History of Geosciences at CSUF

I have a vague memory of a faculty/student/alumni gathering where Professor John Cooper shouted to the well-lubricated group, “We should write a Department history!” ​Coop mentioned the Department history several more times, but, alas, when Coop passed away in 2007, it was an unfinished project. In April 2023, Professors John Foster and Prem Saint rekindled the idea and a few days later Nancy Cooper, Coop's wife, found Coop’s notes. Coop organized the faculty biostratigraphically (below) and had a Department timeline. 

 

​Prem Saint wrote summaries of HydroCamp and the East Africa field trip as part of his memoir Wading in the River of Time. Professor Galen Carlson contributed a wonderful review of the FIST program. John Foster, Brady Rhodes, Phil Armstrong and Jeff Bennett each provided a recounting of their field camp adventures. Brady also provided a summary of the Thailand program. A phone call with Neil Maloney filled in a number of knowledge gaps.

 

Coop’s notes contained two faculty names that had been lost to time: Professors Robert Lepper and Chris Buckley. A determined Jim Harrell (CSUF ’71) produced an incredible account of Dr. Robert “The Guru” Lepper. Jim eventually communicated with Bob Lepper’s widow (Sydney Summers), stepson (Raymond Lepper) and daughter (Denise) as well as compiling a number of documents about Bob’s very interesting life. The search for Dr. Chris Buckley began with finding him quoted in a 2016 New Zealand Public Radio story about a potential tsunami in New Zealand. The reporter had lost his contact information, but she was able to find Dr. Buckley’s widow (Darlene Condra Buckley ’76) living in New Zealand. Darlene provided an update and photographs of Chris “Buck” Buckley.