Valerie Payré, assistant professor in the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, was never interested in confining her research to Earth; instead, she expanded her horizons to studying the formation of volcanoes on Mars.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences received a gift of over $12 million from the estate of Ira L. Sorenson (BA, 1928), establishing the Ira L. and Vera S. Sorenson Fund in support of the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability (SEES).