Olivet Nazarene University has appointed Charles Carrigan ’96, Ph.D. as the Reams Endowed Professor for Geosciences.
The Max and Carol Reams Endowed Professorship was established to provide sustained faculty support for geosciences and to honor the legacy of two longtime Olivet supporters. The fund will help secure the viability of Olivet’s geosciences through partial funding of the primary professor, along with providing funds for enhancement of the student educational experience and student recruitment.
Dr. Carrigan joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences in 2004. He has taught courses including Earth science, water resources, mineral science, petrology, natural resources and environmental issues, Earth & environmental chemistry, and structural geology & tectonics.
“Dr. Charles Carrigan returned to his alma mater to teach geology under the tutelage of Dr. Max Reams; how fitting that Dr. Carrigan is now the first recipient of the Max and Carol Reams Endowed Professorship,” commented Kent Olney, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Olivet. “Numerous students have traveled with Dr. Carrigan on meaningful summer trips around the United States to explore rock formations and be enriched by discovering secrets of the wonderful earth that God created. No one is better suited for this distinct professorship honor.”
Dr. Carrigan’s curriculum often includes geological field work trips to places like the Southern Appalachian Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, Missouri, and Ontario, Canada. He has also led summer trips to the National Parks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau in Utah and Arizona, and to the volcanic Island of Hawai’i.
“This endowment will directly benefit students, supporting them to engage in exciting and beneficial field studies and travel courses,” Dr. Carrigan explained. “As society faces increasing challenges in energy, water, soils, critical minerals, and natural hazards, the need for professional Christian geoscientists is all the more important. Thanks to the wonderful support of Max and Carol, and the many others who gave so generously, the Earth & Space Science program at ONU is better equipped to accomplish our mission of training the next generation for service to the Church and the broader world.”
In addition to his leadership in the classroom, Dr. Carrigan has published numerous abstracts and presented at various professional conferences. He is a member of the Geological Society of America, the Mineralogical Society of America, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and the Affiliation of Christian Geologists.
Max ’00 MPC/Ph.D. and Carol Reams ’94/’00 MPC spent the majority of their careers working at Olivet. Dr. Reams served for 50 years as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences, providing particular leadership to the development of the geology program. Carol served in the Office of the Registrar for nearly 30 years. Their motivation for generously providing funding for this professorship is to benefit the next generation of students at Olivet who seek to explore more about God’s creation through the lens of geosciences.
“It is a tremendous honor to be named as the Max and Carol Reams Endowed Professor of Geosciences,” Dr. Carrigan emphasized. “Their dedication to the geology program at Olivet is inspiring. I hope to continue their legacy of excellent geoscience education for the next generation.”
Learn more about Olivet Endowments
For more information about the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences, and other areas of study within the Walker School of STEM, visit Olivet.edu/Academics.
