Author: Lisa Skinner

Lisa Skinner teaches the Liberal Studies course Geologic Disasters and field methods classes in the Geology Program at Northern Arizona University. Her research interests are in physical processes related to subaqueous volcanism and applications of GIS in reconstructing plate boundary movement through time. Since 2014, she has led a study abroad program to Santorini, Greece, the design of which won NAU's 2015 Innovation in Programming award. Lisa routinely engages in teaching professional development workshops and communities, where she is an advocate for active-learning pedagogies in large enrollment courses.
Ancient People, Teaching Lessons

What lies beneath? New discoveries at Ancient Akrotiri.

For the third year in a row, I walk into Ancient Akrotiri, a 4,000 year-old Minoan town buried in meters of ash and pumice from the ~1613 BC caldera-forming eruption of Santorini Volcano.  The excavation site is a gray labyrinth of 1-3 story houses, shops, narrow alleys and staircases built on gently dipping slopes and reflecting the modern pattern of villages on Santorini.

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Class of 2014, Teaching Lessons

The Pioneers of NAU in Greece

I thought my travel journal would be filled with pages and pages of my thoughts and experiences by now but I’ve had few minutes to spare.  We’ve been going all day everyday.  Planning, doing, more planning, class, answering questions, reading, editing.  It’s the most fun I’ve had teaching a class and the most rewarding of any teaching experiences I’ve had. My expectations before we arrived … Continue reading The Pioneers of NAU in Greece

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Nea Kameni
Teaching Lessons

Why go to Santorini?

There are thousands of volcanoes we could have gone to, each with its own unique lure.  Hot springs in Iceland, jungles in Central America, romance in Italy.  The “chosen” one had to have historical significance in the western world.  It had to be relatively easy to get to – I am not willing to take 9 students to remote locations in Indonesia or Africa.  What location combines tectonics, volcanism, archaeology, good food, leisure, and cultural enrichment all at once?  My vision narrows to the Mediterranean.  Santorini:  the most beautiful island in Europe.

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