Steven J. Rosscoe

Assistant Professor of Geology
325-670-1387
HSU Box
Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics
Geology
srosscoe@hsutx.edu

The mission of Hardin-Simmons University is to be a community dedicated to providing excellence in education enlightened by Christian faith and values. I joined the HSU family, in 2008, because of its tradition giving students a high quality education and fostering a friendly, family-like atmosphere that is similar to those experiences I have had during my education. HSU's commitment to hands-on and field-oriented science education is a key to developing a top notch program in the geological sciences. At this point in our nation a wide variety of opportunities exist for students receiving degrees in the geological sciences. From the environmental industry, the petroleum industry, the energy industry in general, and even academia hands-on, field-oriented experiences make our students competitive in the job market and in the field of geology.

Geology has always been important in my life. My first job was as a tour guide at Howe Caverns in upstate New York. While attending college at SUNY Geneseo I so enjoyed my geology classes that I changed my major from biochemistry to geology early in my sophomore year. Following my undergraduate years I moved to Lubbock, Texas, to receive my graduate degrees at Texas Tech University. My concentration is paleontology (predominantly invertebrate paleontology). My area of expertise is conodonts of Middle-Upper Pennsylvanian age from the Midcontinent Basin of North America. My work with these conodonts has led to my involvement in the definition and correlation of the geologic time boundary between the Moscovian and Kasimovian Stages. As a part of this work I serve as a corresponding member of the Subcomission of Carboniferous Stratigraphy and as a voting member of the Task Group to Establish the Moscovian-Kasimovian and Kasimovian-Gzhelian boundaries. Despite my research I have always been dedicated to education. My focus is on undergraduate education in the geological sciences, but I also have and will continue to participate in outreach at the K-12 levels.