Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

College of Arts and Sciences Mourns Loss of Retired Professor Hank Mullins

Friday, September 17, 2021, By Dan Bernardi
Share
College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Hank MullinsHank Mullins, a faculty member for nearly 30 years in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), passed away in July at age 69.

Mullins grew up in the Hudson Valley village of  Ghent, New York, and developed his passion for science at the State University of New York-Oneonta, where he earned a B.S. in geology in 1973. He would go on to receive an M.S. at Duke University in 1975 and Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) in 1978.

In 1977, Mullins accepted a tenure-track assistant professorship in marine geology at the California State University system’s consortium Moss Landing Marine Laboratory on Monterey Bay. There, he diversified scientifically to work on low-oxygen marine environments, coral reefs, lagoons and estuarine systems in many different parts of the world.

Mullins joined Syracuse University’s geology department (now the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences) in 1983, with a goal to strengthen the research and graduate teaching profile of that department and A&S. He received extensive funding from the National Science Foundation and American Chemical Society/Petroleum Research Fund. As a graduate student mentor, Mullins’ colleagues say he demonstrated a distinctive blend of rigor and personal supportiveness. He was awarded the 1997 College of Arts and Sciences’ William Wasserstrom Prize for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, recognizing a “distinguished scholar whose work is characterized by its originality and distinctive character.”

As editor-in-chief of the premier journal Geology (1990-1995), Mullins strongly influenced the publication of scientific discoveries—including publishing the paper by Alan Hillebrand et al. documenting the find of the Chicxulub Crater—the record of the Cretaceous-Paleogene impact that triggered rapid extinctions of dinosaurs and numerous other groups. For his editorial leadership to the geological sciences, the Geological Society of America honored Mullins with its 1995 Distinguished Service Award.

Mullins retired from the University in 2011, although he continued writing, publishing “Will Population + Technology = Armageddon?” that year, and two books in 2014 exploring earth-sciences themes for the general public: “The Simple Science of Global Climate Change” and “Knowledge for Non-Scientists and Is Gaia God: A Personal Journey.”

In memory of Hank Mullins, gifts can be made to the following: Syracuse University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (mark checks “Hank Mullins Student Support-Earth Sciences”) or the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Read Hank Mullins full obituary.

  • Author

Dan Bernardi

  • Recent
  • Chancellor Syverud Addresses Athletics, Benefits, Sustainability at University Senate
    Wednesday, September 27, 2023, By News Staff
  • Setting the Agenda in Biology Research: 2 Professors Join NIH Peer Review Committees
    Wednesday, September 27, 2023, By News Staff
  • iSchool Student Selected for Highly Competitive Data Librarianship Internship
    Wednesday, September 27, 2023, By Anya Woods
  • Exploring the Existence of Life at 125 Degrees Fahrenheit
    Tuesday, September 26, 2023, By Dan Bernardi
  • How Climate Warming Could Disrupt a Deep-Rooted Relationship
    Tuesday, September 26, 2023, By Dan Bernardi

More In Campus & Community

Chancellor Syverud Addresses Athletics, Benefits, Sustainability at University Senate

On Sept. 27, Chancellor Kent Syverud addressed University Senate at its first meeting of the Fall 2023 semester. His remarks were as follows: Thank you, Professor [Kira] Reed. It’s a pleasure to see so many of you in person. We’re…

‘Leading With Distinction’: Academic Strategic Plan Officially Launches at Tuesday’s Symposium (Video)

More than 400 members of the University community gathered in person and online yesterday for the official launch of “Leading With Distinction,” Syracuse’s new academic strategic plan. The launch of the plan follows more than a year of collaborative and…

Be Proactive: How to Keep Yourself Safe on Campus

While the chances of you becoming the victim of a crime during your time at Syracuse are low, it is still important to know what steps you can take to keep yourself and your belongings safe. We have teamed up…

College of Visual and Performing Arts Welcomes New Full-Time Faculty

Sixteen new full-time faculty joined the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) for the 2023-24 academic year. Two of the faculty members are also new department chairs in the college. Gregg Barron, assistant teaching professor of music industry in…

Academic Strategic Plan Launch Symposium Set for Sept. 26

Following a yearlong planning and development process involving hundreds of members of the campus community, “Leading With Distinction,” Syracuse University’s new academic strategic plan, was unveiled earlier this month. A launch symposium will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 26, from…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.