WORK HARD, PLAY HARD: THE VALUE OF A GEOLOGY CLUB TO A TWO-YEAR COLLEGE GEOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Pasadena City College (PCC) is an urban two-year college (2YC) with an enrollment of 25,000. The school was established in 1924, and a Geology Department followed in 1927. In 1937, students and faculty founded The Dana Club, named for James Dwight Dana and dedicated to the promotion of geology. It stands as the second oldest and best-funded campus club, and serves the geosciences community through field trips, scholarships, biannual mineral sales, 4YC college visits, tutoring services, hosting visiting speakers, encouraging transfer to four-year colleges (4YC), promotion of internships, performance of community service, and by providing time and space for social and digital interaction across generations of students and faculty.

Lifetime membership in The Dana Club is open to all PCC students, regardless of major. Actively enrolled members elect a governing body on an annual basis, and democratically decide all club functions and agenda items at weekly meetings. Maintenance of the club charter with the school requires completion of a set number of community service hours per student, upkeep of the club constitution, participation in a campus-wide interclub council, and commitment of a faculty adviser. Primary expenses are transportation, food, and camping costs for twice-annual field excursions.

The value of a club to students and to the institution is incalculable. Students benefit by inclusion in cohorts that complete major classes en masse, enhancing enrollment, retention, and matriculation numbers. These students are demonstrably more likely to continue to study geology at 4YCs and to pursue careers as geoscientists. The geology department benefits through higher success rates by any metric and promotion of the program. The PCC campus and community benefit through access to a volunteer force that over that last decade has cleaned up beaches and watersheds, maintained trails in the National Forest, and provided labor in the field and lab for local professors, graduate students, and professional societies.

Well-oiled geology clubs are invaluable tools, and no geology program is complete without one. The PCC Dana Club is far greater than the sum of its parts, and serves a far greater role than the founders could have anticipated.