R s ubensTein chool

The
Rubenstein School
of
Environment and Natural Resources
News for our alumni and friends
the School is perfectly poised to revitalize
our activities. Building on the unique and
special characteristics of our School and
state, Dean Mary Watzin and the RSENR
community are developing a new strategic
plan to strengthen the School’s programs
and curricula. Our goal is to ensure that
all of our students are prepared to work
in a rapidly changing world and tackle
head-on the environmental and societal
challenges that lie ahead.
Shari Halik
Rubenstein School Marks Milestones
Fall-Winter 2011-12
Green, renewed George D. Aiken Center opens in January with a glass solarium added to south side.
Another milestone occurred this fall
when three new faculty members joined
the School. This is one of only a few times
the School has hired this many faculty at
once, and it marks the first occasion that
two directors have been hired during the
same time period.
Associate Professor Jason Stockwell
arrived in August 2011 as the new director of the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science
Laboratory on Burlington’s waterfront.
Jason specializes in aquatic food web dynamics. Read more about Jason’s expertise and goals for the Lab on page three.
Professor Taylor Ricketts, new
director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, moved to Burlington in
October 2011 from a position in Washington, DC as director of the World Wildlife
Fund’s Conservation Science Program.
Learn more about Taylor’s global research
in ecological economics on page three.
Carol Adair joined the School in
December 2011 from the University of
California-Santa Barbara, as our longawaited assistant professor of climate
science and adaptation. Find out more
about Carol in an upcoming profile in our
next issue.
With new research and teaching opportunities in our renovated Aiken Center
and new faculty perspectives and talents,
Shari Halik
In January 2012, the Rubenstein
School will mark a milestone by moving back into our newly renovated, green
George D. Aiken Center, a facility we
confidently expect will achieve LEED
Platinum status — the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest ranking. The School
community, at long last, realizes its vision,
begun ten years ago by RSENR students,
staff, faculty, advisors, and friends.
They envisioned a living, green building that minimizes, cleans, and re-uses
our wastewater, monitors our energy use,
and provides us more natural lighting and
ventilation.
The new Aiken Center allows us to
have a smaller, healthier footprint and to
demonstrate our collective commitment to
a more sustainable world. It will challenge
and educate the RSENR and UVM communities and visitors about what it means
to live within the limits of our natural
world.
During the spring 2012 semester, we
will install the Eco-MachineTM to treat
our wastewater for re-use in toilets and to
water plants. We will also plant our green
roof to help manage and better understand
our stormwater runoff in ongoing watershed studies. Look for future announcements about the Aiken Center dedication
which will take place April 27, 2012.
Re-modeled Aiken Center atrium
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Dean’s Message
Sally McCay, UVM Photo Services
Renewing Our Programs to Connect with Place
Dean Mary Watzin
This newsletter is produced bi-annually
to share news of The Rubenstein School
of Environment and Natural Resources
with alumni and friends.
School website: www.uvm.edu/rsenr
Dean
Mary Watzin (802-656-4280)
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Allan Strong (802-656-4380)
Assistant Dean of Student Services
Marie Vea-Fagnant (802-656-3003)
Undergraduate Program Chairs
Environmental Sciences
Alan McIntosh (802-656-8885)
Environmental Studies
Stephanie Kaza (802-656-4055)
Forestry
William Keeton (802-656-2518)
Natural Resources
Clare Ginger (802-656-2698)
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Walter Kuentzel (802-656-0652)
Wildlife & Fisheries Biology
Ellen Marsden (802-656-0684)
Graduate Program Student Services
Specialist
Carolyn Goodwin Kueffner
(802-656-2511)
Newsletter Editor
Shari Halik (802-656-8339)
Please send news or suggestions to:
[email protected]
What makes the University of Vermont and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources so special? How can we build on these special
characteristics to make the learning and
life experiences of students as rich and
rewarding as possible? These are just two
of the questions the Rubenstein School is
pondering as we take stock of where we
are and how we continue to deliver outstanding teaching, research, and service
in this milestone year. By spring we hope
to have in place a strategic framework to
keep our programs and activities as fresh
as our new green Aiken Center.
The goal of this strategic exercise is
not a static plan, but a framework for the
future. Whether we are concerned about
climate change, the built environment,
biodiversity, food security and quality,
or air and water quality, it is increasingly
clear that people are permanently altering
the planet and a continued “business as
usual” approach to natural resource and
environmental management will lead to a
depleted and impoverished planet. This
knowledge can be overwhelming unless it
is connected to strategies for making real
change in the world.
Each place on the planet has evolved
in a unique partnership between the
people who live there and the natural
world. Holistic approaches that recognize
these connections will create the most
likely path to sustainability. As we live in
and learn the story of particular places,
we understand in a deeper way how living
systems work in those places, we become
part of the culture, and we develop a
shared sense of responsibility for the quality of the community.
UVM and the Rubenstein School are
uniquely poised to leverage our place.
