David Bapst

It looks CUHK is hiring new PIs in Earth/Paleo Sciences broadly: cuhk.taleo.net/careersectio...

Not sure who needs to hear this, but there are multiple academic societies around the world that center the science of paleontology, as well as other scientific societies and academic conferences focused on evolution, systematics, and ecology where research on fossils is welcome

How long until this is used as basis to censor discussing climate change in the classroom, now that the president has declared climate change a hoax?

Trump Administration Announces That We Don’t Know Where the Sun Goes at Night After deciding carbon dioxide does no harm, it was the logical next move.

Trump Administration Announces That We Don’t Know Where The Sun Goes At Night

(Laughs in College Station)

Current signs suggest all A&M faculty will be asked next week to rush write our syllabi half a year early for the fall semester so they can be finalized, evaluated and approved before the fall class schedule publishes in mid March

If Americans really understood that, though, I think even fewer families could be convinced to send kids to colleges, and we already have a severe enrollment issue in the US.

Oddly, I think the solution to this is to explain to everyone that no degree is actually preparing you for a job. ~50% of people with college degrees end up in careers that aren’t directly related to their choice of major.

Opinion: The Board of Regents has failed to protect A&M’s independence A time comes when silence starts to feel like betrayal. That time for me is now, as I watch the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents bow to political pressure and shirk its obligations to preserve academic freedom and institutional independence. Independence is a cornerstone of institutional excellence. I think this is especially true...

The Battalion is paying attention!


#BTHOcensorship

The Development and Growth of the Thecae in Graptolites

Perhaps dangerously, I've discovered there's an audience for grapolites on here. Thus: graptolite structural models made by E. S. Parkington and by (or inspired by) W. J. Sollas. The perfect dinner party centrepiece. In the @lapworthmuseum.bsky.social collections #FossilFriday

Yep, just like I thought, bithecae!

How long until this is used as basis to censor discussing climate change in the classroom, now that the president has declared climate change a hoax?

Neat, did you get another shot of the model on the right? I can’t make out the label but looks like a model of graptolite stipes with bithecae

Omg

I like conspiracy theories… as inspiration for roleplaying game campaigns. Especially with Unknown Armies and Call of Cthulhu.

UT Austin Closing Ethnic, Gender and Area Studies Departments Social: X @TexasAaup and Bluesky @texasaaup.bsky.social

This is outrageous.

The White House did a dishonest y-axis so I fixed their y-axis for them, you’re welcome White House
www.howtoreadthisch.art/lets-conside...

Good grief

Maybe it’s just me, but I love that BlueSky/PRSB gave it the Pelagornis skull as the preview thumbnail… that bird is not a crinoid!

Phylogenomics of extant Crinoidea (Echinodermata) reveals extensive morphological homoplasies and a Permian origin Abstract. Crinoids have Ordovician origins and are unique among living echinoderms in their attachment to the substrate. Most diversity is within Comatulid

When I started my PhD ~10 years ago, only 2/5 echinoderm groups (the star-shaped sea stars and brittle stars) had genome-scale phylogenetic datasets. I am proud to say that the quest to complete the clade is now over

doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

The billion-dollar case for sustaining palaeontology’s digital databases - Nature Ecology & Evolution The authors survey community palaeontological databases, documenting their contributions to science as well as their vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for the future of open science databas...

What do we want?
Fossil databases! 🐚🦕
When do we want them?
Forever! 🗓️
Nice new paper highlighting how academic funding systems and digital architecture need to change, to ensure we can protect and sustain our precious fossil data 📚
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A job description for the State Geologist Position at the North Dakota Geological Survey. The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is seeking a State Geologist to join our team in Bismarck, ND. As a member of the DMR, which includes both the Oil and Gas Division and Geological Survey, you'll help support responsible energy and mineral development across the state. The DMR regulates and promotes the state’s mineral resources while protecting the rights of all stakeholders, ensuring long term benefits for mineral owners, industry, and the public. The State Geologist, also serving as the Director of the Geological Survey (NDGS), is a critical member of the executive leadership team. The State Geologist reports directly to the DMR Director and, at a minimum, provides quarterly reports to the ND Industrial Commission (Governor, Attorney General, and Agriculture Commissioner). The State Geologist is responsible for hiring, developing, and managing NDGS staff; ensuring operational excellence across the division; developing and managing the NDGS budget; overseeing and executing regulatory programs; and supporting other state agencies. The State Geologist engages in the legislative process, provides oral and written testimony on the NDGS budget as well as geologic and regulatory topics, collaborates with external stakeholders, and sets a strategic vision for the NDGS. The NDGS maintains the Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library on the University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks and operates a strong paleontology program that manages public fossil digs and curates the state rock, mineral, and fossil collections at the ND Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck. The State Geologist represents the NDGS nationally in organizations such as the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Geological Society of America (GSA). Occasional travel is required.

Come be my boss! The North Dakota Geological Survey is hiring the State Geologist position. They are casting a wide net in terms of professional experience, including paleontology given the strong program we have here. To apply go to www.nd.gov/jobs and search for State Geologist.

All Treatise Online chapters are now available free & open access. Here's my chapters: #Hemichordata #Enteropneusta #Pterobranchia

journals.ku.edu/treatiseonli...
journals.ku.edu/treatiseonli...
journals.ku.edu/treatiseonli...

Get your PDF copies. Unlike the book, the Figs are in colour.

Elephant bird - Wikipedia

My child has declared this Elephant Bird Awareness Day and wants me to tell some people.

Were you aware of elephant birds? You are now.

It wasn't that long ago that we were led by people of class and dignity.
Regardless of their political views, or their mistakes in office (sometimes big mistakes!), they were good decent people.
And I pray we haven't lost that forever.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In general, I suggest joining your local AAUP chapter which will provide you access to their legal counsel, so you can get legal advice on any documents you are asked to sign as a faculty member

I think if someone did not tell me how they defined ‘indoctrinate’ , I would probably have to say what I do in the classroom might be argued to fit within many definitions of indoctrinate

For what it’s worth, Merriam-Webster gives two definitions of indoctrinate:

-to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle

-to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments

Terminating someone for asking for clarification of what they are attesting to, before signing an attestation, is far harder to defend legally than terminating someone for outright refusal to sign such a statement.

That was my plan when it looked like we might be asked to sign statements like this at Texas A&M, attesting our courses were compliant with all relevant system and state policies — but thankfully they seem to have given up on that after an initial attempt in the School of Nursing…