Awards
Honorary Degrees
An Honorary Degree is the highest honor that Colorado College can bestow. Degree recipients are chosen with great care following thorough evaluation by the Academic Events Committee, the President's Cabinet, and the Board of Trustees. The honor is awarded to individuals who have rendered distinguished service to society or made extraordinary achievements in their profession.
Recipients with distinction in the Earth & Geosciences:
- Paul J. Morin
- D.Sc. announced at the 2015 Commencement
- Link to announcement PDF
- Woodward William "Woody" Fischer, '00
- D.Sc. announced at the 2014 Opening Convocation
- Link to announcement PDF
Link to the Colorado College Honorary Degree Recipients page.
RMAG
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Award
The Neal J. Harr Memorial Outstanding Student Award is made in recognition of exemplary scholastic achievement to encourage excellence in the field of Earth Science. The awardee will receive an engraved RMAG geology rock pick.
- 2024-25: Annie Breyak '25
- 2023-24: Emma Revenaugh, '24
- 2022-23: Cade A. Quigley, '23
- 2021-22: Abby Roat, '22
Bennett
Billie Bennett Award
Each year the CC Geology faculty identifies an outstanding graduate whose gender has been historically underrepresented in the field of geology. The department commends the student for recognition by the Laramide Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists which honors graduates of academic institutions in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
The award commemorates Billie Bennett, a 1935 B.A. and 1937 M.A. Geology woman graduate, from Colorado College, who went on to instruct Mineralogy courses at CC. She was also one of several co-founders of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society. The awardee will receive an engraved geology rock pick and Certificate of Merit from AWG.
- 2024-25: Ilene Kruger '25
- 2023-24: Piper Kent '23
- 2022-23: Eugenie Haring '23 and Grace Eleanor King '23
- 2021-22: Nora Wynn '22
Estwing
Estwing Outstanding Senior Geologist Award
Each year the Estwing Manufacturing Company of Rockford, Illinois, presents an award to an outstanding geology student at Colorado College for academic achievement and overall contribution to the Geology Department. The awardee will receive an engraved geology rock pick.
- 2024-25: Charlie Hite '25
- 2023-24: Pierce Hayton '24
- 2022-23: Zhilin Shi '23
- 2021-22: Fiona Swope '22
McKenna
Phillip J. McKenna Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Award
The award was established to honor former RMAG member and petroleum geologist Phillip J. McKenna by his family and colleagues. It is awarded to a rising senior in Geology based on academic achievement.
- 2024-25: Sadie Almgren '26, Harold Oppenheim '26
- 2023-24: Annie Breyak '25
- 2022-23: Mackenzie Boyd '25, Emma Revenaugh '24
- 2021-22: Spencer Shaw '23
Buster
Patricia J. Buster Research Scholarship
These scholarships, established in 2000 in honor of Patricia J. Buster, Class of 1933, support outstanding Colorado College students in undertaking original research in geology and related Earth sciences.
- 2024-25: Anders Pohlmann '25, Charlie Hite '25, Jesus Lara Rivas '25, Lucy Rogers '25
- 2023-24: Annie Breyak '25, Harold Oppenheim '26, Ilene Kruger '25, Lachlan McCallum '25, Oliver van Linder '26, Sadie Almgren '26
- 2022-23: Eugenie Blake Haring '23, Matthew Louis Semel '23, Piper Kent '23, Zhilin Shi '23
- 2021-22: Fiona Swope '22, Max Sandweiss '22
Gould
Donald B. Gould Scholarship in Geology
Scholarship for Geology majors.
- 2024-25: Elizabeth Spradlin '26, Jake Hams '26, Lev Sugerman-Brozen '26
- 2023-24: Annie Breyak '25
- 2022-23: Annie Breyak '25, Emma Revenaugh '24
- 2021-22: Ren Carroll '22
Putnam
Darrell M. Putman Scholarship
Scholarship for Geology majors.
- 2024-25: Charlie Hite '25, Elizabeth Spradlin '26, Mackenzie Boyd '24
- 2023-24: Jesus Lara Rivas '25
- 2022-23: Baxter Waltermire '24, Jesus Lara Rivas '25
- 2021-22: Clayton Francis Rodriguez Gould '23, Helen Haddad '22, Piper Kent '23, Ren Carroll '22
Fischer
William A. Fischer Family Scholarship
Scholarship for Geology majors.
- 2021-22: Nora Wynn '22
Rhoads
Charles Rhoads 1959 Scholarship
Scholarship for Geology majors.
- 2024-25: Avery Ordner '26, David Mims '25, Jake Hams '26, Jesus Lara Rivas '25, Lenny Lorenz '25
- 2023-24: Annie Breyak '25, Baxter Waltermire '24, Charlie Hite '25, David Mims '26, Jesus Lara Rivas '25, Piper Kent '23,
- 2022-23: Clayton Francis Rodriguez Gould '23, Piper Kent '23
- 2021-22: Clayton Francis Rodriguez Gould '23, Helen Haddad '22
Wold
Wold Family Fund
Scholarship for Geology majors.