Our newly renovated Green Aiken Center,
the Jericho Research Forest, and the UVM
Natural Areas are all incredible resources
for local engagement, as are the land- and
waterscapes of Vermont. By engaging in
our place, students come to understand
how what they are learning is positioning
them to work for and in a more sustainable world. They experience the Vermont
culture and context and form real bonds,
helping to turn concepts into solutions and
laying the foundation for future success,
no matter where they choose to live after
graduation.
Happy holidays to all. May your place
provide peace and comfort in this very
special time of year.
Greetings from Development and Alumni Relations
and Soon to Be the UVM Foundation!
I am delighted to be the senior development officer for the Rubenstein School
of Environment and Natural Resources. I
am energized and very proud to be working with Dean Mary Watzin, faculty,
staff, students, and alumni to garner
major support to the Rubenstein School. Since July 1, 2011, I have been meeting
RSENR alumni, the Board of Advisors,
and parents of Rubenstein students, and
it’s already clear to me how dedicated
everyone is to the success of our School. My affiliation with UVM began with
my undergraduate degree in 1971. Although my studies centered in the Classics
Department, I have watched the University from the community perspective since
then and in 1994, I began my career in
the Development and Alumni Relations
Sarah Sprayregen, new Senior Development
Office where I have held several roles as Officer in RSENR, on a walking tour of England
annual fund officer, alumni relations ofhow to support Rubenstein School stuficer, and finally a University-wide senior
dents and programs, please let me know. major gifts officer. I can be reached at sarah.sprayregen@
My success will be “our” success, so
if you have any suggestions or ideas about uvm.edu or 656-3251.
—Sarah
2
New Director On-Board at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Lab
Jason Stockwell is a new Associate
Professor of Aquatic Ecology and Director of the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science
Laboratory on the lake front. He comes to
Vermont with well-rounded experience in
academic and federal agency research, field
station supervising, state fisheries management, and non-profit outreach. Jason studies how lake and marine food web dynamics are affected by environmental changes
and management policies.
Much of his undergraduate and graduate education involved research on the
Great Lakes, including a post-docorate
with Michigan State University where he
modeled Lake Erie walleye and impacts of
dam removal on population dynamics.
As an aquatic biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries,
Jason conducted research on striped bass.
He returned to the Great Lakes as a field
station supervisor and fishery biologist at
the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes
Science Center’s Lake Superior Biological
Station. There, he monitored fish populations, conducted ecological research, and
led an international collaborative food web
study of the entire lake.
Back to New England, Jason took a
position as a scientist with the Gulf of
Maine Research Institute in Portland. He
interacted heavily with the non-profit’s
education and community sectors to facilitate stakeholder groups around contentious
natural resource issues and disseminate
research findings to fishing communities.
After four years, Jason decided to leave
the non-profit world for a faculty position.
He also missed lake research. “My first
love is lakes and my second love is large
lakes,” he explains. “Lake Champlain is
a diverse lake containing a broad gradient of deep, cold, unproductive and warm,
human-impacted, productive habitats. It
is an amazing, potential laboratory for
climate change research.”
Throughout his career, Jason has
enjoyed working with undergraduate
students, and he finds ample opportunity in
the Rubenstein School to incorporate student internships into his research. He will
also teach a course each semester.
At the Lab, Jason plans to strengthen
interactions with ECHO Lake Aquarium
and Science Center, Lake Champlain
Sea Grant, and other partners. He envi-
Associate Professor Jason Stockwell
sions graduate students working with
ECHO staff to integrate outreach into their
research. Jason will work with Lab faculty
to apply for a National Science Foundation
(NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates grant to attract high-quality
students to UVM for summer research. He
also hopes to secure a NSF Major Research
Infrastructure grant to fund the purchase
of environmental rooms for teaching and
research at the Lab.
New Director Arrives at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
ogy lecturer on a tour ship in Antarctica,
the Amazon, Indonesia, Siberia, and other
areas. He revisited and watched the ecology of his tour destinations change.
He studied conservation biology at
Stanford University and realized the
importance of economics and other social
sciences to conservation. “I learned that
if we want to manage and conserve the
planet’s natural ecosystems, we need to
know how they affect people,” he explains.
He focused his post-doctoral work on the
coffee project in Costa Rica and has lead
research on ecosystem services ever since.
Taylor served as a lead author for the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a
5-year, United Nations-sponsored effort
to assess change in global ecosystems and
their contributions to human wellbeing.
More recently, Taylor co-founded the
Natural Capital Project (NatCap) with colleagues from The Nature Conservancy and
Stanford University. NatCap created a software tool called InVEST to map sources,
delivery, and economic value of ecosystem
services. In Indonesia, Tanzania, Colombia,
California, China, and elsewhere, NatCap
helps decision-makers quantify impacts of
policies and decisions on environmental,
economic, and social benefits. From UVM,
Taylor will continue to co-lead NatCap,
which he sees as a natural fit with the Gund
Institute. These collaborations are part of
3
Shari Halik
Taylor Ricketts is the new director of
UVM’s Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and a professor in the Rubenstein
School. He directed the World Wildlife
Fund’s (WWF) Conservation Science Program in Washington, DC for the past nine
years and remains a senior fellow at WWF.
