Vince Matthews, Director, Colorado Geological Survey

Vince Matthews was appointed State Geologist and Director of the Colorado Geological Survey in March 2004. He previously held tenured positions at two universities and has taught geology at the University of California, University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.  As an executive in the natural resources industry for Amoco, Lear, Union Pacific, and Penn Virginia, Matthews explored in virtually every basin in the U.S., including Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Part of his experience in the natural resources industry included responsibility for coal, lime, and limestone activities in New Jersey, Virginia, and Tennessee.

After spending twenty years in the natural resources industry, he returned to academia in 1997 and then joined CGS in 2000. He is the author of more than 50 technical articles and abstracts and was senior editor of the multiple, award-winning publication, Messages in Stone: Colorado’s Colorful Geology. 

Vince is a native of Tennessee and received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology from the University of Georgia and a Ph. D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  He also completed the Stanford Executive Program.