Virginia Sand - Professor of Geology

Professor of Geology

After receiving her masters degree, Sand spent the next three decades teaching geology at the Tuscarawas Campus of Kent State University. Encouraging her students to reach beyond their usual environment, Sand offered extra credit to students willing to travel outside of the region to expand their horizons. She was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1975, and the Most Popular Professor Award in 1977. In 1993, she was given the honor of being named Professor Emeritus of Geology. Sand retired in 1997.

Sand was a longtime member and had a place on the foundation board of the Association of Women Geoscientists, serving on their executive board as editor of the association newsletter from 1988 to 1991. She made countless contributions to the Wilderness Center in Wilmot, Ohio, where she served as docent and made regular donations. She was instrumental in the collection and erection of the fossil wall, the main feature of the Interpretive Building's foyer. To complete the wall, she personally travelled to the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian to collect casts of fossils from the museum's collection. The Center recognized Sand's efforts by awarding her the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2003 for distinguished service. After her death in 2007, the Stark County Leave a Legacy Foundation awarded her its 2008 Philanthropist Award. The award was presented on May 7, 2008 by Gordon Maupin, executive director of the Wilderness Center, and accepted by Sand's daughter, Chris Sand-Ashley, and granddaughter, Elizabeth Eckel.

Sand was also involved in the Buckeye Trail Association as a board member and trailblazer. As a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, she conducted investigations for attorneys on such matters as landslides and damage from mines. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Nature Conservatory, and Mensa International, an invitational roundtable where membership includes only the most intelligent and gifted thinkers in the world. Sand served on the Staff Parish Committee for the First United Methodist Church in her community. She also taught Sunday school, directed the church's vacation Bible school, and served as their Superintendent of Education for one year.