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They say some agreements are written in stone. The one between the Sac State Geology Department and the U.S. Geological Survey was written on paper, but it helped form a rock-solid 10-year-plus relationship between the school and the federal agency.

In 1997, Geology and the USGS California Water Science Center built a first-rate research facility on campus—Placer Hall. It was the first time a district office of the USGS had agreed to relocate to a university campus.

“I think the expectation was that an academic environment would enhance the work USGS scientists were doing by giving them access to our library and academic resources on campus,” says Dave Evans, chair of the Geology Department. “At the same time, it would enhance the work of our faculty and students by providing world-class collaborators and access to top-flight equipment. My sense is that the venture has lived up to expectations.”

The Water Science Center specializes in California water issues. In addition to conducting scientific research, experts from the center teach courses, hold seminars and provide technical assistance on student research projects.

“We have students working with worldclass scientists on state-of-the-art projects with state-of-the-art equipment they simply wouldn’t have access to at other institutions,” says Evans, who specializes in groundwater research. “It definitely improves our profile, and it was one of the things that attracted me to the campus.”

“We recognized the high quality of students graduating from Sac State and felt we could enhance that by collaborating with students and faculty on projects, says Charlie Alpers, a research chemist with the Water Science Center.

One of the biggest benefits of the collaboration was the development of a graduate program in geology in 2000. “If the USGS weren’t here, we probably wouldn’t have a graduate program,” Evans says.

“Because students had access to USGS scientists, and the USGS uses students to assist with projects, it made sense to develop a graduate program,” says Mike Shulters, director of the Water Science Center. “It’s a really nice bridge between the University and USGS because we have a need for graduates at all levels, and it is a magnet for drawing even more highly qualified students.”

The USGS also offers graduate assistantships and employment opportunities to students. “We couldn’t possibly generate the funding to support the number of students that USGS has supported,” Evans says.

In the 10 years since the collaboration, more than 100 Sac State students have been hired by the center, Alpers says. Of the 25 students currently on staff, about half are in positions that can be converted to permanent full-time positions when the students graduate.

“Students we have brought on as employees have done incredible work,” says Debra Curry, USGS program chief for Northern California and the Western Sierras. “They are taking new ideas from their classes and bringing them into the office. It’s that energy and creativity from both the students and the faculty that makes this collaboration work.”

Greg Wheeler, associate dean of undergraduate studies, who as geology chair in the 1990s was instrumental in bringing USGS to the campus, says the collaboration illustrates the importance of schools investing in partnerships with industry and government. “There is no place else where students can study and work with federal scientists in the same building on issues not just significant to California, but to the world.”

The USGS has increased its presence on campus over the years, and the agency now has offices in Modoc Hall as well as Placer Hall. Modoc is home to the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Southwest Area Regional Office and Southern California Multi-Hazard Demonstration Project.

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