Sustainability Programs at Prescott College

Imagine the Possibilities Examples of student created B.A. and M.A. majors: Agroecology Community Development with an Indigenous Perspective Conservation Biology Conservation Ecology and Planning Ecological Economics Environmental Communications Environmental Education Environmental Justice Fair Trade Business Marine Conservation Biology Mountain Ecology Natural History and Ecology Social Ecology Sustainable Community Development Sustainable Community Redevelopment Sustainable Science and Practice Sustainability Education Wilderness-Based Education Wildlife Biology Wildlife Ecology, Policy, and Management Wildlife Management Examples of Ph.D. Dissertation Topics: An Exploration of Sustainability Education: Conversations from the Lived Experiences of Low-Income Community College Students Contradiction in the Struggle for Economic and Environmental Justice Developing and Evaluating a Landbird Conservation Implementation Strategy International Education and Transformational Learning: Being There Living Thinking for a Culture of Transformation Native Sustainment: The North Fork Mono Tribe's Stories, History, and Teaching of Its Land and Water Tenure, 1918 – 2009 Creating and Sharing Knowledge Journal of Sustainability Education Annual Sustainability Education Symposium

You can also request information from Prescott College Admissions by email at admissions@prescott.edu Include your name, address and if you are interested in earning a B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. To speak to an admissions counselor, phone (877) 350-2100 or (928) 350-2100 www.prescott.edu/sustainability-studies 2

About Prescott College Prescott College began in the 1950s when leaders of a small town in the stunningly beautiful pine and chaparral country of central Arizona were searching for a new cultural identity. Drawing on the Congregationalist tradition of founding over 50 leading colleges and universities in America, beginning with Harvard in 1636 and including other leading colleges and universities such as Middlebury, Dartmouth, Amherst, Smith, Yale, Oberlin, Grinnell, Whitman, Colorado, Pomona, and Scripps, Dr. Charles Franklin Parker, minister of Prescott’s First Congregational Church and Prescott College founder, announced an ambitious project of creating the Harvard of the West, Prescott College.

Many of the philosophical and educational principles that form the foundation of Prescott College – designed to produce the leaders needed to solve the world’s growing environmental and social problems – emerged in 1963 in a significant conference of state and nationally known leaders from higher education funded by the Ford Foundation’s Fund for Post Secondary Education, Business, and Industry.

In a Changing World . . .

Dr. Parker’s vision for “for a pioneering, even radical experiment in higher education” and “to graduate society’s leaders for the 21st Century who would be needed to solve the world’s growing environmental and social problems” seems especially prescient today. Human society is coming to terms with the fight against global warming and its potential for large-scale, adverse health, social, economic and ecological effects. Society is also looking to new models of education to better prepare students of all ages for their role as global citizens.

Making a difference in the World 1

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Education Where You Live and Work Prescott College students complete their coursework wherever they are – in rural communities, small towns and large metropolitan areas – without

interrupting jobs, family life, or connections to their own com-

munities. Students live in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and throughout the West, Pacific Northwest and New England.

Education Unplugged Prescott College offers three low-residency degree tracks: Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Ph.D., and two low-residency Certificate tracks: Post-Bachelor of Arts, and Post-Master of Arts in a wide variety of subject areas – all of which cater to the adult learner who has already accrued valuable life experience. The average age is 35, and women represent 70 percent of total enrollment.

The College’s academic programs are “unplugged” from such conventional practices as the departmentalization of knowledge, confining learning to the classroom and textbooks rather than real experience and thinking of college as preparation for life, rather than life itself. Prescott students learn critical thinking and research and how to apply them to real-life problems and their own passions by living them, testing them out in real time.

At Prescott College the best learning is collaborative, and the best teaching is individual. Education at Prescott College is grounded in the fundamental idea that the student is in control of her or his learning, and learns best through self-direction and real-life experience. Programs of study at all levels are individualized; no two paths taken by students are identical.

An Emphasis on Teaching Students are empowered at Prescott College because the faculty view students as co-creators of their educational experience rather than as consumers. Like professors at other distinguished colleges and universities, Prescott College faculty author books, publish in prestigious journals, speak at international conferences, and receive competitive grants to support their research and creative work. What distinguishes Prescott College faculty is a commitment to put their students first.

While faculty are supported and encouraged to make strides in their fields, they are first and foremost passionate educators, emphasizing teaching over research and other scholarly activities.

Student-Directed Learning Envision your educational goals, design your course of study, and complete coursework under the guidance of an expert.

Faculty and advisors work with each student to co-create an individualized concentration within a degree area. This collaborative approach ensures valuable learning for teacher and student alike. Students work at their own pace, driven by their own passions and guided by experts in their chosen fields.

Hybrid Low-Residence/Online Instruction Model Prescott College’s low-residency programs are unlike any other educational experience. We combine self-directed, individually mentored and online distance education with a limited residency requirement. This approach offers you the opportunity to design a meaningful program which is carried out with the support of faculty and mentors (professionals from your home community) who work with you in your chosen field of study. Mentored courses combine tutorial and traditional independent study. Students meet weekly with their mentors, at times and locations that are mutually convenient, to discuss material and review progress. Our individually mentored approach to education results in a Student/Faculty ratio of 1 to 1. Many core courses are also offered online to small student cohorts by Prescott College core faculty.

