I am extremely happy to introduce three of the faculty who will join the Middlebury School of the Environment this coming summer. Each will participate in the core courses, either in the introductory track or the intermediate/advanced track, and each will offer an elective in their area of specialization. I want to introduce each of them here briefly, and provide links to their full bios and course descriptions on the SoE web site.
Dr. Holly Peterson joins the SoE as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science. She is on the faculty of Guilford College in North Carolina in the Department of Geology and Environmental Studies. With a specialization in hydrogeology, she is particularly interested in water quality and encouraging people to view their lives and societies through the lens of the watershed in which they live. At the SoE this summer, she will teach an elective on Environmental Pollution (which will involve a mix of field, lab, and computer-based work) as well as team-teach the core course on Understanding Place, our interdisciplinary course the brings together the ecological and cultural narratives that are needed to understand the environmental present and potential futures of any place.
Dr. Joseph Witt will be the new Assistant Professor of Environmental Humanities. Joe comes to us from the faculty of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Mississippi State University, where he offers a curriculum that focuses on religion and nature. His research includes the study of the place of religions in the Appalachian anti-mountaintop removal movement of the early 21st century. He will join Holly Peterson in teaching Understanding Place and will offer his own elective on Religion, Nature, and Justice.
Dr. Curt Gervich, from the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at SUNY Plattsburgh, joins us as the new Assistant Professor in Environmental Social Science. At SUNY Plattsburgh, Curt teaches courses in environmental leadership, law and policy, and sustainability, and he is trained as an environmental planner, with expertise in decision-making and leadership. This summer, he will teach the Systems Thinking Practicum and an elective on Wicked Environmental Problems.
We’re not done yet, however. We plan on adding one more person to the faculty whose specialization is in the realm of the environmental arts. Stay tuned for updates on this position!