer state-of-the-art field experiences to undergraduate and graduate students in geosciences.”