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INTRODUCING PRESCOTT COLLEGE

Bachelor of Arts and Fall, Spring, Summer Enrollment The Bachelor of Arts Degree program is intended for returning adult students who are seeking to advance their undergraduate and professional experience, change careers, or engage in advanced academic work for personal or professional gain.

Each student pursues an independent study based curriculum in collaboration with Prescott College faculty. The coursework is completed in the student’s home community through the assistance of locally based, qualified mentors.

This flexible structure allows students to maintain their family and work life while they study at a distance. Bachelor of Arts students typically bring in one to three years of transferable credit from accredited colleges. The amount of transferable credits and an estimated time to complete the degree may be established through a pre-admissions transcript review and preliminary advising session with an admissions counselor.

Credit for Life Experience A great deal of academically meaningful learning occurs outside of the classroom, in professional work or in structured workshops, seminars, and training. Because many students who enroll in the low-residency Bachelor of Arts program have already devoted a great deal of time to learning outside of the classroom, Prescott College has established a path for adult learners to earn college credit through the mechanism of Life Experience Documentation. Students who seek academic credit for Life Experience enroll in a preparatory course that teaches them how to properly document their prior learning in one of three types of portfolios. Completion of a portfolio is writing intensive and requires the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge in coherent chapters that observe the editorial style of the American Psychological Association or the Modern Language Association. All portfolios are evaluated by experts in the student’s field of study.

Graduating Society’s Leaders for the 21st Century

Above Alumni L-R: Grace Wicks Schlosser ’02, Director of Community Programs at White Dog Café; Andy Millison ’97, M.A. ’02, founder of the Prescott Ecohood; Diana Papoulias ’79, aquaculturalist for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Orphanage; Jim Knaup ’80, owner Prescott Alternative Transportation; Senator Tom Udall ’70 (D-N.M.); Sekeyian Yiaile M.A. ’08, first Maasai woman from her region to earn a master’s degree.

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Sustainable Community Development

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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Sustainable Community Development The Sustainable Community Development program supports students in manifesting their personal visions of ecologically and socially healthy communities. Graduates lead meaningful lives in diverse fields. They work as sustainability educators and program leaders in the nonprofit sector, as advisors in the private sector, in public lands agencies, and through international sustainable agriculture projects.

Employment and entrepreneurial opportunities continue to expand as the business sector turns “green” from the inside out. This creates demand for corporate community relations professionals and resource managers who can analyze and respond to the needs of ecosystems and human communities. Social service agencies may require sustainable community development visionaries to help them link regional organic farms with alternative shelter designers in order to serve the poor, the infirm, and the elderly in ways that preserve the health and dignity of humans and local ecosystems.

Above all, Sustainable Community Development program graduates work with communities of all kinds to identify genuine needs and engage participants in inclusive visionmaking, forecasting, decision-making, implementing, and appraising sustainable projects.

The Core Curriculum The Sustainable Community Development Program is designed to prepare students to plan and implement measures that build and strengthen communities. The program defines community as humans and all other resident life forms of local ecosystems.

Students study the physical environment of their community; the values, practices, and needs of those who reside there; and the influences of, and access points to, relevant government and private enterprises whose activities affect the well-being of the community.

Projects are designed to apply information gained in study in addressing real needs in the student’s community. Students may focus on rural or urban settings.

The Sustainable Community Development Program consists of four curriculum realms: the natural history of the region; appropriate technologies; social, spiritual and philosophical foundations of community; and communication, education and celebration in the community. The four realms inform the development of the student’s courses.

Natural History of the Region – Course themes include field-based studies of the proximate ecosystems, as well as patterns of past and current human habitation and use of the land. Courses may include field methods, botany, conservation biology, environmental chemistry, physical geography, disturbed-lands ecology, therapeutic use of the wilderness, and resource management.

Mentor Susan Horn Susan Horn, a sustainabilityfocused real estate developer from Walton County, Fla., works to build community while building communities – literally. That’s what led her to become a mentor for Prescott College’s Sustainable Community Development program.

“I love to share inspiration, ideas, community involvement, and creativity with people of similar interests, but it can be lonely, since I live in an area where there aren’t many of my ‘tribe’,” she explains.

“Prescott’s program offers a refreshing opportunity to feed my soul and perhaps pass on something useful to my students. And, I still have time for my ‘real job’!”

As a partner in Artisan Development Group, L.L.C., she works closely with her county planning department to develop sustainable building and landscaping codes to support the “New Urbanist “ principles of her company. She is a longtime writer and editor with a focus on green business, as well as planning and coordinating events, community outreach, and education that bring new ideas about green building and lifestyles to her community.

“If lectures and classrooms choke your creativity; if tests and busywork leave you cold; if you have some ideas you’ve been wanting to pursue and can’t find a class or curriculum that speaks to them … then Prescott could be a perfect fit for you!”

Appropriate Technologies, Assessment, and the Human Footprint – Courses cover planning, design, materials, and assessment of means by which food, water, shelter, 7

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Mentor Susan Moodie Person and politics. Nature and nurture. Science and spirituality.

Sustainable agriculturist and activist Susan Moodie, Ph.D., integrates a deep love of the natural world inspired by a youth in rural Australia with a remarkable range of tools across disciplines. She’s worked on four continents (and counting) to help individuals, communities, and nations develop better relationships with the natural world.

Susan worked to establish a groundswell of public projects healing the relationship between humans and the land in her native Australia.

