Education
B.S., Geology, Stanford University (1978)
Ph.D., Geology, University of California at Santa Barbara (1986)
About Dan
Dan May is a retired geologist and academic administrator. Before joining UNH in 2013, he held faculty positions at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and at Bowling Green State University and the University of Findlay in Ohio. As a geologist, he conducted or directed geological fieldwork in more than a dozen U.S. states, New Zealand, and other south Pacific islands. He also worked for the U.S. Geological Survey and consulted for several environmental and geotechnical firms.
Field projects included reconstructing regional geologic histories in the western U.S. and New Zealand, assessing natural resources and hazards, and remediating contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater at sites across the Midwest and eastern U.S. Desk-bound work included QA/QC reviews of Department of Energy facility cleanups, contaminant fate-and-transport modeling for groundwater and wellhead protection, injection well failures, and risk modeling and management.
During the second half of his career, Dan served as senior vice president and chief academic officer at both the universities of Findlay and New Haven. He helped plan new academic buildings and guided the shift to online and hybrid learning. He particularly enjoyed reviewing academic programs in Japan, Argentina, Europe, and the Middle East. He concluded his administrative career as a commissioner for the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Current Activities
Dan occasionally teaches environmental and geoscience courses as an adjunct professor. Each year, he leads local field trips for conservation groups, guides tours of Yale’s Peabody Museum geology exhibits, and delivers short courses for the Institute for Learning in Retirement. He also shares his expertise in geology and environmental management with local nonprofit organizations, including Save the Sound’s Six Lakes Park Coalition and the West River Watershed Coalition. In addition, Dan serves as an appointed commissioner on the Town of Orange’s Water Pollution Control Authority and its Conservation Commission.