Dr. James R. Ebert , a full professor and current Chair of the Department, has been at SUNY Oneonta since 1985. He holds a B.S. in geology from SUNY Fredonia and a Ph.D. from Binghamton University. Dr. Ebert has been honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY Oneonta Award for Outstanding Academic Advisement. Twice, he has served as the president of the New York State Geological Association. Dr. Ebert’s current research focuses on the stratigraphy, microfossil biostratigraphy, paleontology, sedimentology and volcanic ashes of the Siluro-Devonian limestones in the Appalachian Basin. This research regularly includes the participation of undergraduate students. He has conducted projects in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Quebec, Poland and the Czech Republic. Dr. Ebert is extensively involved in Earth Science Education (K-12) and preparation of pre-service teachers. Dr. Ebert’s students have solved problems with the Regents Earth Science lab practical and have developed physical models for large scale and abstract Earth processes, which they have presented at professional conferences. Dr. Ebert was on the writing committees for New York State’s Regents Earth Science Core Curriculum, Performance Assessment and Reference Tables. He hosts listservs for middle and high school science teachers that serve over 3000 teachers.