Professor Karl Flessa is taking over as chair of the UA Geosciences Dept, one of the best in the nation (US News & World Report ranks them 8th in Earth Science, 7th in Geology, 12th in Geophysics, and 16th in Geochemistry). Susan Beck is stepping down after an extremely productive seven years as chair.
I was on the external review panel for the department's Academic Program Review, an evaluation that occurs every seven years. The panel described the Geosciences Dept as one of the university's greatest assets and encouraged additional strategic investment in the program.
Karl's bio is at http://www.geo.arizona.edu/web/Flessa/KF_page.html
He describes himself as a collector of "roadside dinosaurs."