Giving to IGS

This endowment was created by Alfred B. Anderson to honor and memorialize his father, A.L. Anderson, and his affiliation with the University of Idaho and Idaho Bureau of Mines (now Idaho Geological Survey). A.L. Anderson had an extensive and deep knowledge of the geology and economic mineral deposits of Idaho. Of a total of 79 publications, beginning in 1925 and extending through 1963, all but eight are concerned with the geology of Idaho, and 33 were published through the Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology.

A.L. Anderson circa 1935

Alfred L. Anderson was born and attended public schools in Moscow, Idaho. He received a B.S. degree cum laude from the University of Idaho in 1922, a M.S. degree from the same institution in 1923, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1931. From 1927 to 1928 and from 1931 to 1939, he was Assistant Professor and Professor of Geology at the University of Idaho becoming head of the Geology Department in 1938. In 1939, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Geology at Cornell University, and from 1952 until his death in 1964, he was Professor of Geology at Cornell. In the field, Dr. Anderson was in his most natural habitat, and here he excelled. Although he was not of an exceptionally strong constitution and was at times in poor health, the area he covered in a field season under rather primitive conditions in rugged Idaho terrain was remarkable, and the work done was of high quality. Younger field assistants were hard put to keep up with him, but the experience and knowledge gained by these students vastly repaid the hardships and energy expended. [Information based in part on a memorial by Rhesa M. Allen, Jr., Louisiana Tech University published in The American Mineralogist, v. 56, 1971.]

Contributions to the Endowment

This endowment was created by William C. Rember and John D. Kauffman to honor and memorialize their friend, James F. Fitzgerald, and his affiliation with the University of Idaho.

Jim began work on his M.S. degree in geology at the University of Idaho in the fall semester 1970. In January 1972, he was ordered to active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Throughout his service Jim was stationed on several bases, and in 1975 was assigned to a reconnaissance technical squadron at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand where he watched the fall of the governments of Cambodia and the Republic of Vietnam. After his last station at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii he left the Air Force to pursue a career in civilian life.

In 1977, Jim completed the last requirements for a M.S. degree in geology from the University of Idaho. He went on to continue his geologic research at the university in the doctoral program. Jim was never able to complete his research due to his untimely death during the cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington on May 18, 1980. Jim was at the time camped on Spud Mountain, a few miles northwest of the volcano. His friend Trixie Anders, a volcanologist working on her Ph.D. at University of Washington, had invited him to join her and her husband, Barry Johnston, at their campsite. He had been doing fieldwork for his dissertation, and this must have been the opportunity of a lifetime for a volcanologist on the verge of earning his doctorate.

Mount St. Helens as seen by Barry Johnston, Trixie Anders and Jim Fitzgerald from Spud Mountain, six miles to the west May 17, 1980, the day before the eruption (Source: The Spokesman-Review)

In May 1981, the University of Idaho granted him a posthumous Ph.D. degree in geology.

Contributions to the Endowment

The IGS unrestricted fund is intended to support the operations of the Survey at the discretion of the IGS Director. The fund is not an endowment, and donations are directly used for research, outreach, and general needs.
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