From the College of Arts & Sciences 2010 Award Winners

Aureal Cross is a storyteller. In his 65-plus years as a teacher of geological sciences, he continually told his students that every rock has a story-and it's the job of scientists to learn the stories they're telling.

Even in his mid-90s, Cross is continuing to tell stories. Retiring from Michigan State University in 1986, the professor emeritus of geological sciences and botany still conducts research, publishes manuscripts, and attends professional meetings.

A world-renowned coal geologist with interests in paleobotany, palynology, biostratigraphy and paleoecology, Cross first published in 1939. Since earning his PhD in geology from the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences in 1943, he has conducted international fieldwork, published more than 60 journal articles, eight books and more than 100 conference abstracts. Along with his service on various editorial boards, he has been awarded numerous honors, including the first Medal of Teaching Excellence given by the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists, the Distinguished Educator Award of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the John Castaño Honorary Membership Award by the Society for Organic Petrology.

Perhaps he is most well-known for his dedication to teaching. After teaching a few years at University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University, and time spent in industry, Cross found his permanent home at MSU in 1961, where he helped develop one of the most comprehensive graduate programs in his field. There he trained more than 30 doctoral candidates, and continues to support geological science students today with the Dr. Aureal T. Cross Endowed Graduate Fellowship.