A、Tom Searight. B、Illinois Powell. C、George Powell. D、John Wesley Powell. DWho is the first academic geologist at Illinois State

Geography as a subject has been taught at Illinois State University since a year after it founding ins 1857. The Department came into existence in 1860 with the creation of the Division of History and Geography, and in 1902 was established as a separate department. By either measure, the Geography Program at Illinois State is one two or three oldest in the country. It is also one of the first programs established on the Illinois State campus. Today, there are nine tenure line faculty members and one full-time instructor.
    Geology at Illinois State dates to the appearance of John Wesley Powell, but after his departure eighty-seven years elapsed until the Department hired its next academic geologist, Tom Searight in 1959. The undergraduate major in Geology was established in 1969 with three faculty members. In 1993 a Master program in hydrogeology was inaugurated, and the geology faculty grew to its current complement of seven with one full-time instructor.
    Although the early emphasis among the department faculty was on teaching, it is clear that many were active scholars as well, and that tradition continues today. Current faculty have active research agendas, and bring that experience into the classroom.