Kenny chosen as Featured Scholar for Fall 2003
Published: December 2, 2003 by External Affairs
Author: Melissa Kingsland
The corridor near the Geosciences Department in Berndt Hall at Fort Lewis College never sees a dull
moment. From Geo Club bake sales to the buzz of senior seminar classrooms, it only takes one look
to realize this department thrives off its camaraderie.
An integral part of the department’s success comes from professors and students engaging in the classroom, in
the field, and in research projects. The work of one person in particular keeps the energy level high. For his
commitment to teaching, research and scholarship, Fort Lewis College chose Associate Professor of
Geosciences Ray Kenny as Featured Scholar for the fall semester.
A reception for Kenny will be held in the Berndt Hall Foyer at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10,
2003. Refreshments will be served and no RSVP is necessary.
“At innovative liberal arts and sciences colleges like Fort Lewis College, scholarship is very
important because it enhances our commitment to teaching,” said President Robert Dolphin, Jr.
“Dr. Kenny exemplifies the balance of teaching, scholarship and service.”
Associate Professor of
Geosciences Ray Kenny was
chosen as Featured Scholar for
the fall 2003 semester.
Kenny prides himself on combining his love for teaching with a dedication to staying current in
his field via research. “Research helps me pass on updated information to my students,” he
said. “It also helps me get excited about what’s going on, and I transfer that enthusiasm to my
students.”
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences John Ninnemann said the Featured Scholar Award celebrates
an important part of being a professor — the work done outside the classroom in order to stay up-todate in each professor’s chosen field.
Ninnemann cited Kenny as an asset to Fort Lewis College. “Ray has proven to be very talented and dedicated,” he said.
“Geosciences is one of those departments where everyone gets along and works together. Ray was the last hire we did
into that family and he fits in quite well.”
Kenny, who came to Fort Lewis College in 2001, said he enjoys working with his students. “I’m still active in research, but
the focus and type of research is changing,” he said. “Working more with the undergraduate student level of research is
different, but absolutely critical.”
Kenny, who has been the principal or co-investigator on 22 previous research grants, said the hardest part about
combining teaching with advanced research is finding external funding. “I do feel that it is difficult to do intensive research
with a heavy teaching load,” he said. “Even the National Science Foundation recognizes that and in some circumstances
won’t fund your research if you are teaching more than one class unless the institution provides the instructor with release
time.”
Professor of Geosciences Jim Collier, who chairs the department, said Kenny brought a number of funded research
projects when he came to Fort Lewis College from New Mexico Highlands University.
These include two $100,000 grants that examine the “Field Gamma-ray Spectrometric study of Radionuclide
contaminated soil and mine spoils,” in two phases. Phase V investigates the Savanic Mine in Arizona and Phase IV
examines the Happy Jack Mine near White Canyon, Utah.
Current projects funded through Fort Lewis College include “Late Holocene Alluvial Geomorphology of White Canyon,
Utah,” funded by the Fort Lewis College Faculty Development Fund, and “Heavy metals and radionuclides in breccia pipe
mine spoils in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: Phase III: Copper Mountain Mine,” funded by the National Park
Service, Grand Canyon Association.
Collier said he nominated Kenny for this award for a number of reasons. “He spends an enormous amount of time in the
field with his students and his enthusiasm in the classroom is infectious,” Collier said. “He is not an easy teacher by any
means, but he is always willing to help and there are always students lined up at his office whenever he’s in there. Plus
he’s a really good colleague.”
Christine Hellbusch, a senior environmental geology major from Lewis Palmer High School in Monument, said she was excited
when she heard Kenny was named Featured Scholar. “I always walk by (the Featured Scholar display in Berndt Hall) and
wonder why Ray hasn’t been recognized because he deserves it,” she said.
Hellbusch, whose favorite class is Kenny’s geomorphology course, said professors who are engaged in their field make it
easier for students to gain knowledge. “To learn, I require a professor who is excited about the subject and gets me
engaged as well,” she said. “Ray is very dynamic.”
To encourage student engagement, Kenny utilizes the best geosciences classroom available — the outdoors. “Ray is the
professor who takes us out the most — I’ve been to the Grand Canyon twice this year — and those are the experiences
that I’ll never forget, and that most college students will never get,” said Hellbusch.
Kenny said he loves teaching at a liberal arts and sciences college for the very reason that he can take his students
outside. “It is interdisciplinary education and we’re lucky because we get our students into the field all the time.”
Hellbusch said despite the excitement, Kenny’s classes are not easy. “He makes you work for your grade,” she said. “This
is a tough program and I appreciate getting the education that I have received here.”
In addition to serving Fort Lewis College as associate professor of geosciences, Kenny currently works as a research
faculty member at New Mexico Highlands University. In 1993, he was an assistant professor at Highlands, where he
received tenure and became an associate professor by 1997. Previously, Kenny served as a research associate for the
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
In 2001, Kenny was named Professor of the Year at New Mexico Highlands University. Between 1994 and 1998, he was
recognized as a Distinguished Scientist and listed in American Men & Women in Science.
Kenny’s accolades aren’t limited to the world of geology — he is an award-winning photographer who earned first place
honors in the professional category of the AGI National Earth Science Week photo contest.
Kenny is a popular speaker, and has lectured for the National Park Service, the Four Corners Geological Society and the
University of New Mexico. He has 25 peer-reviewed publications including journal articles in Park Science, Modern
Geology and Nature.
Kenny received his doctoral and master’s degrees in geology from Arizona State University in 1991 and 1986,
respectively. He earned his bachelor’s degree in earth science from Northeastern Illinois University in 1983.
The Featured Scholar Award was established during the 1999-2000 academic year by former Fort Lewis College
President Kendall Blanchard. “Scholarship, defined in its broad and most inclusive sense, is vital to the academic integrity
of Fort Lewis College,” Blanchard told the campus when announcing the first Featured Scholars in Jan. 2000. “It is
important that our students and the larger community we serve recognize that being a member of the professional ranks
at Fort Lewis College involves more than daily classroom performances. Our faculty members are actively engaged in the
creation and application of knowledge as well as in its dispersal.”
Through the winter 2002 semester, two Featured Scholars were selected — one from the School of Arts and Sciences
and another from the schools of Business Administration and Education.
Starting in the 2002-03 academic year, one Featured Scholar was selected in the fall and another in the winter.
The complete list of Fort Lewis College’s Featured Scholars includes:
Term
Winter 2000
Fall 2000
Winter 2001
Fall 2001
Winter 2002
Fall 2002
Name
Michael Anziano
Philip Duke
Ron Estler
David Kozak
Roy Cook
Janet Jones
Bill Dodds
Rob Milofsky
Nancy Oppenheim
Catherine Ortega
Kenneth Hunt
Title
Associate Professor of Psychology
Professor of Anthropology
Professor of Chemistry
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Associate Dean, School of Business Administration
Professor of Psychology
Professor of Marketing
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Assistant Professor of Law and Finance
Assistant Professor of Biology
Professor of Marketing
Winter 2003
Fall 2003
Rochelle Mann
Ray Kenny
Professor of Music
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Author Melissa Kingsland is a senior English/communications major at Fort Lewis College and a student intern in the Office of External Affairs.