Signs of Growth in Geology – 1954 - 1959
In an “Announcement of the Department of Geology” in 1954, class offerings were listed. Classes included: Principles of Geology, Physical Geology, Advanced General Geology, Common Rocks and Minerals, Life of the Geologic Past, Geology and Man, Field Methods, Field Course, Problems, Structural Geology, Mineralogy, Historic Geology, Introduction to Paleontology, Geology of Ground Water, Introduction to Micropaleontology, Economic Geology, Global Geology, History of Geology, Advanced Physiography, Principles of Ore Deposit and more.
That same year, the geology announcements noted that there were many women in the field, some as successful field geologists. However, a greater number of graduates worked in laboratories, offices, and classrooms.
Specialized fields at the time, included Economic Geology, Mineralogy, Mining Geology, Petroleum Geology, Petrology, Structural Geology and Subsurface Geology.
In another “Announcement of the Department of Geology” from 1956, quoted the Department of Labor (DOL) stating long-term employment in geology appeared great for those with graduate training, including jobs in government and industry. The same DOL report stated, “a small number of persons with only a bachelor’s degree will be able to enter the profession each year.”
The geology department added that for those with master’s degrees, the demand for geologists exceeded the supply, particularly in the petroleum industry, providing jobs for about 60 percent of geologists in the country.
The department saw large growth during the late 1940s and early 1950s, graduating 31 bachelor students, 19 master students and two PhD students in 1950, with only seven full-time faculty.
A University of Missouri Bulletin from 1959 boasted about geology’s modern scientific equipment used for teaching and research purposes. Some equipment listed was: aneroid surveying barometers, ball mill, binocular stereoscopic microscopes, blow-pipe equipment, cameras for megascopic and photomicrographic work, centrifuges, diamond saws, differential thermal equipment, direct reading spectroscope, drafting tables and equipment, flame photometer, fluorescent lamps, fusion furnace, Geiger Counter, griding wheels, various types of microscopes, projectors, rock crusher and more.
The report also stated the department “ranks among the best in the nation.”