Taylor integrates natural and social
sciences to address both fundamental scientific issues and real-world conservation
problems. His work is motivated by the
overarching question: How do we meet the
needs of people and nature in an increasingly crowded, changing world? He studies
how human and natural environments
interact, what “ecosystem services” nature
provides to humans, and how human actions change these services.
He illustrates, “Forests often support
wild bees that pollinate nearby crops. Some
of my work has estimated how valuable
that forest is to farms and how that value
changes with changing land management.
In Costa Rica, I found that coffee farms
close to forests grow more and better
coffee than do farms located farther from
a forest. This proximity to a forest can be
worth thousands of dollars per year to coffee farmers.”
His career didn’t start off in economics
or biology. After graduating from Dartmouth College with a B.S. in earth science,
he was a boat driver, naturalist, and geol-
Professor Taylor Ricketts
Taylor’s continuing effort to link rigorous
research with practical conservation and
policy efforts worldwide.
He looks forward to training young scientists, collaborating with creative minds,
and starting a research program on local
agricultural landscapes. He envisions connecting his research on ecosystem change
with other researchers through RSENR’s
Environment and Human Health Initiative
and UVM’s Transdisciplinary Research
Initiative in food systems.
Board Member Ed Colodny Leads by Respecting Others
presented to Ed in 1990. The prestigious Citizen of the Year recognition
was awarded to Ed by the Vermont
Chamber of Commerce in 2009. Ed
commented, “All awards have very
special meaning and yet the first time
I was presented with an honorary
degree was significant.” He has been
honored with five honorary degrees—
from the University of Vermont,
Middlebury College, Champlain
College, Robert Morris College, and
Kings College.
In 2009, the Rubenstein School
considered itself fortunate when Ed
agreed to join its Board of Advisors.
“I joined the board because I have
tremendous respect and regard for
Dean Mary Watzin and her capabilities. I have a chance to learn from
other advisors who know a great deal
about environment-related issues and
I have the opportunity to raise key
questions without being antagonistic. Advisory boards can play many
important roles from assisting with
financial resources and bridging
Ed Colodny, member of RSENR’s Board of Advisors
relationships on- and off-campus to
helping school leaders examine assets
Ed Colodny is seen and celebrated
and advocate for relevant courses for imas an astute leader — as the former CEO
proved career placement,” Ed explained.
of U.S. Airways, a practicing lawyer,
Mary affirms, “I feel tremendously
a former Interim President of UVM, a
honored that Ed agreed to serve on the
Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Allen
Rubenstein School’s Board of AdviHospital, a committee chair for a nonsors. Ed brings so much wisdom and
profit, or as a college trustee. He believes
perspective to our group. He understands
leaders should be “approachable, willing
the University at the highest level, and
to make decisions, have strong communithrough his broad experience in the busication skills, and be curious and genuinely ness community and beyond, he sees nuinterested in what others do. Ed shared,
ances, connections, and opportunities that
“leaders evolve because people you work
I otherwise would miss. He challenges my
with decide you are a leader based on trust thinking and provides a grounding in the
and open communication.”
real world that makes me a better Dean
Ed grew up in Burlington, Vermont
and our School a more well-rounded and
as a son of a grocery store owner. He
fully engaged place of learning for our
started playing the violin at age eight and
students.”
attributes his passion for music as a major
Ed is no stranger to the academic
influence in his life. He earned an A.B.
world. He served as UVM Interim Presidegree with distinction in 1948 from the
dent for a year from June 2001 to July
University of Rochester and an L.L.B.
2002. He is a former member and former
from Harvard Law School in 1951. His
Chair and is a Life Trustee for the Univerdistinguished career at U.S. Airways besity of Rochester Board of Trustees and
gan in 1957 as Assistant to the President
a former board member for the Vermont
and concluded with serving as President
Law School.
and Chief Executive Officer for 16 years
His advice to alums? “Don’t stop
until 1991. Ed reflects that U.S. Airways
learning and stay flexible. Try new things
was known for treating its staff very well
that may not have originally been on your
during his tenure.
radar screen and be prepared to simply see
Several groups and institutions have
how things work out.”
recognized Ed for his remarkable qualiYou have to wonder if Ed knows the
ties and unselfish contributions. An award
meaning of retirement and slowing down.
coveted in the aviation industry, the
He currently serves as Of Counsel to the
Wright Brothers Memorial Award, was
law firm of Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew
4
in Burlington. In addition to serving on
the RSENR Board of Advisors, he chairs
the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile
Advisory Board in Naples, Florida; serves
as a director of the Vermont Symphony
Orchestra; and is a member of the Board
of Trustees of Collier Health Services
Foundation in Immokalee, Florida.
Foreign travel has been a favorite past
time for Ed and his wife, Nancy. Lately,
he is changing the itinerary and booking
flights around the United States to visit
areas he has never seen. In his “spare
time” he enjoys golf and boating. “I have
fond memories of a 16-day boating trip
with my wife Nancy when we traveled
from Chesapeake Bay to Florida,” he says
Ed and Nancy, his wife of 45 years, have
two sons, one daughter, and two grandchildren.
If you ask Ed what he would like to be
known for, there is no hesitation in his reply. “I want to be known as someone who
cares about other people and who respects
what they do. Like so many others, we
all want to feel we made a difference. It
is important to remember that you do not
have to be a leader to make a difference.”
