Volume 1, Issue 1 Greetings from the Director 2007-2008 Being a faculty member or student Program Coordinator and Lec- valuable learning opportunities for in environmental studies is not for turer, and Carol Goody as our ES our ES students and enhance the the faint of heart. As a global Administrative Assistant. environmental understanding of all Skidmore students as they live and population, we face seemingly As was the case in 2002 when we learn on a more environmentally- insurmountable environmental first implemented the ES major, friendly campus. issues – climate change, water Skidmore students continue to be pollution, air pollution, loss of the driving force in ES. While we In addition to our strides on cam- biodiversity, compromised agricul- began the ES major with one pus, we have strengthened bridges tural productivity, and more. I’m graduate in 2002 (Jenna Ringel- with the surrounding community often asked how I remain positive heim, see page 2), our declared through the Water Resources Ini- while absorbed in such daunting majors and minors now number tiative (see insert) and our en- challenges on a day to day basis. It over sixty. Our ES students’ ac- hanced efforts on internship place- certainly helps that I have a stereo- complishments during their time at ments. Our community partners typical Midwestern disposition; I Skidmore (see page 3) and in their provide valuable learning opportu- fall firmly at the friendly end of post-Skidmore life (page 4) are nities for students and faculty alike the personality spectrum, I tend to nothing short of remarkable. Most and are just as much a part of our view the world through a rosy set rewarding for me, however, is the ES Program as our campus con- of lenses, and yes, I am a bit ob- willingness of our current students stituents. sessed with tractors. While these and alums to give back to the ES So, counter to what many might traits are undoubtedly advanta- community at Skidmore. Our think, rather than a feeling of geous on particularly rough days, I alums return to talk with current hopelessness or negativism, most draw my real strength from the students, our older students mentor days I am awestruck by the poten- brilliant faculty, staff, students, our younger students, and all of tial of the future. I find it impossi- and community members who our students participate in events ble to join a conversation among compose our growing Environ- that help strengthen the ES pro- our students hanging out in our mental Studies (ES) program at gram. Skidmore College. new ES Social and Cultural Re- ES Students, Class of 2008 search and Resource Center or to The 40+ ES Affiliated Faculty sit among our collective ES Pro- members from across campus who gram community at our annual contribute courses, research ex- Capstone Event (see insert) and periences, and advice to the pro- feel anything other than excite- gram tirelessly challenge our stu- ment and hope. The future is in- dents to comprehensively analyze deed bright, and because of the complex environmental issues and hard work of many, our ES pro- to develop practical, yet innova- gram is positioned to make signifi- tive, solutions. These same faculty cant contributions to that future. members help us build an environ- The growth of our ES program mentally-focused co-curricular -Karen Kellogg, Director of the would have been impossible with- program every year that infuses Environmental Studies Program campus discussions with addi- out strong institutional support. tional perspectives and engages The College administration, fac- ulty, and student body have helped SKIDMORE COLLEGE our students more thoroughly in what it means to be an informed, usher in policies and initiatives responsible citizen in today’s that have strengthened the ES pro- world. Our growing core of faculty gram directly and created a cam- and staff in the ES program has pus climate marked by heightened environmental awareness. Most ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES provided critical stability to the program and an improved balance recently, the College hired Erica of disciplinary foundation and Fuller as our Campus Sustainabil- interdisciplinary immersion, which ity Coordinator, and Erica has is the hallmark of our new ES made Sustainable Skidmore a real- curriculum. In the last year we ity (see http://cms.skidmore.edu/ have hired Cathy Gibson as an sustainability/). The campus Assistant Professor in ES (see greening projects that are part of page 2), Kim Marsella as our ES Sustainable Skidmore provide Inside This Issue: Page 2: Faculty and Alumni Profiles, Grants and Publications Page 3: Student Awards, Student Trips, Environmental Studies Environmental Events and Opportunities Page 4: Where Our Alumni Have Gone Insert: WRI News Faculty Profile: Cathy Gibson | Alumni Profile: Jenna Ringelheim Dr. Cathy Gibson joined Skidmore as an assistant profes- Jenna Ringelheim graduated from sor of Environmental Studies in the Fall of 2007. Cathy earned Skidmore College in 2002 as our first her Ph.D. at the University of Georgia’s Institute of Ecology in Environmental Studies major. After 2004, and was a postdoctoral research associate at Northern graduating from Skidmore, Ringelheim Arizona University (in Flagstaff, AZ) and Rensselaer Polytech- worked for the Nature Conservancy in nic Institute’s Darin Freshwater Institute (on Lake George, Idaho and then as an AmeriCorps NY) prior to joining Skidmore. member for the Johnson Creek Water- shed Council in Portland, Oregon, Cathy’s research focuses on how ecosystem processes are al- working on salmon restoration projects tered as a result of anthropogenic modifications to streams and throughout the city. She later received their surrounding watersheds. Her dissertation focused on link- a Masters Degree in Urban and Envi- ing urbanization to the “metabolism” of the Chattahoochee ronmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University. In 2007, River (draining much of Georgia, including Atlanta). Her work Ringelheim was recognized by the Environmental Leadership Pro- in Northern Arizona focused on the effects of dams (and dam gram as a New England Regional Fellow. This prestigious award is removal) on the functioning of Fossil Creek, a stream draining part of a program that aims to enhance the capacity of the environ- off the Mogollon Rim of the Colorado Plateau, and her research mental movement by supporting outstanding emerging leaders. on Lake George linked the fluctuations in water quality to the composition of the sub-watersheds that feed the lake. Ringelheim is currently the Executive Director of Wild Gift, (http://wildgift.org/) a small non-profit organization that gives ex- Since arriving at Skidmore three semesters ago, Cathy has ceptional leaders, ages 21 to 30, a compelling experience in deep taught Environmental Concerns in Perspective (ES100), be- wilderness. The environmental leadership action program is based come the lead instructor for Field Studies in Environmental in Sun Valley, Idaho, and the group supports participants for a full Science (ES105), twice co-directed the ES Capstone course, year as they launch self-designed projects that promote wilderness and developed two new 300-level ES courses: Urban Ecology stewardship and the development of sustainable human communi- (ES351a) and Restoration Ecology (ES351b). She is develop- ties and lifestyles. ing a new 200-level course called Watershed Assessment: Dynamics “I like to be part of solutions, not a contributor to the world’s prob- and Integrity of Aquatic Systems. lems,” Ringelheim said, concerning her work efforts. “At the end She has also created a research pro- of the day, I feel like I am making a difference.” gram with study sites in the Kayade- Ringelheim is also the author of “Best Hikes with Dogs: Boston and rosseras watershed, Battenkill River Beyond,” which appeared in bookstores in August of 2008. Influ- (in Vermont), and the Shawangunk enced by environmental thought leaders such as Rachel Carson, Mountains (in southern New York). Michael Pollan, and Van Jones, Ringelheim recommends being In spite of all this work, Cathy’s creative, optimistic, and persistent in environmental careers. Above three-year old son still doesn’t “get” all, she matches her strong work ethic with a sense of humor: “I the watershed concept. guess you could say that I got to where I am now by working hard and having a lot of fun doing it!” Grants and Conference Publications The Environmental Studies Program continues to Cathy Gibson and Joshua Ness, Assistant Professor of benefit from a number of large institutional grants. The Educa- Biology & ES, attended the North American Benthological Soci- tional Foundation of America granted the program $140,000 in ety Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City and presented research done 2007 for “Campus Sustainability at Skidmore College,” resulting with Skidmore students. Seven students from Gibson’s Urban in the hiring of Erica Fuller as our full time campus Sustainabil- Ecology class presented at Skidmore’s Focus the Nation Poster ity Coordinator. In 2006, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Session. Karen Kellogg attended the National Environmental granted the program $300,000 for “Environmental Studies and Studies and Science Summit in Jonesboro, AR. Kellogg, along the Water Resources Initiative at Skidmore College.” The Ar- with students Ryan Bailey ‘09, Alicea Cock-Esteb ’09, Nadine thur Vining Davis Foundations granted the “Water Resources Dodge ’10, and Brad Nesbitt ’09, presented at the National Center Initiative” $200,300 in 2005. The Rathmann Family Foundation for Science and Civic Engagement, Science Education for New granted $80,000 in 2004 and $160,000 in 2002 for Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), 2008 Wash- “Strengthening the Environmental Studies Program at Skidmore ington Symposium in Washington, D.C. Michael Ennis- College.” We could not have strengthened our ES Program McMillan, Dean of Studies and Associate Professor of Anthropol- without these generous contributions. We are extremely grateful ogy, and Kellogg co-authored presentations at the Society for Ap- to all of these organizations.