Ralph Stearley
- Dr. Ralph Stearley
- Professor Emeritus, De Vries Senior Contributing Scholar
- Geology, Geography, and Environment, Archaeology
- North Hall 065 (Map)
- 616-526-6370
- ralph.stearley@calvin.edu
Education
- Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
- Completed a BA in anthropology at the University of Missouri, 1975
- Earned an MS in geology from the University of Utah
- Received his PhD in geology and paleontology from the University of Michigan, 1990
Professional experience
- Ongoing paleontological work focuses on the Neogene record of fish faunas, particularly in western North America, correlated with changes through time in drainage basin dynamics and ecology. A particular emphasis is the development in time and space of salmonid ecosystems. These studies are accompanied by detailed studies of the anatomy and taxonomy of our modern salmonid fishes (whitefishes, chars, trouts, and salmons).
- Current work also involves writing articles and books about fossil discoveries and what they are telling us, related to the historic Christian faith.
- Past research has included studies of nearshore marine invertebrate ecology as well as the biogeography of Ice-Age mammals, including the excavation of the Ada Bible Church Mastodon in nearby Cascade, Michigan.
Biography
Current teaching
- Intersections of Theology and Science (Calvin Seminary; co-taught with professor Mary Vanden Berg)
- Paleontology (GEO/BIO 313)
Academic interests
- paleontology
- biogeography
- history of science
- relationships of science and theology
Publications
- 2021. Review article: 'Creation and the Fall: Insights Old and New', Calvin Theological Journal 56 (2): 335-343.
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2019. Stearley, R. F. Book Review: Darwin’s First Theory: Exploring Darwin’s Quest to Find a Theory of the Earth, by Rob Wesson, and Darwin’s Fossils: The Collection that Shaped the Theory of Evolution, by Adrian Lister. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Vol. 71(2): 125-127.
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2018. Smith, G. R., and R. F. Stearley. Chapter 4. Significance of the 10-Million-Year History of Cutthroat Trout. In: Patrick Trotter, Peter Bisson, Luke Shultz, and Brett Roper, eds.,Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy. Bethesda, Maryland, American Fisheries Society.
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2018. Trotter, P., P. Bisson, B. Roper, L. Schultz, C. Ferraris, G. Smith and R. Stearley. Chapter 1. A Special Workshop on the Taxonomy and Evolutionary Biology of Cutthroat Trout. In:, Patrick Trotter, Peter Bisson, Luke Shultz, and Brett Roper, eds., Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy. Bethesda, Maryland, American Fisheries Society.
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2017. Stewart, R., R. Stearley and F. Rana. The Fossil Evidence: Who Were the Hominids?, In: K. Keathley, J. B. Stump and J. Aguirre, eds., Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Downer’s Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press
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2017. Stewart, R., R. Stearley, F. Rana, and H. Ross. The Geological Evidence: What Is the Natural History of the Earth and the Origin of Life?, In: K. Keathley, J. B. Stump and J. Aguirre, eds., Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Downer’s Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.
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2016. Stearley, R. F., and G. R. Smith. Salmonid Fishes from Mio-Pliocene Lake Sediments in the Western Snake River Plain and the Great Basin. Pp. 1-43, 17 figs., 4 tables, 3 maps. In: Fishes of the Mio-Pliocene Western Snake River Plain and vicinity. Miscellaneous Publications of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, No. 204.
- 2013. Stearley, R. F. “The Cambrian explosion: how much bang for the buck?” Review essay, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 65 (4):245-257.
- 2008. Young, D. A., and R. F. Stearley. The Bible, Rocks and Time. Inter-Varsity Press, 510 pp., Calvin Funded
project—Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship.