These include Landcare, a national program to restore land and water; Landcare for Kids, a national elementary curriculum for the environment; urban forestry in Melbourne; laws mandating 100 percent tax refunds on environmental restoration and ensuring landowners manage public lands as equal partners with government; and expansion of national Arbor Day to Arbor Week.

Australia now has 4500 Landcare groups and nine other countries have adopted the approach.

Now in Tucson, Susan is combining Eastern and Western approaches to transforming conflict patterns. She’s integrating yoga, neurological feedback, post-traumatic stress release, self-inquiry, psychology, consciousness and physics, and nutritional methods that support internal integration. In response to requests from international organizations to help develop conflict transformation programs for Afghans and Iraqis, she is adapting these tools to local cultures.

Susan enjoys the challenge of helping others to fulfill their personal missions.

“To mentor another is to understand what is required to foster life … a rich, scarred, deep life capable of bringing forth personal truth and integrity, of holding fast through life’s storms,” she asserts.

“When we support another to find and do what is imperative for them, even the mundane plays an essential and noble part in their life.”

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transportation, waste-handling, aesthetics, recreation, entertainment, and other daily living activities can be carried out in a manner compatible with the needs of natural living systems. Courses may include sustainable shelter design, permaculture, naturalsystems agriculture, environmental economics, urban or rural planning, hydrology, and alternative-energy sources and systems.

Social, Spiritual, and Philosophical Foundations of Community – Courses addressing this realm explore the psychological connections among members of a community and its natural environment, the evolution of values and behaviors expressed in the community, and the influences of social and culture groups. Courses may include history of the community, human ecology, sociobiology, ethics, overview of land and water law, regional and national politics, ecopsychology, comparative beliefs, and consensus- and decision-making models.

Communication, Education, and Celebration in the Community – Courses covering this subject area investigate the means and mechanisms by which members of communities: identify and express challenges; engage in problem solving; learn interactively; assess the worthiness of community efforts; celebrate accomplishments; and preserve and pass on collective wisdom to future generations. Courses may include: small-group dynamics; community performance and fine arts; research design and application; documentation of community history; and the seasons and rituals of the community.

The following are examples of student competences/majors completed within the past five years (sample curricula for listed majors can be found beginning on page 58 of this catalog). Other Student-Directed Majors can also be supported. Contact Admissions to find out if your ideal course of study is supported at Prescott College.

Community Development Intentional Community Development Sustainable Community Development Sustainable Community Redevelopment Community Development – This interdisciplinary course of study focuses on organizing groups to effect change. Subject areas include program development and management, asset mapping, advisory board development, and systems management – skills which allow one to serve ones’ community in a well-rounded manner.

Intentional Community Development – This curriculum focuses on three elements: systems aiding in the creation of the infrastructure of community; sustainability of the community’s land; and the exploration of the benefits of creative expression on members of the community.

Sustainable Community Development – The essence of this program allows students to create a sustainable community development framework that fits their own community needs and goals and is grounded firmly in the four realms.

Sustainable Community Redevelopment – This program explores means by which humans can bring balance to a world with finite physical resources even as current economic systems operate counter to the principle that sustainable economic systems are based on, and reflect, ecological principles.

SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Alumni

Paper Makes Strong Bricks by Tim Hull It’s early morning in Tucson’s Dunbar Springs neighborhood, and the anarchists next door are still asleep. The sun is heating up the found-object metal artwork in the streets, and I’m standing by as Vincent Pawlowski ’08 mixes up a batch of Papercrete bricks.

The 50-something polymath, a retired biomedical engineer with a bushy beard and a full storehouse of creative energy, is up on a rickety platform in his backyard working a jury-rigged mixing drill through a barrel full of water, recycled paper products – junk mail, old Sierra Club calendars, even tossed-away books – and Portland cement. The brew looks and smells like paper maché but when it’s formed into bricks and dried in the sun it makes strong building blocks that Pawlowski hopes to use to build a little dream home on his corner lot.

He is also hoping to perfect a mix of this alternative building material – which has been around for years but is now drawing more interest – that doesn’t use commercialgrade cement, and to teach others how to mix and build with this cheap, energy-efficient, and resource-saving material to use the 20 percent of paper products that can’t be recycled.

Construction costs, he says, work out to about 10 to 30 cents a square foot of interior space, minus labor.

“My personal goal is to start setting up workshops to teach people how to make it,” he adds. “We need to know this.”

He tells me about how, when he was in college in the mid-70s and the last oil crisis was on, he started to get interested in solar power. But his dad died around his sophomore year, and he left school to help his family for a while. When he got back, in 1980, he says, “Reagan was in the White House, solar panels were off the roof, and my advisor said you might want to do something else.”

So he went into another field, but he always had the environmental itch. About three years ago he went back to school at Prescott College, and now he’s finishing up a degree in Sustainable Community Development.

“Papercrete seems to be a fairly large component of the solution,” he says.

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the components of the average Sunbelt tract home will recognize the vast gulf between the way things are and the way they perhaps ought to be. Before the railroad made it possible for us to build Victorian mansions and stick-built tract homes here in the desert, this land was dotted with homes built of adobe. So it’s not surprising this most ancient of building blocks is the material most often likened to the various alternative methods.

But, whether you’re building Papercrete bungalows, lava-rock sandcastles, adobe huts, rammed earth mansions, or whatever other new-time alternative to the sticks, stucco, and air-conditioning-paradigm we’re currently stuck in, there’s a lesson in all this: things haven’t always been like this; there are better ways of building; and we can always look backward for what we need to move forward.

Alumni Combating Global Warming, One Campus at a Time Jessica Williams ’08 of Tucson was awarded a 2007 Campus Ecology Fellowship by the National Wildlife Federation to support work on college campuses confronting global warming.

Jessica used the Fellowship to focus on reducing carbon emissions by cutting down on the distance food travels before reaching the consumer. She worked to promote farmers’ markets on college campuses across the country and advocated for local food consumption amongst the college population.

“I am currently in the process of writing a Best Practices Protocol for starting a campus farmers’ market with Gale Welter, the coordinator of the farmers’ market through the University of Arizona in Tucson’s Campus Health Department,” Jessica said of her project. “We plan on distributing this protocol to campuses around the country who are interested.”

Tim Hull is a freelance writer in Tucson, Ariz. Reprinted and abridged courtesy of Tucson Green Magazine (www.tucsongreenzine.com) and with permission of the author.

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SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Alumni

Erin Conlen ’07

Melissa Macdougall ’08

Sustainable Community Development

Sustainable Community Development

As a Community General Manager for a development company in Pennsylvania, Erin Conlen works with developers and builders to design sustainable, or “green,” structures.

“Protection of nature and habitat were always dear to my heart, which some would see as a conflict with my job [in construction]. Most people think you are on one side or the other; environmentalist or builder. I say, why not be in the middle?

“Through my studies I continually research ideas that will enhance what I bring to the table in construction, trying to offer acceptable solutions to both sides.

The impact I make may be a small one, but in the end, it benefits everyone around me.

“I’m often approached with a puzzling question; what is a woman doing in construction? I have found this is actually where I can make the largest contribution to the progress of sustainability.”

When Melissa Macdougall entered the College’s Sustainable Community Development program she was certain she’d spend the rest of her life living in the city.

She set out to explore “the connections between natural history and sustainability in an urban setting.” But when life took an unexpected turn, she found herself living with her new husband on his family’s 700-acre ranch, learning about sustainability as a rural food producer.

“For us, sustainability means providing for ourselves as much as possible, while respecting and enhancing the integrity of the land and embracing our ultimate interdependence with our neighbors, human and otherwise. As we try to reach a high degree of self-sufficiency, we also seek to raise awareness in the nearby community about the importance of local farms and ranches. Eventually we may pursue ranch-to-city marketing and an agricultural tourism venture.

“We have our work cut out for us, but we’re lucky to live here and to love what we do.”

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SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Alumni

Susan Frank ’09 Management, Competence in Community Organizing for Sustainability

The title of her Senior Project, From Passionate Ideas to Purposeful Action: Creating Positive Change in Community by Accessing Emotion, sums up Susan Frank’s personal mission.

mentor search she connected with the Interdependent Project, an organization focused on networking intentional communities, nonprofits, businesses, education institutions, and people focused on sustainability.

The Project recently asked her to join their core team as the Executive Administrator of the Interdependent Project Community Sphere, a social networking platform for intentional communities.

“My coursework has a direct connection to the help I am giving them, and the work I am doing with them is connecting me with projects and communities that are influencing my coursework,” she said.

Susan has also become active “in her own backyard,” seeking out opportunities for sustainability in her own community.

“I became interested in my local community’s water issues through some research I did around rainwater harvesting in a course last term. My current coursework in group dynamics and conflict resolution has inspired me to create a proposal for how to bring the community into discussions to work through some of the issues in a productive and healthy manner.

“I haven’t felt challenged in a long time the way I am

But the most meaningful part of her educational journey at Prescott College has been learning about herself, “in the process of creating and carrying out learning objectives,” she says.

“I am finding where my limits are in some areas, while discovering where my talents and abilities are in others... my focus has shifted to be far more in line with my real passions, and it is affecting many aspects of my life far beyond the educational.”

Prescott College has helped Susan make valuable connections in her desired field of employment. In her

now, and that is a good thing! In this program you can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. It depends on how disciplined you are and what expectations you have of yourself.

“My goals in returning to school were more than educational, and I feel I am very connected to and involved in what I am doing with my time on more than an intellectual level. When I have completed my degree I will have created much more than a learning experience.

I will have a network of contacts and potential for continued learning that is invaluable to me.”

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Environmental Studies

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Environmental Studies The ultimate aim of Prescott College’s Environmental Studies program is to develop compassionate, informed, and responsible citizens who are prepared to offer constructive solutions to environmental problems and to help heal damaged relationships between people and nature. Students are strongly encouraged to spend time in the natural world as their primary classroom, and to focus their learning in three primary areas: Ecological Literacy and Natural History; Stewardship; and Interpretation of the Natural Environment and Outreach.

Ecological Literacy and Natural History Initial courses can include natural history of the student’s region, natural history writing and documentation, and indigenous peoples. With this foundation, students may deepen their study with courses in geology or hydrogeology, ecology, field ecology, botany, zoology, and the wider applications of ecological principles, including conservation biology or restoration ecology.

Stewardship Humans are an inextricable part of nature, and the study of the natural environment includes psychological, social, and political landscapes. Students are invited to ground themselves in courses that explore the human and natural relationship from societal as well as individual, small group, and community levels. Stewardship explores the social contract regarding land use, water, and related natural resource law. It also explores various stakeholder perspectives, including scientific, policy-making, and diverse citizen viewpoints.

majors can also be supported. Contact Admissions to find out if your ideal college major is supported at Prescott College.

Agroecology Conservation Biology Environmental Biology Environmental Education Environmental Science Environmental Studies Marine Conservation Biology Marine Ecology Natural History and Ecology Wilderness Based Education Wildlife Biology Wildlife Management

Interpretation of the Natural Environment and Outreach

Agroecology – This cross-disciplinary field emerging over the last 20 years bridges the studies of agriculture and ecology. While Agroecology is based in the natural sciences, the field lends itself to cross-disciplinary studies, for example, ecological economics and environmental politics.

Students are encouraged to design classes that allow them to effectively and memorably communicate their explorations to diverse populations. These can include examination of the agenda-setting nature of the mass media, natural history writing, and the use of diverse communication media.

The following examples of student competences/majors completed within the past five years (sample curricula for listed majors can be found beginning on page 58 of this catalog). Other student-directed

Conservation Biology – Practitioners in this interdisciplinary field, which has developed rapidly to respond to a global crisis confronting biological diversity, attempt to guide society toward the preservation of organisms, landscapes, ecological processes, and natural systems, and toward sustainable management of environmental and evolutionary resources. Firmly grounded in the natural sciences, this emphasis area also draws upon ethics, history, economics, political science, and other human stud13

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

ies. Students in this field will become competent to conduct relevant research, make balanced value judgments, and take effective action on behalf of the environment.

Environmental Biology – The field of environmental biology deals with living organisms, their physical surroundings, and how humans affect nature. Students study living organisms of all sizes, from cells to large mammals, examining structure, function, growth, evolution and distribution. Students develop foundations in biology, ecology, conservation, natural history, statistics, evolution, climate, and environmental ethics in order to understand life, diversity, and relationships between organic entities.

Environmental Education – Environmental education covers a broad spectrum of disciplines, requiring students to develop well-defined programs to meet their particular interests. Environmental educators must remember that before people are confronted with the grim realities of environmental problems, they must be given opportunities to experience the joy and beauty of 14

Mentor The Unfolding Story of Nature Robert Hunt ’94, M.A. ’00, Ph.D. ’13 It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Prescott College triple alumnus Robert Hunt is a lifelong student – in more ways than one.

“I love watching students grow into each topic, their expectations usually exceeded. I consider every one to be my teacher as well,” he said.

A self-described “braggart for nature,” Robert loves the moment when, “exposed to the workings of natural systems and their species, a student’s eyes and heart are forever opened to the countless, unfolding stories around them.”

Robert’s involved with every level of education at Prescott College. Rob enjoys the challenge of making the translation to the online environment.

“My students still get into the field often, especially if I can design field exercises well enough to translate into the student’s own bioregion. As time goes by more and more electronic delivery systems will be developed for distance learning,” he said.

The trick is to ‘play’ with the system. Use it to your full advantage, and when you do not comprehend an aspect of it, ask me.

I’ll somehow figure it out with you.”

Robert also works as a field biologist conducting surveys and habitat assessments for threatened and endangered species throughout the Southwest, as field botanist and ornithologist for the US Forest Service, the US Geological Survey, and the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory. He has published his research in several different publications.

the natural world. Responsible stewardship occurs when people develop an appreciation for the complex and diverse life that inhabits the Earth.

Environmental Science – This broad field of inquiry encompasses the range of scientific disciplines necessary to understand and manage the natural environment and the many interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components within it. Environmental Science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.

Mentor Suzanne Dhruv, M.A. ’05 Suzanne Dhruv, Co-Director of Ironwood Tree Experience, understands the process of getting kids involved in nature from both sides of the desk. In 2005, Suzanne received a Master of Arts in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Environmental Education from Prescott College, building upon a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and professional experience in environmental education programs for youth ages 12 to 18.

Since then she’s co-founded, with her husband Eric Dhruv, The Ironwood Tree Experience, a project of Prescott College’s Center for Children and Nature (CCN). The Ironwood Tree Experience operates from the Prescott College Tucson Center and strives to reconnect teens with their community through experiences in nature, including the Greenlots! program which helps urban teens transform abandoned lots into community gardens and green spaces.

The Dhruvs collaborate with college students, professionals, community volunteers, and organizations to design and implement valuable experiences that allow teens to voice opinions, share solutions, and take actions towards environmental and social change. They’re having an impact. This past summer, teens working with CCN’s projects received national recognition for their leadership in environmental stewardship when they were selected to participate in the Natural Leaders Summit hosted by the Children and Nature Network.

Environmental Studies – Environmental studies is dedicated to education in natural systems and processes of the Earth and the role of humans who both depend on and influence these systems and processes. Environmental Studies is a broad, integrative field that encompasses many disciplines.

Marine Conservation Biology – A relatively new science, marine conservation biology draws on a diversity of long-standing scientific disciplines, including oceanography, marine ecology, biogeography, veterinary medicine, zoology, botany, genetics, toxicology, fisheries biology, anthropology, economics, political science, ethics, and law. This new, multidisciplinary synthesis aims to protect, restore and sustain marine biodiversity.

Marine Ecology – This branch of ecology deals with the interdependence of all organisms living in the ocean, in shallow coastal waters, and on the seashore. The marine environment for all organisms consists of non-living, abiotic factors and living, biotic factors.

Natural History and Ecology – Natural History and Ecology explores how nature works and how organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments interrelate.

Grounded in evolutionary principles, the field involves studying individuals and populations and how they are assembled into communities and ecosystems. Some students within this emphasis area will become naturalists, observing and interpreting particular organisms and landscapes. Others may become field ecologists who will build upon natural history by using the scientific method for examining questions generated by ecological theory. Ecological understanding informs and guides applied fields such as agroecology and conservation biology.

Wilderness-Based Education – In this field, students venture into a variety of landscapes and gain knowledge to understand and interpret wilderness. They study natural history, ecology, geology, leadership methods, and counseling approaches, as well as a variety of perspectives of the human relationship with nature.

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SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Alumni

Alumni

Carol Eichert ’09

Extreme Weather Hits Home by Mary Lin

Ecopsychology “I was deployed as a nurse through the Civilian Medical Service Corps to southeast Louisiana after Katrina.

I was so proud as I watched people from all walks of life, civilian, military and government, work together to help those affected by the disaster. I knew that I wanted to learn more about the issues surrounding what I saw, [including] environmental justice, human rights and the effects of global warming. I felt PC would allow me to study these topics in depth.

“The intensity of the courses my mentors and I devel-

op is amazing and wonderfully fulfilling. I would like to say that one course in particular stands out, but instead they continue to build on each other. I could not have received this intense an education in a formal college setting.

“My nursing practice allows me to travel to different areas of the country to work and also explore the ecology and environmental impact of different industries on the health of a community. Since starting with PC I find I am enthusiastic about my profession. I look forward to going to work again. Whether I’m on the border providing humanitarian aid, or speaking to a group on human rights issues, I can convey information and my thoughts clearly through an open and meaningful dialogue.”

John Banta’s ’95 approach to disaster preparedness in Extreme Weather Hits Home: Protecting your Buildings from Climate Change (New Society Publishers 2007) takes the long view on disaster, covering all the bases in constructing and protecting buildings from the worst that nature can bring. The book deals with impacts ranging from immediacy of a hurricane or tornado to the insidious effects of predicted increased humidity over the next few decades in areas like the Northeast.

I first met John years ago while I was living in a historic stone house on a ridgeline overlooking Prescott, a region that weathered a couple lightning strikes every monsoon season. John set to work making the house safe for habitation, and at very little cost – undaunted by the lack of appropriate grounding mechanisms, and the fact that I slept in a tower bedroom with metal-frame windows in frightening proximity to the nearby utility pole. The transformer took several direct hits in the six years I lived there, and ball lighting charged through the neighbors’ living room, but my house was unaffected.

While it’s sobering to compare the construction of my current two-year-old home in Chino Valley with the ideal features John outlines – be prepared to engage in some serious dwelling envy at the description of the timber frame and straw-clay house toward the end of the book – there’s plenty of helpful info for the average homeowner.

Thoughtfully detailed illustrations throughout take the reader from foundation through roofing, with a crucial section at the end on insurance and financial impacts that even the most hammer-shy homeowner will find useful.

John has over 20 years experience in building biology, building science, and indoor environmental quality. He previously co-authored Prescriptions for a Healthy House.

Reprinted from Transitions

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SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Alumni

Alumni

Brianna Asbury ’06

Ann-Marie Benz ’09

Sustainable Community Development

Watershed Program Coordinator for Prescott Creeks

“I studied environmental science at another college for a few years, but the curriculum was really heavy on analysis. I kept asking myself, ‘what can I do to make a difference?’”

Brianna found the answer to her question in Prescott College’s low-residency B.A. Program, incorporating internships at the Ecological Engineering Group in Massachusetts and at the World Media Foundation’s radio news show, Living On Earth, heard on NPR stations nationwide.

During her internship with Living on Earth, Asbury learned to write grants and helped develop a podcast program that encourages adult listeners to engage in community discussions. Post-graduation, she’s been offered a job by one of the organizations that she worked with in the course of her program.

“This is a second career for me. After spending a decade crunching numbers for large construction companies, now even a bad day in the field is a good day in comparison.

“The estimate from the Arizona Riparian Council is that 90 percent or more of Arizona’s riparian habitats have been lost or severely degraded. The majority of Arizona’s wildlife depends on healthy riparian areas. Our work right now is to determine the quality of the creeks, to work on projects that will protect and improve the quality, and to preserve the riparian habitats. With a terrific group of volunteers and a partnership with Prescott College, we are setting up a chemical laboratory to monitor nutrients, metals and bacteria.

“Preserving this habitat is a small but essential piece of maintaining a sustainable community. This program has given me the opportunity to connect to my community ... restoring riparian habitats ... and helping with wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.”

“I’m really pleased with the practical skills I now have under my belt,” she said. “Education is so much more meaningful when you can design your own program.”

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ACADEMIC PROCESS

Master of Arts Program The low-residency Master of Arts Program at Prescott College is ideal for students who wish to advance their undergraduate or professional experience, change their career track, or engage in advanced academic work for personal or professional gain while remaining in their home communities, without sacrificing personal or professional responsibilities.

“If you attend Prescott College, be prepared to see the other 99 percent of the world we tend to overlook.”

James Nez ’02, M.A. ’05 American Indian Studies with a focus on the Navajo Tribe

With the assistance of experienced Faculty and Graduate Advisors, Master of Arts students create individualized programs of study that best fulfill their interests and career objectives. The three components of the Master of Arts program – Theory (coursework), Practicum, and Thesis – are completed through independent study with the guidance of Graduate Advisors or Course Instructors. All Master of Arts students also participate in on- or off-campus residencies that take place two times each semester.

