Tom Freeman Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus Department of Geological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 Work phone: (573) 882-6673 Work Fax: (573) 882-5458 FreemanT@missouri.edu

Throughout my career at MU I have been involved with various combinations of teaching; serving as department chair; and conducting research in Spain, the North Atlantic, and the American mid-continent. During my last tour of duty as department chair (1982-90) I strayed so far from the research arena that afterward, rather than trying to play catch-up in the increasingly geochemical world of carbonate petrology, I decided to devote my energy to teaching, believing that the half-life of a student is greater than the half-life of yet another article on diagenesis. My recent publications have involved students, and my most recent presentation dealt with computer-aided classroom instruction. I have recently retired in order to devote more time to writing and illustrating, but I continue to teach part-time. My present teaching responsibilities include an honors course titled Geology of Our National Parks.

My involvement with undergraduate students has resulted in three instructional manuals: Geoscience Laboratory, Procedures in Field Geology, and  Environmental Geology Laboratory. I have always advocated hands-on experience in teaching/learning, so I have, on numerous occasions, conducted students on field trips to south Florida, having led that trip a dozen times.

My latest lectureship in Spain (one of a number of such visits to Spanish-speaking countries) was at the University of Granada, where former post-doc Fulbright fellow José Martín is a full professor. Peggy and I revisited Spain in August 1997 to rekindle our friendships with José and wife, María, as well as with Toni Obrador and his family in Barcelona. Our extended family visited our friends in Barcelona, Menorca, and Granada in July-August 2004.
 

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