Welcome to Sara Bier's reappointment website.
Cover Letter
This is my fifth year as a faculty member in the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam and I am applying for reappointment as Assistant Professor in the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam. This website serves as my reappointment portfolio. The required personnel information, curriculum vita, faculty information form, and recommendation letters are found below at the bottom of this main page. In the upper right of the page, there are links to separate pages for each of the following categories: teaching, scholarship, service, and continued growth.
Teaching
As a faculty member since 2016, I have developed and taught six different courses: Physical Geology, Earth Systems, Field Methods in Geology, Geology of National Parks, Structural Geology, and Applied Geophysics. Since submission of my last reappointment (January 2021), I have taught Earth Systems, Physical Geology, and Field Methods in Geology. I am an excellent teacher, consistently receiving positive evaluations. From 2016-2019, my overall instructor rating was 1.56 (1 being excellent-5 being very poor) and most recently in 2021, my overall instructor rating was 4.78 (1 being very poor, 5 being excellent). The basis of my teaching philosophy is that enthusiasm and passion for geology and the phenomena of our planet are most contagious when students are actively learning. As a science educator, I strive to encourage the curiosity that is innate in each of us and foster a positive environment in which students can inquire, discover, observe, experiment, and reflect to understand the world.
In the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam, I am fortunate to teach courses that are founded on applied learning. In both Field Methods in Geology and Structural Geology, students use geology skills out in the field every week. Students in Field Methods apply the principles they have learned in introductory courses to exercises in the field and develop and hone essential geology skills. Students who take these courses and learn these applied skills in geology have a distinct advantage when applying to graduate school or seeking employment.
In addition to field geology, I am passionate about Earth Science literacy in society and one way to effectively increase scientific literacy is through education at the K-12 level. When the opportunity came up to teach Dynamic Earth (now Earth Systems), an Earth Science course specifically for Early Childhood Education majors, I jumped on it. It was an opportunity to increase scientific literacy on a larger scale than just one class of college students at a time. If Earth Systems students become teachers with a solid mastery of Earth science and a greater self-efficacy in science, those teachers will encourage curiosity, inspire greater interest in science, and foster an appreciation of the Earth in their classrooms. For example, if one of the ~40 students in Earth Systems who becomes a teacher with ~20 students per year, he or she will potentially reach 600 students. If all of the Earth Systems students become teachers, one class potentially impacts 24,000 elementary students.
Scholarship
My research at SUNY Potsdam involves undergraduates, which requires training students and giving them a unique experience in field geology and structural analysis. This typically requires more work than doing the research on my own. While at Potsdam, I have supervised six students on three research projects involving literature review, field work, oriented rock collection, sample preparation, and petrographic/microstructural analysis. As a structural geologist, I am interested in tectonic problems involving rock deformation and mountain building. Since SUNY Potsdam is located close to the Adirondacks and within 10 km of a major structure, the Carthage Colton Shear Zone (type of fault), I have focused my research on this shear zone and associated structures. Results of one of these research projects were presented at a Northeast Geological Society of America Meeting in Burlington, VT in 2018. The undergraduate poster also won the Ram Chugh North Country Public Service and Research Award at the SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair.
I am actively recruiting interested students to work on regional projects, analyzing rocks from Glenmeal State Forest as well as Stone Valley. The Carthage Colton Shear Zone is exposed at Stone Valley in Colton, NY. Although petrographic and geochronological studies have been extensive, there has not been a systematic study of the microstructures across the shear zone. The rocks at Glenmeal State Forest are part of the Popple Hill Gneiss and contain garnets that are useful for structural investigations. Students participating in these projects will learn how to read topographic maps, identify and describe rocks, collect oriented samples, operate rocks saws, analyze sections under the microscope, make interpretations, and communicate those results.
Service
In my time at SUNY Potsdam, I have taken on service roles related to my interests and passions. I am interested in being part of a healthy and vibrant department, passionate about K-12 outreach and scientific literacy, and interested in establishing and maintaining connections with faculty across the college. At the department level, I have served on three search committees, have served as the assessment coordinator since 2017, participated in multiple open houses, participated in High School Science Lab Day and Middle School Science Olympiad, and am currently revamping our seismic display in the Timerman Hall Earth History Museum. At the college level, I have served on multiple working groups including the Sustainability Curriculum Working Group, the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Working Group, and the Fleet Vehicle Use Working Group. I have served on the Academic Program and Curriculum Committee, a standing committee of Faculty Senate, since 2017. I plan to nominate myself for school and college committees as relevant opportunities arise. I also plan to participate in outreach both on and off campus in activities utilizing the Geoscience Garden and by developing Earth Science activities to take to local schools.
