ALLAN THOMPSON'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE

Allan Thompson is legendary among the alumni of the Geology program at the University of Delaware for his field trips, many involving complex logistics and/or large groups (>100) during regular semester course offerings. Additionally, he organized and led the University of Delaware Western Field Camp for over a decade, introducing legions of students to the geology of Montana, Wyoming, and various sites throughout the mid-west on the way to field camp. Beyond these time consuming field-oriented efforts, Allan taught almost every course in the undergraduate curriculum at Delaware, demonstrating his versatility and commitment to teaching. More about his career can be found at http://www.geosci.udel.edu/DocThompson, including his well-known “Doc’s Laws of Field Geology” with such truisms as “the rocks are right” or “believe it and you will see it.”

The teaching resources developed by faculty members during their careers are often irreplaceable, especially those that involve information about good field sites to be used in instruction. Allan’s field guides represent one of these resources, and for this reason his colleagues have collected, organized and scanned over a dozen such guides for archival preservation in the University of Delaware Institutional Repository: (http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/10389). These guides are available for faculty, students, alumni, and the general public. A current effort involves the scanning, cataloging, and archival storage of several hundred photographs related to these field guides. Valuable resources such as these do not have to be reinvented by newer faculty if mechanisms exist and commitments are made to preserve them for future generations.