12 BOONE PICKENS SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY Dr. Caitlin Barnes Hello BPSoG alumni and friends! I’m an Adjunct Assistant Professor teaching online environmental and planetary geology. Primarily, I serve as the Director of Outreach and Communications for the College of Arts and Sciences and am the Director and Co-Founder of NGWA University Powered by OSU (NGWAU). As a proud BPSoG alumna, I’m dedicated to supporting our community. In my role, I assist faculty in fulfilling OSU’s landgrant mission, focusing on workforce development, K-12 outreach, and online education. President Shrum’s strategic plan involves systemic changes, and my work has gone toward embedding CAS and BPSoG into those plans. I developed a water-focused general education trail that holds potential for integration into the gen ed reform initiative. I established quality guidelines for CAS’s online courses, which includes our Cowboy Concurrent Online courses that are on track to increase enrollment by 20%, which was an explicit goal within the President’s initiatives. I’ve collaborated with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education on the UpskillOK initiative and was selected to serve in the campus-wide Cowboy Up Task Force to enhance students’ skills through micro-credentialing. This initiative aims to equip students with the necessary skills for their future careers. I continue to advocate for sustainable educational pathways, ensuring all students, regardless of their background or experience, have access to opportunities that meet the demands of the workforce. Dr. Ashley Burkett As another productive year draws to a close, we’re excited to share some of the highlights and achievements from the Burkett Micropaleontology Lab over the past twelve months. It has been a year of growth, collaboration, and innovation, and News from the Faculty
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