DEPARTMENT NEWS

DR. REGINALD SHAGAM (FACULTY) DIES IN ISRAEL

Dr. Reginald Shagam died on Friday, April 19, 2008 in Beersheba, Israel due to complications from heart disease. Reg was a GEMS faculty member from 1987 until his retirement in 1998. Affectionately referred to as "El Tigre De Los Andes" by many who knew him, Reg was an outstanding and dedicated teacher and a world renowned and respected researcher, primarily in the areas of structural geology, tectonics, and the geology of Venezuela, Columbia, Israel, and the Caribbean region. Born in South Africa, Reg received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and taught at Franklin and Marshall College and the University of Pennsylvania before coming to Rider. He will be greatly missed by those of us at Rider and around the world who were fortunate enough to have been his friends, colleagues, and students.

DR. RICHARD R. ALEXANDER (FACULTY) INDUCTED INTO THE RIDER UNIVERSITY SCIENCE STAIRWAY OF FAME

Dr. Richard R. Alexander (Faculty) was inducted into the Rider University Science Stairway of Fame on June 16, 2007. Alex, as he was known by everyone on campus, had a distinguished career at Rider.  He joined the geological and marine sciences faculty in 1981 as an Associate Professor. He rose to the rank of Full Professor in 1986 and served as Department Chair from 1983 to 1991, and again from 1993 until his tragic and unexpected death on December 11, 2006. He was named Assistant Dean of Science in the College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences in 1997 and served in that position until August 2006.

Alex received his B.S. in geology from the University of Cincinnati and his doctorate from Indiana University in 1972. His Ph.D. dissertation focused on the correlation of shape and growth changes in clams and sand dollars from Pliocene sands in California. In addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities at Rider, Alex taught marine science and biology courses at the Oregon State University Science Center, Aquina Bay, and at the marine laboratory at Puerto Penasco, Gulf of California, jointly operated by the University of Arizona and the Universidad de Sonora. He also spent a research leave at the Dunstaffnage Marine Biological Station near Oban, Scotland studying clams. Alex's research interests focused on the functional morphology of, and substrate influence on, shape, distribution, and behavior of brachiopods, clams, and echinoids. Recently, Alex was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey, an educational consortium that operates the Lighthouse Education Center on Barnegat Bay, a marine field station where Rider maintains facilities. He also was instrumental in creating field courses for Rider at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Shoals Marine Lab off the coast of Maine, and the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences in Honduras.

Alex was the consummate professor – innovative and demanding, yet always dedicated and accessible to his students. Alex also was one of the most prolific researchers in Rider's history and was the author of more than 100 published papers, presentations or abstracts at regional, national and international meetings. However, he took special pride in student research and over his 25-year career at Rider, Alex sponsored dozens of independent research projects, mentored numerous students, co-authored scientific papers published in international journals with many of them, and helped launch a wide variety of successful scientific careers.

Without question, Alex strongly influenced the lives of many in the Rider community as an administrator, teacher, advisor, colleague, and friend. His tireless work ethic was superceded only by his desire to acknowledge the same such efforts of Rider alumni by creating the Stairway of Fame. Alex's inclusion in the Rider University Science Stairway of Fame is a fitting tribute to his 25-year commitment of service to the entire Rider community, his lifelong dedication to scholarly research, and his role as a beloved professor who had an amazing passion for both teaching and learning.

JENNIFER O'REILLY '01 INDUCTED INTO THE RIDER UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

Jennifer O’Reilly '01 was inducted into the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, January 20, 2007. Jen, a marine sciences major, was twice the Rider University Female Athlete of the Year, was a three-time Andrew J. Rider Scholar, was named one of the top 25 Performers in the 25-year history of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and graduated with a perfect 4.0 gpa! She graduated with 24 MAAC gold medals, including four straight 100 freestyle MAAC Championships, eight team records, four Rider pool relay records and two MAAC relay records. Jen became Rider’s first-ever Barry Goldwater Scholarship Award recipient in 2001 and is still the only Rider student-athlete to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

“This year’s inductees were chosen from a very competitive group of nominees by the Hall of Fame committee,” said Don Harnum, Rider’s Director of Athletics. “All of them have brought great honor to themselves, the Athletics Department, and to Rider University.” Congratulations Jen and well deserved!

NEW RIDER MARINE SCIENCES T-SHIRT NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Make a fashion statement and support student research at the same time. Thanks to the multi-talented Michelle Patullo '07, a marine sciences/education double major, a new Rider marine sciences t-shirt is now available for purchase. Michelle's design features colored images of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, a high-browed clam, the upside down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamanchama, the nautilus, Nautilus sp., and a brittle star on the front (see photo). The back retains the traditional triangular biology-chemistry-sedimentology logo, indicative of the interactive and synergistic nature of the marine sciences at Rider (see photo).

The cost of the t-shirt is still a bargain, remaining at $10.00. Proceeds from their sale support the department's student reasearch fund. Send checks to Dr. Jonathan Husch, payable to Rider University. Please specify size (L or XL only; they are 100% cotton and will shrink "slightly") and be sure to include "Geosciences Student Research Fund" on the memo line of your check. Don't leave home without one!