Lisa A. Rossbacher is an American scientist, writer and academic administrator. She is the president emerita of

Southern Polytechnic State University Southern Polytechnic State University (also called Southern Poly; abbreviated SPSU) was a public university, public, co-educational, state university in Marietta, Georgia, United States approximately northwest of downtown Atlanta. Until 2015, ...

. She has also held the posts of President of

Cal Poly Humboldt California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) system and the northernmost c ...

, Vice Chancellor of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gener ...

and Chair of

Metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

’s Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Rossbacher is also a geologist, writer, professor, former Vice Chancellor of the

, community leader, she is also a past Chair of

's Cobb Chamber of Commerce, an author of several books on geology and a Geotimes Magazine columnist.

Personal life and education

Rossbacher was born in Fredericksburg, VA in 1953, as the eldest of three children. She resided in

Dahlgren, Virginia Dahlgren is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,946 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 2,653 at the 2010 census, and up from 997 in 2000. Histor ...

during her childhood where her father was employed by the U.S. Defense Department, and performed research for the then Naval Weapons Lab. She studied at

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology. She attended graduate school at the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Binghamton Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the con ...

and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Geological Sciences. She went on to complete her academic studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, receiving both a M.A. and PhD in Geological and Geophysical Science in 1983. Rossbacher is married to Dallas D. Rhodes, the former Department Chair of Geology and Geography at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

Career

Throughout her academic studies Rossbacher worked for various government and non-profit institutions. She performed research for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

as an Astronaut Candidate, and provided services for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

. From 1984-1993 she held several posts at

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

, including being the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. She then moved to

Whittier College Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

where she was Vice-President for Academic Affairs for 2 years. Rossbacher then returned to

and was Dean of Faculty for 3 years. In 1998 she relocated to

and was their President for 16 years. In 2014 she moved to the Cal Poly Humboldt where she was President for 5 years until her retirement.

President of Southern Polytechnic State University

In 1998, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia appointed Rossbacher as the second president of Southern Polytechnic State University. As president of SPSU, she was the chief officer and spokesperson of the second largest engineering technology university in the nation. SPSU was founded in 1948 as a two-year division of

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, and was organized as an independent university in the early 1980s. Rossbacher focused on

environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

by gearing the university's campus towards a greener environment. In 2007 she partnered the university with the ''American College and University presidents' Climate Commitment'', sponsored by the

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE, pronounced ) is a 501(c)(3) association of higher education institutions headquartered in Philadelphia. The association aims to improve sustainable practices in h ...

. In 2008 the University broke ground on a new Engineering Technology Center ; Rossbacher's commitment to sustainability influenced the construction plans, enabling the design to meet the certification requirements of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. Rossbacher is also credited with increasing enrollment and retention by an average of 20% each, adding eight new degrees, and commissioning five new buildings on campus.

9/11 Controversy

During the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

the SPSU campus never closed and no classes were cancelled. On the morning of the attacks Rossbacher contacted campus police "around eleven-ish" after the second tower collapsed. No campus bulletins were issued. Dr. Rossbacher and University Police Captain George Scott later argued that there was no threat to the SPSU, despite the fact that the campus is located next to

Dobbins Air Reserve Base Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M ...

Works

As a scientist for

, she focused her research interests on the role of water and water ice on Mars.

Books

* ''Career Opportunities in Geology and the Earth Sciences'' * ''Recent Revolutions in Geology'' * ''Geomedia: A Guide for Geoscientists who meet the Press'' (with Rex Buchanan) * ''Physical Geology: the Lab Manual'' (with geology faculty members at Princeton University and Whittier College) * ''The Lab Book: Problem Solving in Geology'' (2nd Edition) Lisa A. Rossbacher ''et al''

Awards and honors

* Woman of the Year (2007), Cobb County Branch of the American Association of University Women * Trailblazer Award (2015), California State University presidents, honoring women in academiaHumboldt official website
/ref>

References

External links

Geological Society of AmericaTurknett.comThe New Georgia Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossbacher, Lisa Southern Polytechnic State University American women academics American women earth scientists American earth scientists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women Presidents of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt