SDSU | Division of Undergraduate Studies

Geoffrey Chase, Ph.D.

Dean, Division of Undergraduate Studies

Dr. Geoffrey Chase attended Ohio Wesleyan University, receiving the BA in English in 1971. He also holds an MAT from Miami University (Ohio) and the AM in English from Boston College. After receiving his PhD in American literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981, he taught for 11 years in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University of Ohio. He joined Northern Arizona University in 1992 as the Director of English Composition. At NAU, he redesigned the composition curriculum to give it an environmental focus and became a leader of the Ponderosa Project, a faculty development project aimed at helping faculty from throughout the university integrate issues of environmental sustainability into their courses. The Ponderosa Project has since served as a faculty development model that has been instituted at other colleges and universities nationally.

Geoff was a Fulbright Scholar in Turku, Finland from 1990-1991. He joined San Diego State University in January 2002, as the Dean of the Division of Undergraduate Studies. In 2004 he co-edited Sustainability on Campus: Stories and Strategies for Change which was published by MIT Press. He currently serves on the Board for the American Council of Academic Deans (ACAD) and the Board of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). He also co-chairs the Proposal Review Committee for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). His chief academic interests include student learning, undergraduate curricula, and sustainability in higher education. Other interests include kayaking, woodworking, and modern art.