Earth & Environmental Sciences Alumni Hub

Welcome alumni! We are so proud of you, and would love to keep in touch as you move through your lives and careers after leaving the University of Minnesota. Please keep in touch with the Department, and consider joining our Alumni Network for opportunities to socialize and network with other graduates of our programs.

This page contains resources that may be of interest to you, including ways that you can share your news with us and with each other. There is also information about how you can stay involved in the department, including opportunities to support students and student programs through mentorship, participation in a career panel, or donation to one of our fellowships, scholarships, or funds that are so critical to the department and our students.

painted blocks for structural geology instruction

ALUMNI NETWORK

The new Earth & Environmental Sciences Alumni Network will provide alumni, faculty, staff, and students with an important link to the Department through social activities, educational events, professional networking, and informal mentoring (both virtual and in-person). We strive to have diverse representation and welcome all with an interest in joining.

If you have questions or would like to join the Alumni Network, please contact Lexi Thompson, External Relations Officer, at 612-626-4040 or [email protected].

We are hoping to host the first Alumni Network Social in the spring of 2023.

EVENTS

We were able to hold our first Alumni Reception since 2019 at the GSA 2022 meeting in Denver, and were so glad to see some familiar faces! The 2023 GSA meeting will be taking place in Pittsburg, PA. Keep and eye out for announcements about future alumni receptions.
View all upcoming and past events, including department seminars, Hard Rock Lunch talks, and Soft Rock Lunch talks by visiting our Events and Seminars page. Most seminars are still offered in the hybrid modality. We hope you can join us!
In 2022, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the scientific study of geology and natural history in Minnesota with the Minnesota Geological Survey and the Bell Museum.

ALUMNI NEWS

2022 - Alumna Stefanie Brachfeld (PhD 1999, ) has been promoted to Acting Vice Provost for Research at Montclair State University, NJ.

2022 - Alumnus Benjamin Tutolo Receives the 2022 MSA Award.

We will highlight alumni news on this page and through news articles. The News page will have a full list of recent news articles. Filter by news-type (e.g. alumni news, faculty news, etc.) to see specific stories.

Please share your news and updates via the Alumni Information Update google form or email the department at [email protected].

Newsletters & Annual Reports
- The 2021-2022 Annual Report was published in August of this year and is available online! To request a print version please contact the department.
- The 2020 newsletter is available online! This year's newsletter will primarily be released online, however the newsletter may be requested in alternate formats. To do so, please contact us at [email protected].
- 2019 Newsletter

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE

We are thankful and appreciative of the support and dedication that our alumni have to the department! Here are some ways that you can stay involved in the department, such as by supporting students and student programs via mentoring, participating in a career panel, or donating to one of our fellowship, scholarship, or other funds that are so critical to the department and our students.

Career Panels

At least once per academic year, the department holds a career panel event for the benefit of students considering an academic or non-academic career in the Earth or environmental sciences. Students are polled to gauge interest in the types of jobs they wish to learn about. We invite professionals in the Earth and Environmental Geo-Sciences (many of whom are alumni from the department) to join us and provide information and advice to students about opportunities in the public and private sectors of geoscience employment. Please visit the Career Panels page to see a list of past career panels and presenters. If you are interested in serving on the panel, please contact the department at <[email protected]>.

Career Fairs

The department has hosted career fairs in an effort to bring together students and geoscience employers (often department alumni) to create networking and career opportunities. The Earth and Environmental Sciences Career Fair features companies, agencies, and nonprofits looking to connect with current students and recent alumni who are seeking jobs, co-ops, and internships. The most recent departmental career fair was fall of 2022 in Tate Hall. If you wish to be involved in a career fair, please contact Lars Hansen at [email protected].

In addition to our own career fair, the University and Colleges host career fairs and alumni are often asked to participate:

University of Minnesota Job and Internship Fair
College of Science & Engineering Career Fair
College of Liberal Arts Career Fairs

Advisory Board

The department's Advisory Board is composed of geoscience professionals in the private sector, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The Board provides critical input to help the department provide and anticipate the skills that undergraduate and graduate students need to optimize their opportunities for a wide range of non-academic careers.

Board member terms are three years (renewable). Current members are located in the upper Midwest and most are in the Twin Cities metro area. If you are a geoscience professional in the region -- or outside the region but willing to volunteer time and travel -- the department welcomes expressions of interest. Please contact the department head (via [email protected]) if you are potentially interested in joining the Advisory Board. See list of current Advisory Board Members on this page.

Monetary Gifts

We are very fortunate to have a variety of funds that have been set up over the years by faculty, family, friends, and alumni. These funds not only support the department and its students but help us to commemorate faculty and alumni for whom the funds are names. Please consider donating to one of our fellowship, scholarship, or other funds that are so critical to the department and our students.

When you make a gift there will be three options:

Department Funds (see list) help support the mission of the department, helping students with the costs of field courses, and to help increase our outreach activities.
Fellowship funds (see list) provide graduate students with a stipend, tuition, and health benefits
Scholarship funds (see list) provide undergraduate students with lump sums to help defray the costs tuition, fees, etc.

Make a Gift here

If you have any questions about any of these funds, about giving, or wish to set up a new fund, please contact Lexi Thompson at 612-626-4040 or [email protected], CSE External Relations for Earth & Environmental Sciences.