Fred Swanson and Julia Jones
Research Geologist and OSU Professor of Geography
HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, OR
August 26th, 2025
Semester in the West had the great privilege of spending an early afternoon with OSU Professor of Geography, Julia Jones, and research geologist, Fred Swanson. Incidentally, Julia and Fred are the parents of two children that graduated from Whitman. Fred, now retired, worked for the U.S. Forest Service for forty years as a geologist often combining his work with ecology, especially the death side of ecology that he feels many people tend to overlook. His partner in science and in life, Julia Jones, has been a professor of geography at Oregon State University for just as long, with a truly impressive knowledge of ecology and geology that goes far beyond what one might typically think of as geography. They took time out of their afternoon to drive up from their hometown of Corvallis, Oregon, meet us at the Andrews Experimental Forest two hours to the southeast, and lead us on a guided workshop where we Westies had to use our own detective skills to interpret what was happening in the forest around us and strengthen our ability to read the land. While sad to part so soon, we Westies are truly grateful for the opportunity to put into practice all the skills we’ve been learning outside the classroom, and we deeply appreciate Fred and Julia for taking the time to guide us through the process of science.
by Hollis Wilson