In 1959, Ruth Schmidt began teaching geology at Anchorage Community College and later founded and chaired the Geology Department of the University of Alaska Anchorage, retiring in 1984. On March 27, 1964, Schmidt was one of five scientists drilling holes into the frozen Portage Lake to measure water depth when the 9.2 earthquake began. - From “Who was Ruth Schmidt?” Consortium Library online exhibit

About Ruth Schmidt

Ruth Schmidt was a resident of Alaska for nearly 70 years. She had a deep and abiding interest in the state’s natural history and indigenous cultures.

She was a professional geologist and educator who devoted her career to a deeper understanding and protection of Alaska’s natural processes and the interaction of human beings with those processes. In the photo above Ruth Schmidt stands tall (5'2") in the face of "Danger." Image dated May 30, 1958, near Seward Highway. Ruth A.M. Schmidt collection, Archives & Special Collections, UAA/APU Consortium Library.

Ruth was also a philanthropist who encouraged and supported a greater understanding of Alaska’s wild places, and motivated the positive effects of modern civilization on present-day Alaska.

More resources about Ruth

A collection of Ruth Schmidt’s papers dating from 1912-2015 are located in Ruth A.M. Schmidt collection, Archives & Special Collections, UAA/APU Consortium Library

Ruth A.M. Schmidt, geologist, McCarthyism survivor, UAA Project 49 article, November 2014

An extraordinary, unknown career, GeoExpro article, 2015

Who was Ruth Schmidt? UAA/APU Consortium Library online exhibit

About Ruth Schmidt, Wikipedia