Professor Vincent Cronin Named Editor of AGI and NAGT’s Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia
Media contact: Tonya Lewis, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (Sept. 23, 2015) – Vincent Cronin, Ph.D., award-winning professor of geology at Baylor University and accomplished researcher, was recently selected by the American Geosciences Institute and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers as the new editor for the AGI/NACT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, beginning with the 11th edition.
“Since it was first published [in 1986], this lab manual has been adopted by more than 300 institutions in more than 40 states,” said P. Patrick Leahy, Ph.D., executive director of AGI. “It has become the most widely used resource, both in the United States and internationally, for introducing college students to the science of geology.”
As editor, Cronin has the ability to set the direction of geoscience education. He was invited to be considered for the editorship by a member of a national search committee organized by AGI and NAGT. Cronin was selected because of his distinguished teaching career and his strong vision for the future of the manual.
“Each new edition of the lab manual calls for a careful balance between moving the field of geoscience education forward and working within the scope of instruction as practiced by the large and diverse group of users of the manual,” Leahy said. “Dr. Cronin’s extensive and varied experience provides him the insight to maintain that balance.”
Cronin’s research includes the search for faults that produce earthquakes, the use of GPS to determine where lithospheric plates are moving and how they deform, development of resources to teach geoscience students about ethics, and geoscience education research.
“Baylor’s students benefit from being taught by committed, talented faculty members who are experts in their topic and who teach well, making full use of our research-based understanding of how young adults learn about science,” Cronin said.
His work to improve undergraduate and graduate education in the geosciences is part of the legacy of the great teachers he worked with at Pomona College, Dartmouth College and Texas A&M University.
Editing this work will be a substantial and very visible part of Cronin’s contribution to the geosciences in the coming decade, along with his role as co-leader of the U.S. Section of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics, he said.
For more information, contact the department of geology at 254-710-2361.
by Bethany Harper , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.