The work of Geography associate professor William Heyman was highlighted in the article “Rescuing the Reefs” in the December/January edition of National Wildlife. The article discusses measures taken in Belize to create marine reserves based, in part, on the work of Heyman and colleague Rachel Graham, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Working under The Nature Conservancy, Heyman was sent to Belize in 1994 to collaborate with local fishermen and other stakeholders to create a marine protected area.

Dr. Bruce Coull, immediate past-president of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) and Dean Emeritus of the School of Environment at the University of South Carolina, will visit the College February 6^th to 8^th to advise us on our interdepartmental Environmental Programs in Geosciences. Dr. Coull will give a brown-bag seminar on Friday, February 8^th, from 12.30 to 1.30 in O&M 203. His seminar is titled "The CEDD national surveys of environmental studies and environmental geosciences programs." He will summarize results from a survey of hundreds of programs recently conducted by the CEDD and Oklahoma State University. Dr. Coull will meet with students and faculty while he is here. There will be drop-in sessions with Dr. Coull on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Please consult the schedule.

Twenty-three former students and associates of Professor William R. Bryant have given a total of $1 million dollars to establish an endowed chair in his name in the Department of Oceanography within the College of Geosciences. The William R. Bryant Oceanography Chair for Teaching, Research and Mentoring Excellence was announced at a dinner held in Bryant’s honor on Friday, February 1.

Interested in studying geography in another country and earning class credit at the same time? Dr. Christian Brannstrom, associate professor of geography, is leading a study abroad program to Brazil this summer. This is a unique opportunity for students of any major to earn six hours of course credit for geography 450 and 489 while traveling through Brazil and learning about its geography, development, and resulting challenges to environmental management. Brannstrom started the program in 2005 because the College of Geosciences lacked a study abroad program. However, the program was cancelled last summer because too few students applied.

Ralph Rayburn, the Texas Sea Grant College Program’s Extension Program leader, died suddenly at his home Thursday morning, January 31, of an alleged heart attack. He was 60. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Callaway-Jones Funeral Home in Bryan. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at A&M United Methodist Church.

The College of Geosciences introduced a newly designed website for the Department of Geography under the domain name geography.tamu.edu this week after more than a month of preparation. It is the first departmental website in the College to incorporate the new Texas A&M logo and style specifications. The website is also the College’s first departmental website completely built in Joomla, a content management system gaining popularity among web developers.