Stanley R. Riggs

1938 -

Stanley R. Riggs
Image source: Buccaneer, 1968

A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Stanley R. Riggs joined the ECU faculty in 1967 as one of five new faculty hired to develop programs in geology and marine science. The same year, Riggs, a graduate of Beloit College and Dartmouth, had completed his Ph.D. in geology at the University of Montana. In the early 1970s, Riggs, with funding from North Carolina Sea Grant, began tracking shoreline erosion rates for the state’s coastal region. He also directed an interdisciplinary program combining biological and geological studies know as “ECU by the Sea.” From the late 1970s through the early 1980s, Riggs expanded his work, conducting studies of mineral resources globally. In this connection, he served as the co-director of a United Nations project focused on resource utilization in developing countries.

In 1983, in recognition of his studies of the N.C. coast as well as his work on global resources, Riggs received the prestigious O. Max Gardner award from the UNC Board of Governors. In his acceptance speech, Riggs observed that “geology’s contribution to society is its ability to make man aware of the underlying unity of the changing earth system.” In 1994, he was the first recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Professor award in recognition of his “stellar achievements” in teaching, advising, research, and professional service. In 1997, he was chosen to deliver the fall commencement address, a rare honor for an in-service faculty.

An exceptionally productive scholar, Riggs has authored 16 books, 38 book chapters, and 55 journal articles. He has received more than 73 research grants valued at over $7 million, from the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and various state agencies. His current research deals with sea-level changes that have taken place during recent earth history.

Although he retired from teaching in 1999, Riggs was rehired by ECU in 2000 as a research professor to lead an interdisciplinary program studying coastal systems. The latter initiative resulted in the 2011 publication of The Battle for North Carolina’s Coast. A few years later, the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s science panel, of which Riggs was a member, released a report on projected sea-level rise over a 90-year period, warning that rising sea-levels imperiled the already over-developed coastline. In response, the science panel was instructed to restrict its projections to a 30-year timeframe. Offended by the political attempt to curb scientific predications, Riggs publicly resigned his position on the panel in protest. Since resigning from the CRC science panel in 2017, Riggs founded North Carolina Land of Water, a non-profit organization devoted to providing for sustainable development in eastern North Carolina.

Sources

Additional Related Material

1969 Buccaneer, page 376
1969 Buccaneer, page 376

Citation Information

Title: Stanley R. Riggs

Author: John A. Tucker, PhD

Date of Publication: 9/24/2019

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