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Rocky Orgill’s Impact

Rocky Orgill’s Impact

The impact of gifts of real estate: Reinvigorating geological research after field operations halted during the pandemic

Rocky Orgill, BS’69, MA’71, conducted research at what became one of his favorite places—the IU Judson Mead Field Geologic Station in Montana. After his retirement, Rocky used gifts of real estate to support ongoing operations at the field station so the next generation of students can enjoy the same experience and develop their skills in geology. Rocky also used his gift to establish the James Rockford Orgill Endowment, which provides scholarships and fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students in the geology department

I’m pursuing a double PhD in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Department of Anthropology. My dissertation research integrates archaeology and geochemistry to investigate questions regarding clay sources and post-depositional alterations in pre-Columbian ceramics from the eastern Dominican Republic. I went to IU for undergrad and graduated in 2016 with BAs in Anthropology and Underwater Archaeology and a certificate in Underwater Resource Management. I remained involved with the Center for Underwater Science and decided that I wanted to continue with ongoing archaeological research in the Dominican Republic, and got excited about integrating geology to further understand how to interpret ceramic artifacts. I started my PhD in 2019. I received the Orgill Award in the summer of 2021 to support geochemical analysis of ceramic samples. The Orgill Award allowed me to gain preliminary geochemical data for my dissertation in the summer and fall of 2021. Without this award, I would not have been able to advance my research to the same extent. The award was especially helpful because I was unable to do fieldwork at the time due to the pandemic, so I was able to use the award to begin analysis on previously collected samples.
Kirsten Hawley, PhD Candidate, Recipient of the James Rockford Orgill Award