The Theory and Practicum components of the PostMasters Certificate programs are also completed independently. Some Post-Masters Certificates require participation in specially designed intensive workshops in addition to participation in the on-campus Colloquia.

The ideal Prescott College graduate student is selfdirected, has had prior success with independent learning, is enthusiastic, and can articulate his or her educational goals.

The Master of Arts program is a writing-intensive experience for students in all programs. As the majority of coursework is done through independent study, students have limited opportunities for oral demonstration of their learning and knowledge. The program, therefore, relies heavily on written work and Qualifying Papers, the Thesis Plan, and the master’s Thesis as the principal demonstration of the quality and quantity of work completed for the program.

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Environmental Studies

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Environmental Studies Environmental Studies is a broad field of research that by definition is interdisciplinary and solution-oriented. Environmental Studies engages students in discovering and understanding Earth’s natural systems, so that they can become effective and responsible stewards of the land.

Since humans both influence and depend on natural systems, Environnmental Studies students put their main focus on the natural sciences, while also learning to understand, examine and shape the political, social, ethical, and environmental patterns of life. Students design real-life Practica experiences and complete Thesis Projects in collaboration with either regional, national, or international organizations.

Students typically have a solid background in the natural sciences, environmental advocacy, environmental education, alternative energies, sustainability studies, conservation biology, or resource management. Applicants who have little or no formal background in those areas may be required to complete foundational coursework.

While each student has the opportunity to design a concentration that fits his or her professional needs, the concentrations featured below have crystallized as being central to the department’s mission and vision.

Concentration in Environmental Education This concentration is for traditional and non-traditional educators who wish to help others develop an understanding of the natural history and ecology of a certain bioregion.

Students learn about place-based and experiential education models used to enhance ecological literacy, and the public’s awareness and appreciation of the natural environment.

Environmental Education students have done their graduate research in various organizations and programs: public, private, and charter schools; residential nature centers; adventure-based programs; government agencies; and various public education endeavors.

Environmental educators focusing on this concentration should have a foundation in ecology and natural history, environmental studies, and/or the field of education.

The Environmental Education concentration includes at least four components that can be given varying degrees of emphasis depending on the student’s learning and vocational goals: • Education (learning theories, curriculum design and implementation, experiential methodology, multicultural issues, and assessment praxis) • Natural sciences (ecology, earth sciences, and natural history) • Human-environment interactions (environmental history and ethics) • Environmental stewardship (ecological conservation and restoration)

Concentration in Conservation Ecology and Planning

Faculty Ed Grumbine Environmental Studies Program Ed Grumbine’s current research focuses on ecological conservation in China and the country’s ecological and geopolitical footprints as it reemerges as a global power. Ed visits China every year and maintains an active publication record on these issues – all while keeping up his longstanding research interest in wildlands conservation in the US. In 2009 Ed published papers on the melting Himalayas, the so-called “Third Pole,” and the cascading effects of climate change on water, biodiversity and livelihoods in the region, and issues in creating a conservation movement with Chinese characteristics. He presents in the Southwest and in China on conservation-related topics, and lobbied for climate legislation on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology in Washington, DC this past October.

Grumbine’s new book, Where the Dragon Meets the Angry River: Nature and Power in the People’s Republic of China, is published by Island and is receiving critical acclaim.

Ed has taught in Prescott College’s On-campus Bachelor of Arts Program since 2003 and has worked with master’s and doctoral students over the years. He reports that he is “very excited” to be working heading up the Master of Arts ES program for the 2009-2010 academic year.

The focus of this concentration is the study and practice of field-based efforts to protect our planet’s remaining biophysical diversity. Practitioner-scholars with an interest in such interdisciplinary programs as applied ecology, environmental conservation, conservation biology, and/or restoration ecology must be grounded in the natural sciences and understand the sociopolitical context of environmental problems.

Students are encouraged to focus on multidimensional conservation, preservation, and restoration issues that integrate ecological science with environmental education, 21

Prescott College and the Teton Science School The Teton Science School (TSS), a residential environmental center located in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson Hole, Wyo., offers a year-long graduate program for a select community of students in placebased teaching, field science, and outdoor leadership.

This innovative program integrates academic coursework with an intensive mentored teaching practicum. The 50-week experiential program encompasses a unique breadth of courses, such as community ecology of the greater Yellowstone geoecosystem, teaching in a winter environment, and advanced instructional strategies. TSS students are also regularly exposed to visiting scholars and writers.

Through a collaborative agreement between the low-residency Master of Arts program and the TSS Graduate Program, TSS graduates are able to transfer up to 15 credits toward a master’s from Prescott College in either Environmental Studies or Education.

Partnership with the Gore Range Natural Science School The multi-faceted Fellowship in Natural Science Education is a fulltime, 15-month professional development program focusing on field and classroom science instruction for youth. In conjunction with their teaching responsibilities, Fellows participate in graduate level environmental education courses. Prescott College will accept up to 15 semester credits in transfer from the Graduate Fellows program from the Gore Range Natural Science School. Students must purse a major in Environmental Studies or Education from Prescott College to qualify.

environmental decision-making processes, and natural resource management.

Examples of possible student-designed areas of study: • Community-based Conservation – improving lives of local people while conserving areas through the creation of national parks or wildlife refuges.

• Riparian and Wetland Ecology and Restoration – renewing a degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystem through active human intervention.

