{"id":2271,"date":"2025-07-23T16:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/?p=2271"},"modified":"2025-07-24T08:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T08:02:33","slug":"announcements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/announcements\/","title":{"rendered":"Announcements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Announcements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

2025 Moellering Series Panel: Diverse Climate Insights Across Disciplines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Experts in geography, atmospheric sciences, and communication will discuss climate and its impact on society. This is a discussion you won\u2019t want to miss!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date<\/strong>: Friday, April 4, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time<\/strong>: 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Central Time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location<\/strong>: Valparaiso University, Harre Union Ballroom C (in-person & via Zoom)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking<\/strong>: Valparaiso University lots 14 and 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For virtual attendees: https:\/\/valpo-edu.zoom.us\/j\/84786682070?pwd=WQFnhjlEk74mTaH96uKJ5W0iKabZ8P.1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panelists:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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John Nielsen-Gammon<\/strong>
Texas State Climatologist; Director of the Southern Regional Climate Center; Regents Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Alex Anderson-Frey<\/strong>
Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Joseph Trujillo-Falc\u00f3n<\/strong>
Distinguished Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Climate, Meteorology, and Atmospheric Sciences, in partnership with the Department of Communication<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Jon Kilpinen \u201888<\/strong>
Interim Director for the Center of Civic Engagement at Black Hills State University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Katie Ertell \u201812<\/strong>
Scientist at Oak Ridge National Lab<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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New Faculty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Katelyn Barber (Assistant Professor) and Dr. Christopher Phillips (Visiting Assistant Professor) joined the department in August 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promotion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Kevin Goebbert was appointed Assistant Provost at Valparaiso University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retirement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Bart Wolf, who was instrumental in growing the Meteorology program at Valpo, retired after 31 years of service. The weather center in Kallay-Christopher Hall was dedicated to Bart, and a celebratory event was held during Homecoming and Family Weekend of 2024. Alumni of the Meteorology program are\u00a0raising funds<\/a>\u00a0to help continue these unparalleled field experiences for our students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward N. Lorenz Teaching Excellence Award<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Teresa Bals-Elsholz, has been awarded the\u00a02024 Edward N. Lorenz Teaching Excellence Award from the American Meteorological Society<\/a>. She was chosen, \u201cFor innovative and engaging teaching, making challenging curricula accessible and enjoyable, enthusiastic career-long mentoring, and inspiring the next generation of atmospheric scientists, especially empowering women<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VUAA Distinguished Teaching Award<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Kevin Goebbert, Associate Professor of Meteorology was awarded the Valparaiso University Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award for 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valparaiso Excellence in Teaching finalist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Jon-Paul McCool, Assistant Professor of Geography was a finalist for the Valparaiso University Excellence in Teaching Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MVC Scholar-Athlete Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric Carothers<\/strong>, \u201923, meteorology <\/em>major and Valparaiso University men\u2019s cross country sophomore Eric Carothers (Fishers, Ind.\/Hamilton Southeastern) received recognition for his success in competition and in the classroom as he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. Carothers received the honor based on his strong GPA and high finish in the MVC Cross Country Championships on March 3, 2021 in Evansville, Indiana. He led the Valpo men with a 10th-place finish in the event, earning First Team All-MVC Honors in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fullbright Semi-finalist 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenna Johnston<\/strong>, \u201921, Christ College Scholar with majors in environmental science<\/em> and biology and minors in geography<\/em> and Spanish, is a Fulbright semi-finalist for an English Teaching Assistantship to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

News:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Digging for Answers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Meteorology students in Professor Craig Clark\u2019s Research Topics class have benefited from Valpo\u2019s inimitable weather patterns. In fall 2013 the class spent an entire semester studying a weather phenomenon Northwest Indiana knows well: lake-effect snow. \u201cLake-effect snow tends to form in several different categories,\u201d says Andrew Vande Guchte \u201914, one of Professor Clark\u2019s students. \u201cOne of these is a bunch of small little bands that come across the lake from west to east. Another category is a large, single band that goes along the west coast of Michigan. Then there\u2019s the band that goes directly down the middle of the lake, and\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Perfect Place for Learning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Long before Valparaiso University existed, weather was already shaping life on campus. \u201cWe are on a terminal moraine, which means when the glaciers formed, they worked their way to Valpo and stopped,\u201d says Grace Roman \u201917, a geography major. \u201cThe melting ice deposited till, debris, and rocks and made a nice big hill,\u201d she explains. During the ice age, wind and sunlight converged to create an atmosphere perfect for budding geographers. In addition to Valpo\u2019s location on a terminal moraine, the Chapel of the Resurrection is built on a kame, a hill formed by sediment that falls through a hole\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready for the Storm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After their years of intense study and rigorous training in Valpo\u2019s meteorology department, alumni Elizabeth Thompson \u201910 and Gavin Roy \u201910 were well prepared when they boarded a research vessel bound for the Indian Ocean. In the summer of 2011, Elizabeth Thompson \u201910 and Gavin Roy \u201910 accepted an opportunity to join an expedition to the Indian Ocean to study a unique and important weather phenomenon. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Energy, the project, called DYNAMO, brought together hundreds of faculty members and graduate students from 15 institutions in six countries to study the\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whirlwind Ascent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[cws_lead]Good Morning America’s Ginger Zee ’02 reflects on the Valpo foundation that began her career.[\/cws_lead]Ginger Zuidgeest \u201902 wakes up at 4 a.m. each weekday with resolve. \u201cSince Valpo, I\u2019ve been on this constant mission,\u201d she says. \u201cOne of my best friends calls me \u2018The Explainer,\u2019 and it\u2019s true. When you\u2019re a scientist on television, you\u2019re an explainer. You have to take science and make it simple, while also teaching people something.\u201d Ginger, who goes by the moniker Ginger Zee (\u201cZuidgeest,\u201d she said, was too difficult for people to pronounce), is perhaps most well known for her work as the lead\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Generous Mentor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Valpo meteorology students benefit from an ongoing relationship with one of the nation’s premier broadcast meteorologists. WGN forecaster Tom Skilling addresses a group at Valparaiso University Valpo\u2019s meteorology students have the benefit of close proximity to Chicago, the third largest television market in the country. Many Valpo students participate in internships at Chicago television stations. For the past 20 years, nearly 100 meteorology students have interned with one of the best broadcast meteorologists in the country \u2014 WGN\u2019s veteran forecaster, Tom Skilling. Dustin Bonk \u201911, a meteorologist at WILX-TV in Lansing, Mich., learned to make accurate,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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