If your life has positively changed and opportunities have come to you as a result of your time and education at Cal State Fullerton, why would you not want to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities you did?

That’s the question earth science alums Kay (BA ’77) and Brian (BA ’79) Pitts would pose to fellow alumni who might be on the fence about offering their support to the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, the Department of Geological Sciences, or Cal State Fullerton as a whole.

“My husband, Brian, and I have had the department in our trust since 1989 when we initially did our trust and will,” says Pitts, a retired business solutions program manager for Aera Energy, LLC, and current volunteer, Rotarian, traveler, and ardent supporter of Geological Sciences at CSUF. “Mike Karg has been in contact with us since 2015 and has kept us engaged by inviting us to special NSM events. We talked with him when we decided to update our trust to best meet the needs of the department, and he suggested that we focus the funds in a way that would have a long-lasting impact.”

Working with Karg, senior executive director of Development at Cal State Fullerton, Kay and Brian Pitts decided to establish a $1 million endowment to support a rotating professorship in the department.

“Rotating the endowed professorship gives the department more flexibility in hiring, retaining, and recognizing professors,” Pitts says. “We want to see the Department of Geological Sciences continue to inspire students and have an enthusiastic, dedicated faculty. There have been many geological science departments in this country that have closed. We hope this never happens at CSUF. Perhaps this gift can help make a difference with those types of decisions. Great faculty and programs bring students.”

Faculty Provided Solid Foundations

Why did the couple want to direct so much of their generosity to the Department of Geological Sciences? There are many reasons, Pitts says, and accomplished, inspiring faculty mentors top her list.

“CSUF gave me the fundamentals needed for a career in geology, and my most significant mentor at CSUF was Dr. John Cooper [an emeritus professor of geological sciences who passed away in 2007]. Dr. Cooper was a geologist at Shell before coming to CSUF, and he gave us important skills and insight into the industry. He encouraged us to be involved in the student chapter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and attend seminars and conventions. His mentorship in this area and encouragement made probably the single greatest influence on my career because of the networking and opportunities AAPG offered.”

The only female professor Pitts had at CSUF was Margaret Woyski, emeritus professor of geological sciences and associate dean of NSM, who passed away in 2018.

“She was a force and a role model. When I was at school and throughout most of my career, only 5% to 10% of the geologists and engineers were women,” Pitts says.

“This department makes a difference in lives – for students and faculty. Ever aware of developing trends, they’ve always hired faculty who offer students opportunities to be relevant in an evolving field. Prem Saint, for example, offered hydrology courses when we were at CSUF, long before hydrology and environmental geology were highly sought-after careers in geoscience. The classes I took from him helped prepare me to be a petroleum geologist. Fluid flow, whether it is just water or oil and water, is mostly the same.”

When it was time to look at graduate programs, she received guidance from Chris Buckley, former associate professor of earth science at CSUF. The university he recommended for her, USC, offered a good education, had a sedimentology program, and had connections to many companies that came and interviewed students for jobs.

“I was fortuitous in timing,” Pitts says. “When I was getting ready to graduate from USC, the price of oil was increasing significantly. Energy companies had not been hiring because the price had been low for many years. They went on a hiring spree about the time I was graduating, which gave me options.”

Pitts’ career included a variety of roles at Getty, Texaco, Bechtel Petroleum, and Aera. She says the people skills she developed through working with other students as an AAPG chapter officer and watching the faculty at CSUF allowed her to be successful in her initial position at Getty. Several of her Getty coworkers were former classmates at CSUF.

“I joined Texaco when it purchased Getty. I left Texaco when they closed the Bakersfield exploration office and went to work for my manager at Getty, who had gone to Bechtel. Bechtel was the operator for the DOE at Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve. When the sale of Elks Hills to Occidental Petroleum was being consummated by the government in 1998, I chose to join Aera Energy,” Pitts says. “This California subsidiary of Shell and Mobil was starting up. Several geologists I had volunteered with through AAPG, Pacific Section AAPG, and the San Joaquin Geologic Society (the local AAPG society) recruited me to join Aera.”

Pitts rose through several roles at Aera between 1998 and 2014.

“When I talk with college students about their future, I emphasize the importance of joining the student chapters of your possible profession and positively contributing to them,” she says. “Developing your network starts in college. I tell them your first job is largely due to your degree; subsequent positions are due to the relationships you have built and the reputation you establish in and outside your employment.”

A Shared Commitment to Supporting Geology

Pitts met her husband, Brian, as a student at CSUF, and the two began dating after she graduated. Brian worked for Unocal/Union Oil of California in its Brea-Olinda Research lab as a technician while working on his Masters in Geological Science at Cal State Long Beach. When the couple married in 1981, he transferred to their Bakersfield office and was promoted to development geologist. He followed his time at Unocal as a consultant while finishing his MS at Cal State Northridge. He then went to work for the County of Kern in the Environmental Health – Hazardous Materials Department in 1990, retiring as the division chief in 2014.

“Being married to a geologist, when you are a geologist, is wonderful,” Pitts says.

Neil Maloney, emeritus professor and founding Geological Sciences Department chair, was the professor at CSUF who drew Brian into geology and facilitated his love of the science, according to Pitts.

“Brian hopes that our gift enables more students’ eyes to be opened to our magnificent, complex, evolving world – above and below the ocean surface,” she says. “The faculty are the ones who make the difference and change students’ lives.”

When she was preparing for retirement in 2014, Kay Pitts made a donation to CSUF Geology that was matched by Aera Energy. This put her on the radar of the new generation of geology faculty. Phil Armstrong, emeritus professor, was department chair at the time.

“He reached out and offered Brian and me opportunities to be involved with the department by attending student presentations, geology alumni gatherings, and department events,” she says. “I remember being totally blown away when judging NSM student posters at a CSUF event. One of the biology students had a poster about CRISPR, and it was the first time I had heard that gene splicing was happening and that students were doing it to advance the technique. The geology students and their posters were amazing also!”

This all brought Kay and Brian back into the CSUF geology fold, and Kay was soon awarded the 2015 Department of Geological Sciences Alumni of the Year.

“I credit Phil Armstrong for enhancing relationships between the University and geology alumni,” she says.

Sharing a Love of Geology With the Field’s Future Superstars

In addition to her career accomplishments, Pitts has been very active in professional societies and volunteer opportunities. She was involved in starting the first committee at AAPG that focused on women in the profession – Professional Women in Earth Sciences – and a member of the Association of Women Geoscientists.

“I’ve always been available to coworkers to listen and mentor, some men, mostly women, who looked for someone to offer guidance. Aera was particularly good at training mentors and coaches and setting up formal coaching pairs. Those skills enabled me to better coach women, some who worked for me or with me, and with students.”

Brian teaches upper-division nonscience majors about geology in the “California Geology and Society” and “Water in the West” classes at Cal State Bakersfield, sharing his love of science and geology with students.

Pitts emphasizes to students that there are lots of opportunities in geology. It is a global profession that encompasses a plethora of interests and professions.

“Geology is cool,” she says. “Go on all the field trips that you can. Seeing and touching the rocks and geologic features in real life cannot be replicated. Get involved in the department, school, and whatever industry you work in.”

Pitts hopes the faculty will encourage students in all of the above and stay involved in the field themselves.

“That is where the geologists of tomorrow get their start – through an enthusiastic faculty member.”