TAX-DEDUCTABLE DONATION INFORMATION

JMLC is now accepting tax-deductible donations. These donations will be used in support of Center and Center Scholar/Student Affiliate activities such as the production of Occasional Papers and other research reports, research (e.g., as supplemental equipment and/or data support, moderate travel expenses), and the annual Distinguished Lecturer series (e.g., speaker's fees, special events, travel expenses). Those who donate $100 or more will be listed on a new "Supporters of JMLC" page, unless anonymity is requested. Donations should be earmarked, "JMLC-Department of Geography" and sent to: Director/JMLC, Department of Geography, Texas State University-San Marcos, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666. Alternately, if you or the company you work for are interested in providing a tax-deductible donation in support of a specific research project, please contact me, directly. Thank you for your support! P.S. Showalter

Announcing our newest Occasional Paper--click here to download Forrest Wilkerson and Ginger Schmid's "The Creation of Baranca de Caliza . . ."

SPRING DISTINGUISHED LECTURE PRESENTER ANNOUNCED

Dr. Sylvia Earle

(Photo credit: www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1+EV+2166.)

The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research (JMLC) is delighted to announce that the Spring Distinguished Lecture will be presented by Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and JMLC Board Member. Dr. Earle's visit is possible with significant support from the University's Common Experience (CE; visit http://www.txstate.edu/commonexperience) through the efforts of Drs. Pam Wuestenberg (Psychology) and Nico Schuler (Music). This year's CE theme, "A River Runs Through Us," is a perfect backdrop for a speaker who has spent her life caring about our water planet and we're extremely grateful for CE's assistance. Others supporting her visit include Deans Ann Marie Ellis (Liberal Arts) and Hector Flores (Science), Dr.Heather Galloway (Mitte Honors Program), Dr. Mike Abbot (River Systems Institute), and, of course, our very own Departmental Chair, Dr. Philip Suckling. Sylvia Earle's credentials are numerous. Oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer, and field research scientist, she holds a B.S. from Florida State University, an M.S. and Ph.D. from Duke University, and 15 honorary degrees. Labeled "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, named Time Magazine's first "Hero for the Planet" in 1999, and called a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, she has authored more than 150 scientific, technical, and popular publications, lectured in more than 60 countries, and appeared in hundreds of television productions. Director of over 60 diving expeditions (including the first team of women aquanauts--the 1970 "Tektite Project"), she has logged more than 6000 hours underwater and set the record for solo diving (1000 meters, or 3281 feet). Earle has served as NOAA's Chief Scientist and as Executive Director for corporate and nonprofit organizations such as American Rivers, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. She has been inducted into institutions such as the National Women's Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Achievement, and has received numerous medals from organizations such as the Explorers Club, the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Society of Women Geographers. As President of Deep Search International and Chair of the Advisory Council for the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, her work focuses on marine ecosystems with special attention to exploration, development and use of new technologies for access and effective operations in the deep sea and other remote environments. On Wednesday night, March 26, at 8:00 p.m. at the LBJ Student Center Mall, Earle will present, "Sustainable Seas:The Vision and the Reality." On Thursday morning, at 10:00 a.m. in the auditorium of Evans Liberal Arts, she'll provide a somewhat more technical and less formal presentation about her life's work performing deep sea research and supporting the health of our planet's oceans. We hope you can attend--and, please check the department website for any last minute changes to times or venues.