Dear Dr. Peta Bonham-Smith:

The Department of Geological Sciences at the U of S plays an integral role in the success of Saskatchewan’s mineral exploration and natural resource industries. Our department boasts the oldest student club in Western Canada, the Ore Gangue, which has members across the world.

The Department of Geological Sciences has built a strong reputation over past decades in both academics and industry. Recently, our department has seen drastically reduced support in maintaining its fundamental research areas, and therefore putting its reputation and the reputations of both our students and alumni at risk.

Since the retirement of Dr. Renaut, the variety of sedimentary or “soft rock” courses offered and research have greatly decreased. The department no longer has the necessary disciplinary diversity to maintain its reputation as a leader in geological science education since several fundamental classes have been cut, such as limnogeology, carbonate sedimentology, sedimentary petrology, advanced sedimentology, and basin analysis. Approximately 50 percent of geology undergraduates pursue an informal specialization in petroleum geology and are now at a significant disadvantage for remaining competitive in both industry and academics and in acquiring jobs once they graduate.

In addition, the decrease in the number of classes offered has negatively impacted students’ ability to fulfill course requirements for obtaining their professional designation through the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS), which is a requirement in order to work as a professional geologist.

We as a student body demand that the College of Arts & Science consider re-establishing lost faculty positions, and in addition pursue creating more teaching positions in the sedimentary and resource geology disciplines. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Undergraduate and Graduate Students, and Recent Alumni from the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan