Environmental Education
Faculty and Staff
The Environmental Education master’s program is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences. The integrated program draws from many disciplines on campus including the Education, Business, Communications, and Environmental Studies Departments, plus others. However, the majority of faculty associated with the program are housed in the Biology Department.
Dr. Stewart Janes – Dr. Janes has been involved in the Environmental Education program since arriving on the SOU campus in 1992. In addition to his interests in environmental education, he trains secondary teachers pursuing secondary teaching credentials in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. He is an ecologists and ornithologist and researches the function of bird song and raptor ecology.
Dr. Michael Parker – Dr. Parker is an aquatic ecologist and is actively involved in the Environmental Education program. He has a special interest in conservation of freshwater environments throughout the western United States, and has a particular fondness for stream-dwelling amphibians and desert fishes, particularly the Devil’s Hole pupfish. Dr. Parker teaches the Trends in Environmental Education course.
Dr. Karen Stone – Dr. Stone serves on the Environmental Education Committee and specializes on the population genetics of mid-sized carnivores. Recent projects have involved the Pacific Fisher and Marten.
Dr. Peter Schroeder – Dr. Schroeder, an entomologist, serves on the Environmental Education Committee. Dr. Schroeder studies insect control through integrated pest management and has a special interest in bumblebees. He also studies aquatic insects as indicators of steam quality.
Dr. Steven Jessup – Dr. Jessup has been actively involved in the environmental education program for many years. His focus is on wilderness education and botany. Research interests include mosses, especially the aquatic mosses at Crater Lake, and lichens. Dr. Jessup also heads up the Certificate in Botany program.
Dr. Carol Ferguson – Dr. Ferguson, an entomologist, has been actively involved in the environmental education program for many years, mentoring many students through their master’s projects. Dr. Ferguson’s research interests include the study of pollination systems in orchids of the Klamath Siskiyou bioregion.
You can learn more about the faculty associated with the EE program and the other seven faculty members in the Department by visiting the Biology webpage.
Linda Hilligoss – Linda Hilligoss works for the College of Arts and Sciences and promotes and coordinates activities at the Crater Lake Science and Learning Center and at Deer Creek Center. Linda is a graduate of the Environmental Education program in its previous incarnation and a certified middle school teacher. She previously worked in the Education Department as an assistant professor training teachers, with a special interest in promoting science at the elementary level.
Current Graduate Students
The following includes some of our current students and a little about them and their projects. To speak with current graduate students, contact the SEEC office at 541/552-6876 or seec@sou.edu.
Kathryn McCoy – Kathryn is beginning her thesis project regarding the behavioral interactions between Spotted and Barred Owls in southern Oregon.
Sarah Shipley – Sarah is a new student and currently a graduate assistant in the Siskiyou Environmental Education Center.
Rebecca Slosberg – Rebecca is a new student and currently a graduate assistant in the Siskiyou Environmental Education Center.
Ilona Sweeten – Ilona is from the Ukraine and interested in environmental education involving elementary students.
Sam Whitridge – Sam is nearing completion of his program and was recently hired by Oregon State University as an education specialist in southern Oregon.
Environmental Education Alumni
Graduates of the Environmental Education program have gone on to diverse careers. Some have continued on to become classroom teachers. Others work for various government agencies as environmental educators and field biologists. The following is a sample of the positions currently held by graduates of our program.
Vicki Arthur – Graduated 2001. Conservation Education Specialist. U.S. Forest Service, Washington D.C.
Kari Geis – Graduated 1993. Education Coordinator, North Mountain Park Nature Center, Ashland, Oregon.
Noelle Jordan – Graduated 2002. Environmental Education Coordinator at the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas.
Lindsey Lyons – Graduated 2005. Currently on the faculty of Oregon State University working for the Extension Service and based in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Stacey Gaylord Moore – Graduated 1995. Community Relations Programme Manager for Department of Conservation, New Zealand.
Melisa Pitkin – Graduated 2006. Education and Outreach Director, Point Reyes Bird Observatory in Santa Rosa, California.
Elizabeth Waserman – Graduated 2002. Interpretive Specialist. Lake Clark National Park, Homer, Alaska.