—Kate Baldwin, Advancement Officer
The Rubenstein School
Board of Advisors
Chair
Mark Biedron (UVM ’74)
David Blittersdorf (UVM ’81)
Sally Bogdanovitch (FOR ’77)
Ed Colodny
John Douglas
Mickey Fearn
Kay Henry
Yumi Jakobcic (PhD-NR ’12)
Crea Lintilhac (UVM ’78)
Kristina Pisanelli (UVM ’97)
Will Raap
Peter Rose (UVM ’54)
Beverly Rubenstein
Ann Swanson (WFB ’79)
Federica Wade (ENVS ’13)
Ross Whaley
John Wilson (FOR ’75)
Honorary Members
Lola Aiken
Herb Bormann
Eugene Kalkin (UVM ’50)
Michael Sipe
John Shane Honored for 28 Years of Forestry Research & Teaching
Lecturer John Shane retired in May 2011.
October 1st dawned dreary, chilly, and
wet. But neither weather nor construction
debris in the Forrest E. Orr Conservation
Center at the Jericho Research Forest
dampened spirits of attendees at a celebration honoring John Shane (FOR
’81, MS-FOR ’88) and his many years
of teaching, research, and service in the
Rubenstein School.
With family, friends, colleagues,
alums, and students, John was presented
with a black cherry bowl turned by Green
Forestry Education Initiative Coordinator Ralph Tursini (FOR ’99). The bowl
has its roots at the Research Forest where
John spent many summers teaching
forestry summer camp and where he was
instrumental in establishing the Green
Forestry Education Initiative. After 28
years, John retired as senior researcher
and lecturer in May 2011.
Upon graduating in 1981, he conducted graduate work on relationships of photosynthesis and genetics in yellow birch
with Professor Don DeHayes. In 1983,
John began working for Professor John
“Doc” Donnelly as a research technician
and oversaw research projects and numerous graduate and undergraduate students
in Doc’s forest physiology laboratory.
Projects varied from: a soil/timber
harvesting study on the Green Mountain
National Forest; a NASA study assessing remote sensing as a tool to detect
high-elevation red spruce decline; a study
of lead mobility in stems of red
spruce seedlings; acid rain-related
studies to correlate concentrations of metals in red maple with
concentrations in soil; and studies
of seasonal carbohydrate reserves,
photosynthesis, and transpiration
in red spruce.
As Doc neared retirement in the
late 1990s, John began co-teaching
Dendrology and the Forest Ecology laboratory. John eventually
inherited both courses along with
NR 103 (Ecology, Ecosystems &
Environment); Forestry Seminar;
Advanced Forestry Seminar; and
Forest Ecosystem Analysis, part of
forestry summer camp. During his
teaching tenure, he introduced at
least 2000 undergraduates majoring in forestry, wildlife biology,
natural resources, and environmental sciences to tree identification
and principles of forest ecology.
Former student Will Young
(FOR ’10) was most excited about
outdoor, hands-on courses like
Dendrology but also enjoyed John’s
NR 103 class. “It was the one indoor
lecture I really looked forward to,” he
says. “John covered ecological concepts
you don’t usually consider.” Invariably,
when graduating seniors were asked who
they considered to be their most influential mentor in the School, John Shane was
at the top of their list.
John is most proud of his teaching
accomplishments. He received UVM’s
2000-2001 Kroepsch-Maurice Award for
Teaching Excellence. “I never thought
I’d be good at teaching,” he admits with
a shrug, “but when you engage with
students, you learn from them as much
as they learn from you. Every year, I saw
trees differently because I saw through
students’ eyes. It was an incredible privilege to be surrounded by motivated young
minds for so many years.”
In 2000, John became chair of the
forestry program at a time when forestry
education was facing substantial change.
“I decided we needed to hop the rails into
a new way of looking at forestry,” he explains. The faculty voted to move toward
a more progressive forestry curriculum,
and John became a strong advocate for
sustainable forestry in the School. With
external financial support, he was instrumental in bringing David Brynn (FOR
’76, NRP ’91) to the School as director
of the Green Forestry Education Initiative
and its demonstration efforts at the Jericho
Research Forest.
5
“John Shane has the mind and soul of
an exceptionally wise forest elder and the
heart and passion of a very young man,”
acknowledges David. “John inspires creativity and confidence in his students and
they love him for it.”
An avid maple sugarer, fisherman,
and sailor, John and his wife Mary Lou
Doxey Shane (FOR ’81) are off to new
adventures that include working part of
the year on their land in Duxbury, Vermont on the side of Camel’s Hump and
living part of the year in Cape Breton,
Nova Scotia. In between, they will be
found sailing in the Bahamas.
—Shari Halik
Forrest E. Orr Conservation
Center Further Enhanced
There are now kitchen and bathroom
facilities in the Forest E. Orr Conservation Center at the Jericho Research Forest. The contractor, Millbrook Building
and Remodeling of Colchester, Vermont,
worked quickly this fall to add a small
kitchen and bathroom to the north end
of the Orr Center.
The facility can now accommodate
multiple uses, especially enhancing
the place-based and hands-on learning
experiences that occur at the Research
Forest and have been reinvigorated
through RSENR’s Green Forestry Education Initiative. UVM Architect Ken
Bean designed the space to accommodate the needs of classes and small
group overnights, which will support
the goals of education and community
involvement at the Forest.
The Orr Center was originally a
pole barn used to store building materials and maintain equipment. It was
also an informal classroom, used most
heavily during the School’s summer
camp sessions. In 2008, it became The
Forest E. Orr Center with the help of
over 60 students and a generous gift
from the Orr Family in honor of the
late Forrest E. Orr, an Orleans County
forester and avid conservationist.
Today, the Center embodies the core
mission and principles of the Green
Forestry Education Initiative. Other
uses include student presentations,
forestry seminars, parties, and conservation meetings.
Next on the agenda is restoration of
the 1832 Thompson House, the original farmhouse on the property.
—Ralph Tursini, Green Forestry
Education Initiaive Coordinator
Carl Reidel
March 5, 1937 - November 3, 2011
nedy School in 1964, and then
returned to Minnesota, where
he had been an undergraduate in
forestry, to complete his doctorate in natural resources policy.
In addition to UVM, he served
on the faculty of the University of Minnesota, Williams,
Harvard, and Yale. He was vice
president of the New England
Environmental Policy Center,
served a term in the Vermont
House of Representatives, and
sat on the Governor’s Council
of Environmental Advisors. He
also worked as a consultant to
the U.S. Congressional Research
Service, the U.S. Forest Service,
and the National Park Service.
He served as president of the
American Forestry Association,
vice president of the National
Wildlife Federation, and on the
boards of the wilderness advocacy group Forest Watch and
Northern Woodlands magazine.
“He respected working people, people who worked in the
Carl Reidel, Professor Emeritus of Environmental
woods,” said Steve Long, former
Studies at UVM, passed away on November 3, 2011.
editor of Northern Woodlands.
Carl was “an intellectual giant,”
Carl Reidel loved Vermont. In his
he said, who argued kindly but firmly for
unlikely trajectory from the south side of
Chicago — the first in his family to gradu- the value of [forest] certification. Carl was
“someone who could easily present a case
ate from high school — to his peaceful
to a group which had no interest in that
farmstead in North Ferrisburgh, where he
view,” Steve said.
died on November 3, 2011 of pancreatic
“He spoke truth to anybody,” agreed
cancer, Carl came to understand one of the
UVM environmental studies professor
deep paradoxes of environmental awareTom Hudspeth, who joined Carl’s new
ness.
program as assistant director in 1972 —
It is in “tranquil settings that people
and yet Carl was an “adroit diplomat,”
have become most conscious of the very
who knew when to wear tweed and when
real environmental crisis facing our little
planet,” he said in September, 1972, as the flannel, Tom recalled. And it was these
attributes that allowed Carl to deliver on
UVM convocation speaker.
President Andrews’ charge to create an enThat year, Carl was recruited by thenvironmental program that served students
UVM president Edward Andrews to start
in all the colleges and schools across the
the nation’s first university-wide interdiswhole of the university — and made it
ciplinary Environmental Program. He ran
thrive for decades.
the program until his retirement in 2000.
He and his wife, Jean Richardson,
“Carl loved to see students and faculty
UVM professor of environmental studies
engaging the really tough environmental
issues facing us,” recalls Stephanie Kaza, emerita, traveled across the United States.
He went to many countries around the
who now directs UVM’s Environmental
world. But “Carl was his happiest sitting
Program.
with Jean on the back porch or by Lewis
“He loved the environmental moveCreek,” Jon Reidel wrote in a recent
ment,” Carl’s son, Jon Reidel (UVM ’06)
obituary, watching the daffodils or surveysaid, “but knew that the way to do it was
ing their large garden…. through policy changes.”
—Joshua E. Brown, UVM CommunicaCarl received his master’s in public
tions
administration from Harvard’s Ken6
UVM Environmental Program
Celebrates 40 Years
1972 – 2012
1972 UVM President Edward Andrews
establishes nation’s first university-wide
environmental program; Carl Reidel is director and Tom Hudspeth is assistant director.
1973 Environmental Program moves into
the Bittersweet Building.
1974 UVM Board of Trustees establishes
University of Vermont Natural Areas managed by the Environmental Program.
1988-92 Vermont Student Environmental
Program (VSTEP), a student run group, is
established; number of ENVS majors passes
300!
1994 Ian Worley becomes new director
and initiates several new faculty searches.
1996 Through Stephanie Kaza’s and
others’ efforts, UVM officially affirms
commitment to campus sustainability with
creation of UVM Environmental Council.
1997 UVM Natural Areas Center is established with Richard Paradis as director.
2001 Ibit Getchell wins UVM’s KroepschMaurice Excellence in Teaching Award.
2002 Tom Hudspeth wins UVM Alumni
Association’s George V. Kidder Outstanding
Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence;
Stephanie Kaza wins Kroepsch-Maurice
Excellence in Teaching Award.
2003 Environmental Program hosts 30th
anniversary with alumni reunion at Shelburne Farms; program shifts reporting line
from Provost’s Office to Rubenstein School.
2006-2008 Student enrollments jump to
over 400 majors! Stephanie Kaza becomes
new director.
2011 Program hosts 3-day national meet-
ing of Association of Environmental Studies
and Sciences at UVM; Stephanie Kaza wins
George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award
for Teaching Excellence; student enrollment
climbs to over 500!
2012 Environmental Program celebrates
40 years! Current faculty members include:
Saleem Ali, Cecilia Danks, Jon Erickson,
Tom Hudspeth, Adrian Ivakhiv, Stephanie
Kaza, Ernesto Mendez, Frank Zelko, and
lecturers Kit Anderson, Rick Paradis, and
Amy Seidl.
The Rubenstein School Honor Roll of Supporters
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources gratefully acknowledges the following contributors for their generous support
in fiscal year July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.
Class of 1954
F. Peter Rose
Class of 1964
Linda Herzenberg Sparks
Class of 1971
John Fremont Vigent, Sr.
Class of 1972
Jacqueline Hoyt Ross
Class of 1974
Mark Winslow Biedron
Class of 1975
John D. Wilson
H. William Smith, III
Class of 1976
Jill Jones Agnew
Peter Andrew Beekman
Kathleen Marr Chesney
Anonymous
Beth Frances Volker
Richard R. White, Jr.
Class of 1977
Charles Dutilh Agnew, Jr.
Sarah Bogdanovitch
Michael Thomas Mangum
Class of 1978
Marjorie Victor Alig
Robert S. Houghton
Thomas Frederick Ketcham
Crea Sopher Lintilhac
Charles Robert Ross, Jr.
Class of 1979
Julie A. Lundgren
Ann Pesiri Swanson
Eric Swanson
Class of 1980
Maureen Sullivan Crowley
Katharine Tannahill Sexson
Class of 1981
David Charles Blittersdorf
Class of 1982
Mary White Carnal
Charles Richard Niebling
Mark Mazzola
Jacquelyn Trilling Sattler
Class of 1983
Charles Heller Denney
Linda Berdman Diamond
Michelle Simpson Mazzola
Mabel Churchill Niebling
Sam Wear
Class of 1984
Jan Blomstrann Blittersdorf
Stephen Patrick McElwain
Class of 1985
Lorraine Letourneau McElwain
Diane White Mealo
Robert Gavin Mouat
Joel Alexander Schmutz
Class of 1986
Laura Baxter Mouat
Adrian Santiago Villaruz
Member of Rubenstein School Board of Advisors
Class of 1987
Sharman Buechner Altshuler
Christopher J. E. Welch
Class of 1988
Lisa Peskin Sausville
Christine Denise Vitale
Richard L. Wallace
Class of 1989
Annelein Beukenkamp-Winant
Lauren Valenti Compere
Ethan Shawn Meginnes
David John Sausville, Jr.
Class of 1992
Kenneth Karl Sturm
Class of 1994
Holly Mason Macy
Sean Justin Macy
Eli Weissman
Class of 1996
Eric Robert Lutz
Todd McMurray Rohlen
Class of 1997
Deborah A. Lynch
Kristina M. Pisanelli
Sherman Edward Waldron
Class of 1999
Lauren Kyle Borofsky
Class of 2000
Heather Elizabeth Leahy-Mack
Class of 2002
Jamie Keith Weaver
Class of 2003
Joshua Matthew Rapp
Class of 2004
Joseph Hollis Bartlett
Eric Thomas Heineman
Class of 2011
Gina Mary Puls
Class of 2012
Yumiko Chattulani Jakobcic
Maxine M. Coker
Tom Coker
Nancy and Edwin Colodny
James F. Crowley
Julienne and John Douglas
Colleen T. Filler
Marc and Robin Fisher
Michael S. Freeman
Ruth Fried
Anonymous
Judith Z. Grumbacher
Anonymous
Linda P. Hasert
Kathryn Wilson Henry
Jane Jordan
Mary Ann Klemm
Anonymous
Robert Alexander Kovacs
Alexandra Loeb
Debra Melita
Peggy Mendes-Stern
Alexander and Sally Nestor
Colleen and William Osantowski
Margaret E. Prough
Lynette and William Raap
Tracy Rohlen
Charlotte H. Ross
Peter H. Ross
Andrew Rubenstein
Beverly H. Rubenstein
Robert William Satkowski
Malini and Raj Shanmugaraj
Brigitte K. Smith
Barry Stern
Frank and Ellen Svitek
Judy Travis
Brian James Tyrol
Ross S. Whaley
Susan White
G. Evans Witt
Faculty and Staff
Marcia McAllister Caldwell
Anne Trask Forcier ’79
Lawrence K. Forcier
Carolyn Goodwin-Kueffner ’83
Shari Halik ‘83
David and Jane Kaufman ’84
Philip M. Lintilhac ’63
Matthew Jason Sayre
Carl E. Waite ’72
Corporations, Foundations, and
Organizations
Adelaide Murphy Studios, Inc.
Adirondack Community Trust
Aetna Foundation, Inc.
Alex C. Walker Foundation
Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Charles & Mabel P. Jost Foundation
Frost Pond Carpentry
Gordon & Llura Gund Foundation
Kate Svitek Memorial Foundation
Lintilhac Foundation, Inc.
Rohlen Foundation
Shelburne Shipyard, Inc.
Steve & Beverly Rubenstein Foundation
The Elm Foundation
The Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation, Inc.
Third Planet, Inc.
Unilever U.S. Foundation, Inc.
Vermont Institute on the Caribbean
Friends
Sonata Abbott
David Altshuler
Steven and Robin Altschuler
James and Susan Arisman
Holly Ehug Bartlett
Barbara B. Beekman
Gretchen Johnson Biedron
Philip M. Bogdanovitch
Jean-Jacques Landers Carnal
7
Alum Ben Minteer Takes Environmental Ethics Work to Arizona State
Alum Ben Minteer in his home landscape of
Arizona.
Ben Minteer (NRP ’96, PhD-NR ’00),
one of the Rubenstein School’s earliest
PhD graduates, is now an associate professor of environmental ethics and policy at
Arizona State University’s School of Life
Sciences and a senior scholar in ASU’s
Global Institute of Sustainability, both on
the Tempe campus. As a faculty member in
a school composed of biologists and ecologists, as well as environmental economists,
policy scientists, philosophers, and historians, Ben is glad he hasn’t strayed far from
the interdisciplinarity of the Rubenstein
School.
“[Rubenstein] was a far more interesting and dynamic setting for exploring
the ethical dimensions of environmental
management, which increasingly requires
an interdisciplinary approach if this kind of
analysis is to effectively inform policy and
decision-making,” he notes. Ben worked
side-by-side with advisor Professor Robert
Manning on studies of environmental ethics and pragmatism.
“Bob always encouraged me to ground
the discussion of environmental ethics in
more practical questions of natural resource
and environmental management,” says
Ben. “This pragmatic approach is probably
what I’m most known for in the field.”
Ben’s research is in what he calls “applied humanities.” He examines the ethical
and philosophical implications of ecology
and biodiversity conservation to improve
our understanding of the policy options for
addressing contemporary environmental
problems. His work, Ben describes, “seeks
to understand why we should be concerned, as an ethical matter, about trends
in biodiversity loss; climate change; air,
water, and land pollution; the decline of
ecosystem services, and so forth.” He tries
to diagnose the root causes of unsustainable human-nature relationships in our
worldviews, value frameworks, and ethical
reasoning. He collaborates with ecologists,
legal theorists, economists, and conservation professionals to integrate ethical concepts and arguments with scientific data.
A prolific writer, Ben has developed
several research projects into books in
which he attempts to broaden the reach of
environmental ethics beyond philosophical
literature. In his 2011 book, Refounding
Environmental Ethics: Pragmatism, Principle, and Practice, Ben argues for a more
pragmatic, interdisciplinary, and pluralistic
style of environmental ethics and empha-
sizes applications to real world issues,
including protected area management,
control of invasive species, and conservation under climate change.
His current book project with James
Collins, Ecological Ethics under Planetary
Change, focuses on how rapid environmental change is forcing ecologists,
conservationists, and environmental policy
makers to rethink the traditional ethical
ideals surrounding environmental management and species conservation. The authors
recommend a “middle ground” that avoids
clinging to outmoded preservationist ideas
welded to historical ecosystems and yet
also resists the slide to an aggressive ethic
of full-scale ”planetary management.”
Ben teaches an undergraduate Environmental Ethics class, an upper-level undergraduate capstone course in Conservation
Practice, and a graduate-level seminar on
Environmental Ethics and Policy Goals. “I
enjoy teaching,” he explains, “especially
because the size and diversity of ASU
allow me to work with a wide range of students.” He draws many students from the
new School of Sustainability on campus.
He has advised numerous M.S. and
Ph.D. students since joining ASU’s faculty
in 2003. He is especially proud of his Ph.D.
student, Thad Miller, who successfully
defended his dissertation evaluating the
emerging research agenda of sustainability science in spring 2011 and is now an
assistant professor in the School of Urban
Studies and Planning at Portland State
University.
Ben lives in Tempe with his significant
other, Vanessa, who is an attorney, and
their dog, Chloe. They explore the Arizona
outdoors as much as possible.
Internship Leads to Full-Time at Fuse Marketing for Recent RSENR Grad
By Jeremy Oclatis (RM ’08)
As my summer travels begin again
(Spring 2011), managing the Gatorade
Free Flow Tour for Fuse Marketing, I
think back four years ago when I was
getting ready to enter my senior year in
the Rubenstein School as a recreation
management major. I clearly remember
telling myself to enjoy that summer to
its fullest extent; it would be my last
without the cruel responsibilities of the
“real world,” which were lurking in my
near future. Little did I know that just
two years later I would be embarking on
a nationwide skateboard and BMX tour
that would allow me to travel the country,
pursue my passions, and have a great
time!
It all started with an internship
at Fuse Marketing of Burlington,
Vermont, that I began just a week before
graduation. Fuse Marketing is a privately
owned company whose worldwide
mission is to connect products with
youth. Alum Issa Sawabini (RM ’99)
is one of three partners who own Fuse.
It was mostly from the experience and
networking I had gained in a previous
internship at Stowe Mountain Resort
that I came to earn this position. In the
midst of completing my four years of
higher education, becoming financially
independent, and looking for a job, I
figured gaining more experience couldn’t Alum Jeremy Oclatis (in white t-shirt) manages the
hurt.
Gatorade Free Flow Tour for Fuse Marketing.
8
Continued on Page 9
My internship at Fuse allowed me to
assist with a number of clients (Mountain
Dew, Harley Davidson, SoBe) and in
multiple capacities. I didn’t know it
at the time, but I was truly given the
opportunity to showcase my abilities. By
the time September rolled around and
my internship was coming to a close, I
was offered a part-time job at Fuse in the
Events Department.
I managed “brand ambassadors” for
a college marketing program Fuse was
executing for Durex (Yes, the condoms!).
It was a great way to get my foot in the
door as an employee and gain valuable
experience. Hiring and managing over 25
brand ambassadors on college campuses
across the country was a turning point
in my young career. When I realized
how much I was capable of, I began to
strive for greater responsibilities. Shortly
after concluding the Durex program, I
began managing the Gatorade Free Flow
Tour which originated as an amateur
skateboard and BMX contest series and
has subsequently expanded into skiing and
snowboarding.
Since then, I’ve become a full-time
employee at Fuse and manage a number
of event accounts. I’ve been able to work
with great brands such as New Balance,
Gatorade, and The North Face. It’s been
rewarding to progress my responsibilities
to the point where I’m seeing projects
from infancy to execution and beyond.
Utilizing my experience, creativity, and
interests have been an amazing way to
build my career. Still only three years out
of UVM, I feel like I have accomplished
so much; it’s exciting to realize that I still
have so much more ahead of me!
Alum Dana Gulley Creates Connections in Government and Non-Profit
World
Alum Dana Gulley with Riverkeeper’s boat captain, John Lipscomb, and a sturgeon model
Dana Gulley (ENVS ’10) used her
course, internship, and work experiences
at RSENR to land a job with a non-profit
in her hometown of Garrison, New York
on the Hudson River. She is outreach and
development coordinator for Riverkeeper,
a member-supported, watchdog organization dedicated to protecting the River and
its tributaries that provide drinking water
to nine million residents of New York
City and the Hudson Valley.
Dana credits Associate Professor
Larry Forcier and his course, the Charlie
Ross Environmental Public Service Practicum, with framing her career path in
environmental policy. Charlie Ross was
a Vermont lawyer, chair of the Vermont
Public Service Board, and a commissioner of the Federal Power Commission,
among other high level positions. The
course is designed after Charlie’s own
public policy course at UVM in which
students were inspired to learn about
politics in an applied setting.
The Charlie Ross course helped
Dana make valuable connections, build
real-world experience, and qualify for a
non-profit position. Dana took the first
offering of the course which takes students
to Montpelier to intern with Vermont State
legislators.
For the next two years, Dana was a TA
for the class and received a UVM Outstanding Service-Learning Student award,
the Holcomb Natural Resources Prize, and
UVM’s Mary Jean Simpson Award for her
efforts. Her experience led to an internship
in Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy’s office where she worked closely with Chuck
Ross, Charlie’s son, then state director for
Senator Leahy.
Dana was also a member of the
RSENR Student Advisory Board and a
work study student and RSENR Steward
in the Dean’s Office. Upon graduation,
she received a prestigious internship with
the Unilever National Park Congressional
Internship Program in partnership with the
Student Conservation Association (SCA).
As one of six student leaders chosen
nation-wide, she assisted the superintendent at Ellis Island and the Statue of
Liberty National Monument and interned
on Capitol Hill with California Congresswoman Grace Napolitano. Through Dana
and Larry, RSENR grad Alison Foster
(ENSC ’11) is just finishing the program,
creating an on-going connection between
the SCA and the Rubenstein School.
After returning to RSENR for a brief
stint as an administrative assistant in the
Dean’s Office, in June 2011, Dana began
working for Riverkeeper, which was born
out of the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association in existence since 1966. With a
long time passion for the Hudson River,
Dana recalls, “In fourth grade, Riverkeeper’s then-president John Cronin came to
talk to our class about the Hudson River.
He brought a huge model of a sturgeon
that now sits near my desk!”
Dana communicates with the public
about Riverkeeper’s work using federal,
state, and local laws, water quality testing,
and river patrolling to promote a fishable,
swimmable river. She builds membership
and manages the organization’s volunteer
program. “Individuals are so passionate
about their river,” she states. “I work to
harness that energy so it truly is a grassroots organization.” Near and dear to her,
Dana also manages Riverkeeper’s internship program which she hopes to strengthen by partnering with Americorps.
In her spare time, as a way to give
back to her hometown, she has trained
as an interior firefighter and is a member
of the Garrison Volunteer Fire Department. The next step on her career path is
to attend law school in environmental or
public service law in the fall of 2013.
—Shari Halik
The Rubenstein School, George D. Aiken Center, 81 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405-0088
9