Charles Deiss Memorial Fund

Friends and associates of Dr. Deiss, the founder of the Field Station, established this fund in 1960, following his death in 1959. This fund is intended to provide two scholarships to cover tuition for students at the Field Station. The recipients are chosen by a selection committee of the Department of Geological Sciences.

Judson Mead Field Station Fund

The then Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences Professor Haydn Murray requested the establishment of this fund in March 1984 in honor of the then retiring Director of the Geologic Field Station in Montana, Professor Emeritus Judson Mead. This fund supports student and faculty research at the Field Station, travel expenses for students, visiting faculty, and scientists, and allows for the purchasing of supplies and equipment as needed. The fund is administered by the Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences and the Director of the Geologic Field Station.

These two Funds have increased to the point that student awards from the Deiss and Mead Funds totaled 43 and 34 awards for 1999 and 2000, respectively - more than half the total number of student awards from the Department. The total value of the awards was $7600 and $6700 for those two years. Scholarships are not restricted to IU students.

Charles J. Vitaliano Endowment

A major donation to the Department in 2000 was used to establish a new Charles J. Vitaliano Research Grants-in-Aid program in honor of one of the Department's most beloved and longest-serving professors. The grants will be awarded as part of a nationwide competition among students who intend to do research in Montana, part of which will be based at the Judson Mead Geologic Field Station of Indiana University. Professor Vitaliano, who died in April, 2000, had a career-long passion and enthusiasm for Montana geology, as well as strong ties to the Field Station, which he developed during the many years in which he used the Field Station as a base for his teaching and research. Dr. Vitaliano was the instructor for the first field course taught at the Field Station in 1949, and he continued to teach most years until his retirement in 1974. The Lecture Hall at the Field Station was named in his honor during the 50th Anniversary celebration in 1999, which the entire Vitaliano family attended. Mrs. Vitaliano will be informed of all contributions made in memory of her late husband.

Geologic Field Station Maintenance Fund

G429 alumna Marcia (Engle) Moore was instrumental in establishing this fund and was its first contributor on June 28, 1989. The fund was established to provide long-term maintenance support for the Field Station. Gibson Consulting, through a matching program, doubled individual contributions to this account, up to an annual maximum of $5000 through 2001. It is the Director's policy that most of the money in this fund is spent on visible improvements at the Field Station, such as replacing and refurbishing the tent cabins, and paneling the insides of the student dorms. This fund is administered by the Director of the Field Station.

When Marcia Moore established this fund in 1989, it had a goal of $100,000 in endowments by the 50th anniversary of the Station in 1999. That goal was reached in 2000, and with that principal, the station has approximately $4500 per year to spend on maintenance.