Continued Growth
I have modified my courses based on the experience of teaching hybrid courses during the COVD-19 pandemic and thoughtful comments from my students in their course evaluations. I have expanded my use of Moodle as a place for posting relevant current events, an efficient and paper free place to submit and evaluate assignments, weekly assessment quizzes, and interactive review activities. I am renewing my certification as a Wilderness First Responder so I will be prepared to ensure student safety during field excursions.
In terms of research, I hope to revive a field geology/GIS/structural geology/petrology research program focused on questions about the geologic history of the northwest Adirondacks. I am working on recruiting students right now. I will also be reaching out to faculty in the Geology Department at St. Lawrence University to explore potential collaborations. Currently, there is a student serving as a Teaching Assistant this spring who is conducting a science education research project, using the two labs of Environmental Geology to compare efficacies of different pedagogical approaches.
In terms of service, I will continue to serve on the Academic Programs and Curriculum Committee. I will continue to serve as Assessment Coordinator in the department and am consistently revising our assessment plan and modifying the assessment tools. I would like to develop GEOL 125 Earth Systems into a service learning course such that the college students have a chance to work in the elementary schools facilitating Earth Science activities.
This website includes the required personnel forms, a page for each of the following categories: teaching, scholarship, service, and continued growth. The teaching page includes narratives, syllabi, and evaluations for each of the three courses I taught since the last reappointment package. I hope the committee finds the materials in this portfolio support my reappointment. If you have any questions or need further information or materials, please let me know.
Teaching
As a faculty member since 2016, I have developed and taught six different courses: Physical Geology, Earth Systems, Field Methods in Geology, Geology of National Parks, Structural Geology, and Applied Geophysics. Since submission of my last reappointment (January 2021), I have taught Earth Systems, Physical Geology, and Field Methods in Geology. I am an excellent teacher, consistently receiving positive evaluations. From 2016-2019, my overall instructor rating was 1.56 (1 being excellent-5 being very poor) and most recently in 2021, my overall instructor rating was 4.78 (1 being very poor, 5 being excellent). The basis of my teaching philosophy is that enthusiasm and passion for geology and the phenomena of our planet are most contagious when students are actively learning. As a science educator, I strive to encourage the curiosity that is innate in each of us and foster a positive environment in which students can inquire, discover, observe, experiment, and reflect to understand the world.
In the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam, I am fortunate to teach courses that are founded on applied learning. In both Field Methods in Geology and Structural Geology, students use geology skills out in the field every week. Students in Field Methods apply the principles they have learned in introductory courses to exercises in the field and develop and hone essential geology skills. Students who take these courses and learn these applied skills in geology have a distinct advantage when applying to graduate school or seeking employment.
In addition to field geology, I am passionate about Earth Science literacy in society and one way to effectively increase scientific literacy is through education at the K-12 level. When the opportunity came up to teach Dynamic Earth (now Earth Systems), an Earth Science course specifically for Early Childhood Education majors, I jumped on it. It was an opportunity to increase scientific literacy on a larger scale than just one class of college students at a time. If Earth Systems students become teachers with a solid mastery of Earth science and a greater self-efficacy in science, those teachers will encourage curiosity, inspire greater interest in science, and foster an appreciation of the Earth in their classrooms. For example, if one of the ~40 students in Earth Systems who becomes a teacher with ~20 students per year, he or she will potentially reach 600 students. If all of the Earth Systems students become teachers, one class potentially impacts 24,000 elementary students.
