Fwd: Fwd:

[poulton@xxxxxxxxxx]

Comments:
I'm really not sure of the etiquette re posting 3rd party messages, but (like 
the last one) this seems to have been posted widely originally and deserves 
widespread communication.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To:		Jim Dixon@Carto@gsc calgary, Ashton Embry@Nregion@gsc 
		calgary, Terry Poulton@Paleo@gsc calgary, Grant 
		Smith@Admin@gsc calgary, Lloyd Snowdon@e_e@GSC CALGARY
From:		Grant Mossop@DIRECTOR@GSC CALGARY
Date:		Wednesday, March 27, 1996 at 4:31:22 pm MST
Attached:	Headers.822

Comments:
Hi -
	This sad tale from Hans Hofmann requires response.  Get back to me 
with any ideas/text and I'll get on the wire.  Thanks.
Grant

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To:		
From:		hofmann@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Hofmann Hans)
Date:		Wednesday, March 27, 1996 at 1:44:54 pm EST
Attached:	Headers.822

Geology under attack in Montreal universities (and elsewhere)

        The Dean of Arts & Science of the University of Montreal 
(Universite e Montreal) has notified the teaching and support staff by
a letter dated March 20, 1996, that the faculty is taking steps to close 
the Geology Department.
The administration at Concordia University (Montreal) has taken a similar
action this February to close its geology Department at the end of May. McGill
University's geology department (Montreal) is being menaced by its
administration as well, and so is Ecole Polytechnique at Montreal. The USGS, 
NASA, and GSC have seen severe cuts. It all has to do with budgets, not 
with the quality of the programs or the services provided. 
        Geology departments world-wide are generally one of the units with the
smallest student population in a university, making them easy targets for
elimination when the bottom line is reduction in expenditures. Small does not
necessarily mean lesser. It is essential for the geoscience community to
develop a coherent strategy to counteract the perception on the part of
university administrators and politicians, most of whom are not scientists,
that geology is an expendable discipline - they have to be persuaded of the
importance of the contributions that geologists and geological science make to
society and the well-being of a nation. Often such expertise is exported to
other countries less fortunate than Canada to have a highly regarded
geological community involved in exploration and research in all parts of the
world. 
        It now is necessary for us to coordinate efforts to maintain viable
alternatives and minimize the damage involved as a result of closure of entire
departments, particularly at a time of resurgence in the mineral industry, as
is the case in Canada. The poor funding situation regarding allocations to
geological research relative to other disciplines has already alarmed others,
including Fred Longstaffe, the Group Chairman for Earth Sciences, Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, who sounded an alert in
his letter of January 4 of this year to the Canadian research community.
        The Universite de Montreal has stated its mission for the future as
being THE great French-speaking, research university in North America. With
over 50,000 students, it is, in fact the largest French-speaking university
outside France. Its geology department, administered by a Faculty of Arts and
Sciences, provides Ph.D, M.Sc., B.Sc. honours, major, and minor programs. We
have a complementary program with Geological Engineering, administered by
cole Polytechnique (equivalent to an Engineering Faculty), also with
undergraduate and graduate programs. Students in both programs take compulsory
geology courses given by both departments. How can a university with claims to
greatness not have a geology program, particularly at a time when Earth and
environmental science should become a core discipline?
        We need all the support we can muster to convince the powers to be 
that
geology is a key discipline, an important element in the economy - resources,
environment, general well-being. Over the next few days our Committee for
Outside Support will compile comments received from outside, and forward them
en masse to the administration. We would greatly appreciate your support in
our effort to maintain geology at the Universite de Montreal as an essential
discipline by showing our administrators the consequences they may incur by
eliminating geology from the curriculum. Your comments can be sent to:

        e-mail:         geologie@ere.umontreal.ca
        FAX:            514-343-5782
        snail mail:     M. Michel A. Bouchard, Directeur
                        Departement de geologie
                        Universite de Montreal
                        C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville
                        Montreal, Que. H3C 3J7, Canada

On behalf of students, staff, and faculty of our department, thank you for
your support.

Hans Hofmann
hofmann@ere.umontreal.ca