AGI Welcomes Geological Society of America Scholar-in-Residence, Sarah K. Fortner, Ph.D.

Alexandria, Va. – The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is excited to welcome Sarah K. Fortner, Ph.D., from the Geological Society of America (GSA) and Wittenberg University as its second Member Society Scholar-in-Residence. As a Scholar-in-Residence, Fortner will support informed decision-making by connecting geoscience practitioners and students with earth science.

As an Associate Professor of Geology at Wittenberg University, Fortner demonstrates her dedication to informed public discourse on global climate change and community environmental issues. Her department, the Wittenberg Geology Department and Environmental Science Program, was recently recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities as one of twenty-two academic departments from across the United States that are “providing models for how to make civic learning and democratic engagement an expectation” for all its students.

Fortner is the primary author of numerous scientific publications on glacier geochemistry, and the co-author of “Geoscience Service Learning Literature Themes” (2016, National Academies Press), and has developed curriculum and program resources as part of the National Science Foundation’s InTeGrate program (Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future). She is a member of GSA, the American Geophysical Union, the Council on Undergraduate Research, the Geochemical Society, and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

Fortner will bring her strong portfolio of local earth advocacy and scientific engagement to her time as a Scholar-in-Residence. She will be developing teaching modules that help the geoscience community to expand local civic engagement and will work on several collaborative opportunities with AGI and GSA.

Maeve Boland, AGI’s Director of Geoscience Policy, looks forward to this in-person collaboration. “We are eager to work with Dr. Fortner to broaden the scope of our programs and deepen the reach of our products at the state and local level,” Boland said.

The Member Society Scholar-in-Residence Program supports AGI’s mission of providing collaborative leadership to the geoscience community by fostering formal opportunities for members and/or staff of AGI Member Societies. The Scholar-in-Residence will continue their current work during the program, while also applying their expertise to projects that benefit the broader geoscience community.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Fortner to AGI as GSA’s Scholar-in-Residence. Her dual commitment to science and service shines through in her past work, and the geoscience community will benefit from her expertise in local community engagement,” said AGI Executive Director Allyson Anderson Book.

GSA’s Executive Director Vicki McConnell said, “GSA is pleased to have the opportunity to leverage resources with AGI for partnerships like the Member Society Scholar-in-Residence. We look forward to the outcomes from Fortner’s work, and we are confident the results of this collaboration will inform our programs and engage our members well into the future.”

The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.