- 2024-25: Charlie Hite '25 and Mackenzie Boyd '24
- 2023-24: Baxter Waltermire '24 and Charlie Hite '25
- 2022-23: Charlie Hite '25
Hannigan
Hannigan Family Fund for Fieldwork
The Hannigan Family Fund for Fieldwork exists to benefit geology students who show considerable talent for geological fieldwork.
- 2022-23: Charlie Hite '25
- 2021-22: Cade A. Quigley '23
Creager
Creager Fund
This award provides support for Geology majors for such items as supplies for research projects, expenses related to presenting research at a conference, class field trip, or special program/field course.
- 2023-24: David Mims '26 and Jesus Lara Rivas '25
- 2022-23: Baxter Waltermire '24 and Mackenzie Boyd '25
- 2021-22: Clayton Francis Rodriguez Gould '23, Emma Revenaugh '24, and Piper Kent '23
Whitten
Barbara Whitten Prize for Women in the Natural Sciences
This prize is given to a woman student in the natural sciences who exemplifies Barbara Whitten’s model of achieving personal scientific excellence while helping others do the same. Personal scientific excellence is a combination of an excellent academic record in the natural sciences, and/or exceptional research in a scientific field. The recipient should also demonstrate a significant commitment to the advancement of women or underrepresented groups in the sciences through scholarly, community, pedagogical, or other work.
- 2022-23: Eugenie Blake Haring '23
Tashjian-Crecelius
Tashjian-Crecelius Family Prize for Women in Science
The Tashjian-Crecelius Family Prize for Women in Science was established in 2002 by Daniel N. Crecelius (Class of 1959) and his wife, Anahid Tashjian Crecelius in honor of Anahid's mother Elize Tashjian and her deep commitment to women's educational opportunities and achievement.
The prize is awarded to a woman student who is a major in one of the natural sciences, and who is an international or minority student. Preference is given to Armenian or Armenian-American women. The award is based on the best proposal demonstrating: 1) a meaningful scientific research project that will further the understanding of the natural sciences, or 2) travel expenses to attend a national or regional professional meeting, whether or not the student is presenting a research project or original research.
- 2024: Cathy Xiao
- 2023: Victoria Rosa
- 2022: Anni Zettl
- 2016-17: Tianran Zhang '18
- 2015-16: Tianran Zhang '18
Contact Us
Department of Geology
Colorado College
14 E. Cache La Poudre
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-389-6621
FAX: 719-389-6910
geology@coloradocollege.edu
Geology News
CC Awarded with a Research College and University (RCU) Designation
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE) have recognized Colorado College with a Research College and University (RCU) Designation. The RCU designation highlights research contributions from institutions historically not recognized for their research activity. Unlike the traditional R1 and R2 classifications, RCU status acknowledges colleges and universities that invest significantly in research, even if they do not offer many or any doctoral degrees. CC is one of 36 undergraduate liberal arts colleges awarded this designation.
Read the full story here!
Image: Dr. Michelle Gevedon helping undergraduate student researcher, Anders Swanson '25, core garnet minerals for isotopic analyses.
Geology Students Intern at the American Museum of Natural History!
Elizabeth Spradlin ’27, Corra Lewis ’27, and Makena R. Hatch ’26 stand in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda.
Makena R. Hatch ’26, Elizabeth Spradlin ’27, Corra Lewis ’27, and Mac Schwartz ’27 were participants in the Noblett-Witter Family Internship Program. These four CC students spent their summer in the heart of New York City, interning at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), where they experienced a hands-on, professional geology environment.
Read the full story by Julia Fennell on The Peak.
GeoMAP Antarctica, the initial comprehensive digital database that consolidates all existing geological information of Antarctica
Christine Siddoway and her colleagues developed a ground-breaking geospatial resource for Antarctic Research!
Christine Siddoway has long worked on the bedrock geology of Antarctica, involving CC Geology majors and collaborating with international colleagues. Lately, this work culminated in the publication of Antarctic GeoMAP in Nature Data Science. The groundbreaking geospatial resource is the first interactive, queriable, online GIS for the Antarctic continent. GeoMAP serves geologists, glaciologists, climate scientists, and biologists whose work examines the interrelationships between the ice sheet and the bedrock. More than 20 CC geology majors participated in the decade of work leading up to the GeoMap release. Four CC alums are co-authors, with Sam Elkind ’16 having a leading role. Coauthors Elkind and Lexie Millikin ’17 had Witter Family Fund internships that were important to the success of the international collaboration on the Antarctic dataset.