Eric Riggs

Dean

Prior to accepting the position of Dean of Humboldt's College of Natural Resources and Sciences, Dr. Eric M. Riggs served as Professor of Geoscience Education in the Department of Geology &Geophysics at Texas A&M University.

The Riggs Group studies many related aspects of teaching, learning and cognition in the geosciences, especially through the lens of embodiedcognition and culturally mediated cognition, including international or cross-cultural learningsettings. From 2000-2014 Riggs directed the Sharing the Land Project, a project funded by theNational Science Foundation with the purpose of making the geosciences accessible and beneficial to Native American communities primarily across California and with reach into other regions of the southwest and north central United States. The goals of the project were to increase indigenous representation in the geosciences and enhance scientific sovereignty for tribal communities. Recent work includes studies of academic field choice in geology as a function of gender, and the role of gendered and minoritized experience in field-based learning environments and the resulting influence on career paths. He has been the primary co-investigator on $10.6 million in research and programmatic funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and other sources.

Riggs served as Associate Dean for Diversity and Climate in the College of Geosciences from 2011 until 2018, where he was charged with monitoring the academic climate and diversity of the College and was tasked with taking direct action to improve the environment for an increasingly diverse population of faculty, students, and staff. From 2014-2016 he also oversaw Graduate Affairs for the College and was instrumental in early development of the online
professional master’s programs which today enroll over 150 remote students in three degree tracks. In this role he also implemented graduate student professional development programs and oversaw curricular management, scholarships and recruiting activities.

At the national level, he served as the 2014-15 President of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), the international federation of 52 professional and scientific societies in the earth and environmental sciences. He is also a Past President of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). On behalf of AGI, he served as the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Harassment in the Geosciences, shepherding the 2018 adoption of the federation-wide position statement against harassment of all forms in the geosciences. He has provided advisory and consulting services for the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, Canada’s NSERC, and universities and companies worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and is a professional member of GSA, NAGT, AGU, and AAPG.