Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Geology Fred Webb, Jr., (February 23, 1935) is a native of Hinton, West Virginia. He is the oldest of four children born to Elsie R. Jones and Fred Webb. His mother was a church organist and choir director in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and his father was a retail grocer and railroad (C&O) engineer. Webb was married in 1956 at Pearisburg, Virginia, to the former Barbara Ann Haynes, the only child of Cassie Poteet and Elmond Harvey Haynes. The Webbs have two children, Jennie Lee and Ann Haynes. Webb received an A.B. degree in geology from Duke University in 1957. His M.S. (1959) and Ph.D. (1965) degrees, also in geology, were from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. In 1968, Dr. Webb began his teaching career at Appalachian State University as an associate professor. He was chair of the Department of Geography and Geology from 1971 to 1974 and chair of the Department of Geology from 1974 to 1994. In the summers of 1996 through 2002, and in the summer of 2004, Webb taught and directed the summer field course for Appalachian State in the Italian Dolomite Alps. Prior to teaching Appalachian's field course in Italy, he taught and directed the geology summer field course in southwest Virginia as an adjunct professor for Virginia Tech for twenty successive years, starting in 1965. Dr. Webb was an exchange scholar at Northeast University of Technology, Shenyang, Peoples Republic of China, at various times from 1982 through the fall semester of 1994. He was appointed honorary professor, Northeast University, China, in 1985. The following works have been published by Dr. Webb: • Webb, Fred, and L.A. Raymond. "Re-evaluation of the evidence for Late Cenozoic faulting in Southwestern Virginia." Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference On the Quaternary History of the Southeastern United States. Ed. L. A. Raymond. Appalachian State University Department of Geology, 1979. Publication 1: 22-28. • Hatcher, R.D., and Fred Webb. "Recent thrusting in the Appalachians." Nature 292 (1981) n. 5821: 389-90. • Miller, W.C. Ill, Fred Webb, and Charles Harris. "Biostratigraphic potential of the Cryptodont bivalve Buchiola Retrostriata from the Upper Devonian shale, Southwestern Virginia." Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology 17, n. 2: 47-50. • Webb, Fred, and Han, Shu He. "Nature and significance of the Middle Ordovician-Middle Carboniferous disconformity, Taizi Valley, Northeast China." Congress International de Stratigraphie et de Geologie du Carbonifere Beijing 1987, Compte Rendu 4 (1989): 328-333. • McKinney, F.K., Fred Webb, and Marjorie McKinney. "Middle Ordovician infratidal bryozoan-dominated microreefs (Bowen Formation, southwestern Virginia, United States of America)." Memorie di Scienze Geologiche, Italy: University of Padova, 2002. Dr. Webb also presented or co-presented more than twenty research papers at the Geological Society of America, the International Carboniferous Stratigraphy Congress, and the International Geological congress meetings on topics that included stratigraphy and structure of southern Appalachian Valley and Ridge and northeast China, geological education, instruction in field geology, internationalization of curriculum, and use of microcomputers and multimedia in teaching. Dr. Webb held membership in the following professional organizations: the Geological Society of America, the Society of Economic Paleonto gists and Mineralogists, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, the Southern Appalachian Association (North Carolina representative, 1997; secretary, 1998; vice president, 1999-2000; president 2002-2004), Sigma Xi (past president of the Appalachian Chapter), and the Museum of the Middle Appalachians Advisory Board (2000-2001). While at Appalachian State, Dr. Webb was a member of the following committees and councils: Bookstore Advisory Council (1973-2004, chair: 2000-2004); International Programs, Study Abroad Committee; International Programs, Director's Advisory Committee; Chancellor's Scholarship Selection Committee (1997-2001); Bookstore Manager's Selection Committee (1998); Arts and Sciences Teaching Awards Committee (1999-2001, chair: 2000 and 2001, Teacher of the Year, 1997); Faculty Senate (1971-1973). From 2001 to 2004, Dr. Webb taught half-time in Appalachian State's phased-retirement program. He was approved by the Board of Trustees as professor emeritus in September 2004. Since retirement, Dr. Webb has received research grants from the Virginia Division of Mines, Minerals, and Energy to conduct geological mapping in the southwest Virginia area as part of the US Geological Survey's State Map Program. He and Dr. Loren Raymond, also emeritus Appalachian geology faculty, have been co-investigators on the project since 2006. Their work is scheduled to continue through at least 2009. The new outdoor geology laboratory located adjacent to Rankin Science Building has been named the Fred Webb Jr. Outdoor Geology Laboratory. This 7th edition of The Appalachian Faculty Emeriti (2009) is dedicated to Dr. Webb. Source: Appalachian State University files. -Dr. Kay R. Dickson
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