Rate My Professor Alyson Lighthart

Dr. Alyson Lighthart serves as Dean for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at Portland Community College, overseeing academic and career pathways in STEM fields, including Geoscience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Dickinson College and a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology from Tulane University, completed in 2001. Her academic background in Geology underpins her administrative leadership in science education and program development at the community college level.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Lighthart was appointed Division Dean for Math and Science at the Cascade Campus in 2010 and served in a similar role at the Rock Creek Campus from 2017 to 2019. She has contributed to numerous college initiatives, including curriculum and general education committees, facilities planning committees, and program reviews for Physics and Environmental Studies. As a member of the SAGE2YC team from the Science Education Resource Center, she supported advancing geoscience education at two-year colleges. Under her leadership, Physical Sciences programs at PCC, which include Geology, General Science, and Chemistry, have been highlighted in hiring efforts for program deans. Earlier in her career, Dr. Lighthart worked at the University of Texas at San Antonio's Division of Earth and Physical Sciences, San Diego Miramar College, University of California San Diego, and San Diego City College. Her scholarly work centers on geoarchaeology and geoscience education, with key publications such as 'The Pachuca obsidian source, Hidalgo, Mexico: A geoarchaeological perspective' (Geoarchaeology, 2004), 'Hollywood Geology' (Journal of Geoscience Education, 2000), 'Work in progress — Military troops to engineers' (conference paper, 2010), and 'A paleobiologic test for diastems using the internal stratigraphy of trepostome bryozoans' (1993). These publications have accumulated 44 citations. Dr. Lighthart has also engaged in campus community efforts, including disaster preparedness training and the opening of the Cascade Learning Garden in 2019.