Scholarship
My research at SUNY Potsdam involves undergraduates, which requires training students and giving them a unique experience in field geology and structural analysis. This typically requires more work than doing the research on my own. While at Potsdam, I have supervised six students on three research projects involving literature review, field work, oriented rock collection, sample preparation, and petrographic/microstructural analysis. As a structural geologist, I am interested in tectonic problems involving rock deformation and mountain building. Since SUNY Potsdam is located close to the Adirondacks and within 10 km of a major structure, the Carthage Colton Shear Zone (type of fault), I have focused my research on this shear zone and associated structures. Results of one of these research projects were presented at a Northeast Geological Society of America Meeting in Burlington, VT in 2018. The undergraduate poster also won the Ram Chugh North Country Public Service and Research Award at the SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair.
I am actively recruiting interested students to work on regional projects, analyzing rocks from Glenmeal State Forest as well as Stone Valley. The Carthage Colton Shear Zone is exposed at Stone Valley in Colton, NY. Although petrographic and geochronological studies have been extensive, there has not been a systematic study of the microstructures across the shear zone. The rocks at Glenmeal State Forest are part of the Popple Hill Gneiss and contain garnets that are useful for structural investigations. Students participating in these projects will learn how to read topographic maps, identify and describe rocks, collect oriented samples, operate rocks saws, analyze sections under the microscope, make interpretations, and communicate those results.
Service
In my time at SUNY Potsdam, I have taken on service roles related to my interests and passions. I am interested in being part of a healthy and vibrant department, passionate about K-12 outreach and scientific literacy, and interested in establishing and maintaining connections with faculty across the college. At the department level, I have served on three search committees, have served as the assessment coordinator since 2017, participated in multiple open houses, participated in High School Science Lab Day and Middle School Science Olympiad, and am currently revamping our seismic display in the Timerman Hall Earth History Museum. At the college level, I have served on multiple working groups including the Sustainability Curriculum Working Group, the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Working Group, and the Fleet Vehicle Use Working Group. I have served on the Academic Program and Curriculum Committee, a standing committee of Faculty Senate, since 2017. I plan to nominate myself for school and college committees as relevant opportunities arise. I also plan to participate in outreach both on and off campus in activities utilizing the Geoscience Garden and by developing Earth Science activities to take to local schools.
Continued Growth
I have modified my courses based on the experience of teaching hybrid courses during the COVD-19 pandemic and thoughtful comments from my students in their course evaluations. I have expanded my use of Moodle as a place for posting relevant current events, an efficient and paper free place to submit and evaluate assignments, weekly assessment quizzes, and interactive review activities. I am renewing my certification as a Wilderness First Responder so I will be prepared to ensure student safety during field excursions.
In terms of research, I hope to revive a field geology/GIS/structural geology/petrology research program focused on questions about the geologic history of the northwest Adirondacks. I am working on recruiting students right now. I will also be reaching out to faculty in the Geology Department at St. Lawrence University to explore potential collaborations. Currently, there is a student serving as a Teaching Assistant this spring who is conducting a science education research project, using the two labs of Environmental Geology to compare efficacies of different pedagogical approaches.
In terms of service, I will continue to serve on the Academic Programs and Curriculum Committee. I will continue to serve as Assessment Coordinator in the department and am consistently revising our assessment plan and modifying the assessment tools. I would like to develop GEOL 125 Earth Systems into a service learning course such that the college students have a chance to work in the elementary schools facilitating Earth Science activities.
This website includes the required personnel forms, a page for each of the following categories: teaching, scholarship, service, and continued growth. The teaching page includes narratives, syllabi, and evaluations for each of the three courses I taught since the last reappointment package. I hope the committee finds the materials in this portfolio support my reappointment. If you have any questions or need further information or materials, please let me know.
Personnel Information
Curriculum Vita
Faculty Information Forms
Previous Personnel Action Form
Recommendation Letters
Lisa Stewart
Bethany Cratsenberg
Erin Weinzapfel
Tiffany Powell
Walt Conley
Adam Ketchum
Kristie Yager
Curriculum Vita
Faculty Information Forms
Previous Personnel Action Form
Recommendation Letters
Lisa Stewart
Bethany Cratsenberg
Erin Weinzapfel
Tiffany Powell
Walt Conley
Adam Ketchum
Kristie Yager
Narrative on the University and Department Mission Statements
University Mission Statement
The State University of New York at Potsdam prepares students to act as engaged global citizens and to lead lives enriched by critical thought, creativity and discovery. As an inclusive scholarly community, rooted in our historic role in providing exemplary teacher and music education and our leadership in the fine and performing arts, we are committed to the liberal arts and sciences as an academic foundation for all students. With an abiding sense of responsibility to our region and to the world beyond, SUNY Potsdam fosters an appreciation of and respect for the variety of human experience.
In every course I teach, I attempt to facilitate discovery and encourage critical thinking about the Earth’s dynamic systems and the relationship between humans and the Earth. I provide exemplary teacher education as I teach Geology 125 Earth Systems, the Earth Science course for Early Childhood Education majors. Students in introductory courses learn about some of the pressing issues in society such as climate, environment, and energy. Thus, these students are prepared to act as engaged global citizens. In all of the courses I teach, I take students into the field in order to appreciate the diverse resources, geology and others, of our region. In all that I do, teaching, advising, scholarship, and service, I am committed to providing quality education in the sciences as an academic foundation for the students at SUNY Potsdam.
Department Mission Statement
The mission of the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam is to provide our students with a comprehensive undergraduate training in geology that gives them the scientific background and skills that they need for a successful career in geology, a solid foundation for graduate school, and/or a career in education. To fulfill this mission, the department provides a classical core curriculum, requires appropriate coursework in the cognate sciences, offers numerous electives which focus on practical and topical areas of geology, emphasizes practical and field-based skills, and encourages undergraduate research and faculty-student interaction.
I teach courses in the classic core curriculum including Field Methods in Geology and Structural Geology which both emphasize practical and field-based skills. I also teach an elective course, Applied Geophysics that focuses on a practical and topical area of geology. As an advisor, I have advised students in their coursework as well as with cover letters and resumes and applications so that they can obtain successful careers in geology or admission to graduate school. In my scholarly activity, I have supervised students in regional structural geology research projects. My field-based research encourages undergraduate research. I serve as the Assessment Coordinator for the department and am consistently reflecting on our learning objectives and curriculum to ensure that we are providing the comprehensive undergraduate training and scientific background and skills, so that our geology graduates may succeed in whatever path they choose to take.
The State University of New York at Potsdam prepares students to act as engaged global citizens and to lead lives enriched by critical thought, creativity and discovery. As an inclusive scholarly community, rooted in our historic role in providing exemplary teacher and music education and our leadership in the fine and performing arts, we are committed to the liberal arts and sciences as an academic foundation for all students. With an abiding sense of responsibility to our region and to the world beyond, SUNY Potsdam fosters an appreciation of and respect for the variety of human experience.
In every course I teach, I attempt to facilitate discovery and encourage critical thinking about the Earth’s dynamic systems and the relationship between humans and the Earth. I provide exemplary teacher education as I teach Geology 125 Earth Systems, the Earth Science course for Early Childhood Education majors. Students in introductory courses learn about some of the pressing issues in society such as climate, environment, and energy. Thus, these students are prepared to act as engaged global citizens. In all of the courses I teach, I take students into the field in order to appreciate the diverse resources, geology and others, of our region. In all that I do, teaching, advising, scholarship, and service, I am committed to providing quality education in the sciences as an academic foundation for the students at SUNY Potsdam.
Department Mission Statement
The mission of the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam is to provide our students with a comprehensive undergraduate training in geology that gives them the scientific background and skills that they need for a successful career in geology, a solid foundation for graduate school, and/or a career in education. To fulfill this mission, the department provides a classical core curriculum, requires appropriate coursework in the cognate sciences, offers numerous electives which focus on practical and topical areas of geology, emphasizes practical and field-based skills, and encourages undergraduate research and faculty-student interaction.
I teach courses in the classic core curriculum including Field Methods in Geology and Structural Geology which both emphasize practical and field-based skills. I also teach an elective course, Applied Geophysics that focuses on a practical and topical area of geology. As an advisor, I have advised students in their coursework as well as with cover letters and resumes and applications so that they can obtain successful careers in geology or admission to graduate school. In my scholarly activity, I have supervised students in regional structural geology research projects. My field-based research encourages undergraduate research. I serve as the Assessment Coordinator for the department and am consistently reflecting on our learning objectives and curriculum to ensure that we are providing the comprehensive undergraduate training and scientific background and skills, so that our geology graduates may succeed in whatever path they choose to take.