The Faculty History Project documents faculty members who have been associated with the University of Michigan since 1837. Key in this effort is to celebrate the intellectual life of the University. This Faculty History Website is intended as a component of the effort to document the extraordinary academic achievements of Michigan’s faculty in building and sustaining one of the world’s great universities. It provides access to a comprehensive database of information concerning the thousands of faculty members who have served the University of Michigan.
Find out more.

The Bentley Historical Library serves as the official archives for the University.

List of Professors

Name Years at Michigansort icon Position

Douglass Houghton

1839 - 1845
Professor of Mineralogy, Geology, Chemistry & Pharmacy

Alexander Winchell

1853 - 1891
Professor of Physics
Professor/Chair Civil Engineering 1853-1855
Professor Geology, Zoology and Botany 1855-1873

Israel Cook Russell

1892 - 1906
Professor of Geology

William Herbert Hobbs

1906 - 1934
Professor of Geology
Head of the Department of Geology
Director of the Geological Laboratory

Ermine Cowles Case

1907 - 1941
Chairman of the Geology Department
Curator of Vertebrates
Director of the Museum of Paleontology

Irving Day Scott

1907 - 1948
Associate Professor of Physiographical Geology

Charles Wiford Cook

1909 - 1920
Professor of Geology

Frank Leverett

1910 - 1926
Lecturer on Glacial Geology

Frank Carney

1912 - 1913
Professor of Geology

Jesse Perry Rowe

1918 - 1922
Professor of Geology

George Marion Ehlers

1919 - 1961
Professor of Geology
Curator of Paleozoic Invertebrates

Laurence McKinley Gould

1919 - 1932
Associate Professor Geology

Darrell Haug Davis

1920 - 1922
Assistant Professor of Geology, Geology

Maurice William Senstius

1926 - 1958
Associate Professor of Geology

Lewis Burnet Kellum

1928 - 1967
Professor of Geology
Director of Museum of Paleontology

Ralph Leroy Belknap

1930 - 1961
Associate Professor of Geology

Armand John Eardley

1930 - 1949
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy
Director Geological Field Work at Camp Davis

Russell Claudius Hussey

1937 - 1959
Professor of Geology

James Tinley Wilson

1940 - 1978
Professor of Geology
Chair Department of Geology
Director Institute of Science & Technology

Kenneth Knight Landes

1941 - 1969
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy

Claude William Hibbard

1946 - 1973
Professor of Geology
Curator of Fossil Vertebrates, Museum of Paleontology

Eberhardt William Heinrich

1947 - 1983
Professor of Geological Sciences, Chemistry & Mineralogy

Frederick
 Stewart Turneaure

1947 - 1969
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy

Erwin C. Stumm

1947 - 1969
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy
Curator of Paleozoic Invertebrates, Museum of Paleontology

Robert V. Kesling

1949 - 1984
Professor of Geological Sciences

Edwin Newell Goddard

1949 - 1973
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy
Chair of Department of Geology
Director of Geological Field At Camp Davis

Louis Isaac Briggs Jr

1950 - 1979
Professor of Geology and Mineralogy

James H. Zumberge

1950 - 1962
Professor of Geology

John A. Dorr Jr.

1952 - 1986
Professor of Geological Sciences and English

Donald F. Eschman

1953 - 1988
Professor of Geological Sciences

Charles B. Beck

1956 - 1991
Professor of Botany, Paleobotany
Curator in the Museum of Paleontology

William C. Kelly

1956 - 1994
Professor of Geological Sciences
Vice President of Research

Paul L. Cloke

1959 - 1986
Professor of Geological Sciences

John M. DeNoyer

1961 - 1968
Associate Professor of Geology & Mineralogy

Donald R. Peacor

1963 - 2002
Professor of Geological Sciences

Henry N. Pollack

1964 - 2005
Professor of Geological Sciences

Jack Hough

1964 - 1975
Professor of Geology and Oceanic Science
Research Geologist Great Lakes Division of the Institute of Science & Technology
Professor of Meteorology & Oceanography

William R. Farrand

1965 - 2000
Professor of Geological Sciences

Brian A. Hazlett

1966 - 2006
Professor of Zoology

Frank Harold Trevor Rhodes

1968 - 1977
Professor of Geology & Mineralogy
Dean of LSA 1971-1974
Vice-President for Academic Affairs 1974-1977

Eric J Essene

1968 - 2008
Professor of Geological Sciences

Gerald Smith

1969 - 2003
Professor of Geological Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Curator of Museum of Zoology, Museum of Paleontology

Samuel I. Outcalt

1970 - 1995
Professor of Geological Sciences

Rob Van der Voo

1970 - 2016
Professor of Geological Sciences
Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Philip A. Meyers

1972 - 2007
Professor of Geological Sciences
Research Scientist, Center for Great Lakes and Aquatic Sciences

Bruce Wilkinson

1973 - 2006
Profesor of Geological Sciences

David K. Rea

1975 - 2007
Professor of Geological Sciences

Robert M. Owen

1975 - 2012
Professor of Marine Geochemistry, Environment
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor

Frederick J. Mauk

1977 - 1980
Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences

Stephen E. Kesler

1977 - 2011
Professor of Geological Sciences

James Lee Wilson

1979 - 1985
Professor of Geological Sciences

James Walker

1980 - 2000
Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences
Professor of Geological Sciences

Jennifer A. Kitchell

1984 - 1989
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences

Alexander N. Halliday

1985 - 1998
Professor of Geological Sciences

Michael C. Gurnis

1988 - 1993
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences

Thorne Lay

1988 - 1990
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences

James R. O’Neil

1988 - 1998
Professor of Geological Sciences

James R. O'Neil

1988 - 1998
Professor of Geological Sciences

Theodore C. Moore Jr.

1989 - 2004
Professor of Geological Sciences

Samuel Mukasa

1989
Professor of Geological Sciences
Chair Department of Geological Sciences

Lynn M. Walter

1989 - 2011
Professor of Geological Sciences

Michael Joseph Foote

1990 - 1994
Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences

Kenji Satake

1990 - 1995
Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences

Gerald J Keeler

1990 - 2011
Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic & Space Sciences
Professor of Geological Sciences
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences

Michael Fröhlich

1995 - 2003
Assistant Professor of Biology
Assistant Curator in the Herbarium

Peter Van Keken

1996 - 2015
Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Rodney Ewing

1997 - 2014
Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences
Professor of Geological Sciences

Josep M. Pares

1998 - 2011
Associate Research Scientist, Geological Sciences

Maria Clara Cruz da Silva Castro

1999 - 2022
Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Anja Maria Schleicher

2007 - 2015
Assistant Research Scientist, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Sarah M. Aciego

2010 - 2016
Assistant Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences
Assistant Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences