Dr. John Renton, Professor of Geology, Papers and Educational Materials
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4759
Papers from Dr. John Renton, who was an Emeritus Professor of Geology at West Virginia University. This collection includes a variety of materials, such as maps, illustrations, transparencies, essays, and articles, all pertaining to his work in the geology department. A wide range of topics are covered, and the level spans from basic, introductory geological concepts to academic research. Renton also created regionally specific resources, such as lessons on Appalachian and West Virginian geology (Series 1 and 2).
This collection is arranged into two series. The first series consists of educational resources Renton created to be used by West Virginian K-12 Earth Science teachers, and in his own instructive undertakings. The second series contains other materials created and collected by Renton over the course of his career, such as unpublished educational and research manuscripts; published academic articles; and various lessons and field trip guides.
Some of the materials have digital copies, which can be found on the Introduction to Earth Science page on the WVU Research Repository website. At this time, not every link has been matched to the original content. See box list for more information about available digital copies. If there is no note about digital materials, no digital copies exist.
No special access restriction applies.
The materials created by John Renton are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. For more information regarding permission to publish or reproduce, please contact, the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department.
Dr. John Renton was a professor in the Geology Department at West Virginia University for about 50 years, from 1965 until 2015. Renton had a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Waynesburg College, and completed his Master’s in geology and doctoral program at WVU, being awarded his PhD in 1963. Dr. Renton’s specialties included geochemistry, coal geology, x-ray analysis, and clay mineralogy, and he has contributed to at least 45 published papers in these fields. Dr. Renton was also passionate about introductory education, as evidenced in his Geology 101 course and the Planet Earth study guide, his renowned Nature of Earth lecture series for the Great Courses, his Physical Geology Across the American Landscape textbook, and his the Introduction to Earth Science page. Renton’s decades of contribution to research and education earned him several teaching awards, such as from the Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and WVU.
Sources and More information:
IN MEMORIAM: John J. "Jack" Renton, PhD, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, 6 March 2020.
Renton, John J., Nature of Earth: An Introduction to Geology, Course Guidebook, The Teaching Company, 2006.
2.29 Linear Feet (5 document cases, 5 in. each; 1 document case, 2.5 in.)
English
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Gift of Renton, John, 2019 March 21.
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository