Bill Ford (BA Geology, 1969)

I retired after serving as the Assistant Secretary for Administrative Operations at the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) in Olympia, Washington.

I graduated from Cle Elum High School and attended CWU from 1965 thru 1969. Received a degree with a dual major (Geography and Geology). Went on to work for the state where I have been employed for the past 38 years (Washington State Department of Transportation). My jobs have been totally unrelated to my degree as I have mainly focused on finance and administrative operations (accounting, administration, audit, budget, human resources, information technology, and risk management).

In 1976, I received a Master of Science in Individual Studies from CWU and I went on to receive a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California in 1980.

CWU Geology memories from the 1960's: Dr. Steve Farkas was the main professor for geology back then when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Many people took geology because earth science was required to graduate - with any degree. PE, social dance, earth science, etc. were required. The 100-level classes were huge. I believe the early degrees were only geology BA - not BS. We had classes in physical geology, historical geology (very popular), stratigraphy, sedimentology (Mississippi river), Mineralogy, Mineral Lab (very difficult class), paleontology, climatology and others. Popular geology 'field trips' were to Vantage (to study the columnar basalt), I-90 Snoqualmie Pass (to study the faults and folds) and to the Ringold Formation to study fossils. Most of the field trips (aka road trips) were pretty entertaining...

I live with my wife, Anne, in Olympia, Washington. We had our photo taken in front of a massive sandstone monolith on a recent trip.

Currently, I am currently the executive director of the DOT Memorial Foundation which provides assistance to the families of fallen highway workers.