• Conservation and Environmental Planning – investigating, understanding, and monitoring the effects of ecosystem transformation as a result of human activity to propose remediation, management, and conservation measurements, supported with the results of scientific research to mitigate, reconcile, and turn productive activities into sustainable activities.

• Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology – emphasizes the interaction between spatial pattern and ecological process – that is, the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity across a range of scales.

• Wilderness and Protected-area Management – the study of wilderness especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means.

Concentration in Social Ecology See feature article about the innovative partnership between Prescott College and the Institute for Social Ecology on page 36 of this catalog.

Concentration in Sustainability Science and Practice Perhaps the greatest challenge facing us in the 21st century is to learn how we can transform human civilization to reflect patterns of sustainability naturally occurring on Earth. A tremendous community-based response has already begun to unfold in a way that spans the disciplines and integrates physical and natural sciences as well as the humanities.

Sustainability is nothing new at Prescott College, which for over forty years has led the way in experiential education programs focused on issues relating to sustainability.

Prescott College’s Low-Residency Master of Arts program was designed to give students the opportunity to design their own program for studying sustainability from within their own community. This unique style of experiential education helps students combine scholarly research, appreciative and critical inquiry, and collaborative learning.

Students are encouraged to draw from theory-based courses while working on practical applications of their learning in an organization, community, or ecosystem of their choice.

This is important for students of sustainability because local communities are increasingly in need of information, tools, skills, and leadership for creating a sustainable future.

Examples of Student-Designed Concentrations Ecological Economics – a transdisciplinary field of study that addresses the interdependence and co-evolution of human economies and natural ecosystems over time and space.

Sustainable Community Development – an interdisciplinary area of study that moves us towards a quality of life that secures the created human community in cooperation with local ecosystems and native life forms.

Agroecology – the study of the role of agriculture in the world. Agroecology provides an interdisciplinary framework with which to study the activity of agriculture.

Environmental Management and Planning – the planning and management of interaction by modern human societies with, and impact upon, the environment.

Environmental Justice – seeks to redress inequitable distributions of environmental burdens (pollution, industrial facilities, crime, etc.), and equitably distribute access to environmental goods such as nutritious food, clean air and water, parks, recreation, health care, education, transportation, safe jobs, etc.

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Student Institute for Social Ecology Students pursuing degrees in Environmental Studies and Humanities have the opportunity to work with faculty members from the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE) and participate in the Institute’s activities as a part of their program.

Students attend the Colloquia along with their ISE Advisors and also have the opportunity to participate in colloquia, conferences, and courses offered by ISE, incorporating these activities into their studies.

“My decision to pursue a master’s degree in Social Ecology is all I’d hoped for, a unique, challenging, and incredibly rewarding academic experience, and an opportunity to inspire and inform my ongoing activism. I can’t imagine a more stimulating and enriching environment to develop as a scholar-activist than the one provided by the Institute for Social Ecology and Prescott College.”

Karl Hardy M.A. ’08

Study plans can incorporate key works in the philosophy, science, politics, and praxis of social ecology, which have been central to ISE’s own curricula over the past three decades.

Historically, social ecology has pioneered explorations of ecological approaches to food production, alternative technologies, and urban design, and articulated an ecologicallygrounded political and philosophical outlook. The Institute has played an essential, catalytic role in movements challenging global injustices and a variety of unsustainable technologies, offering participatory, community-based alternatives.

The Institute strives to be an agent of social transformation, demonstrating the skills, ideas and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, healthy communities.

A nominal $150 extra charge is in place per semester in order to work with an ISE faculty member.

Examples for student-designed Social Ecology coursework • Fundamentals of Social Ecology • Themes in Environmental Justice • The Ecology of Genocide in Darfur, Sudan • Social Movements: Theory and Practice • Water Privatization and Poverty • Natural Building Methods for Cold Climates • Ecological Resistance Movements • Studies of Internalized Hierarchy and Domination • Bioregional Agriculture and Permaculture Design • Ecological Impacts of War • Feminist Science and Epistemology

Christina L. Caswell, M.A. ’11 Environmental Education Prairie Pathway: Creating a Great Plains Wildlife Corridor Although she is an avid environmentalist, Christina Caswell M.A.’11 never thought she would take on a project as ambitious as the one she’s doing now. For her master’s degree, Christina is laying the groundwork for a wildlife corridor through the Great Plains. It’s a project she believes she would not have done without the encouragement to “follow her dreams” she received at Prescott College.

“The free-thinking, self-designed program ... really teaches you how to think for yourself and develop your own personal goals.”

Humans produce barriers – fences, highways, cities, waterways – that bisect habitats, impede migration, and cause a wealth of problems for wildlife.

Christina’s work builds on volunteering she’s done for the Wildlife Land Trust since 2005. She visits wildlife preserves, documenting violations as well as the condition of fencing, land health, and wildlife.

“I try to make a positive difference everyday by minimizing my impact upon the Earth and enriching others’ lives (wildlife and people) in ways that I can,” she explains.

“This personal philosophy is taking me on a journey to preserve connected areas of the Great Plains for the generations that follow. My Prescott College Thesis directly is connected to my personal convictions.”

Although originally attracted to the self-directed nature of the program, as she learned “how environmentally conscientious Prescott is, I knew that this was the right place for me,” she said.

“My studies flow easily around home, work, and family life. The free-thinking, self-designed program ... teaches you how to think for yourself and develop your own personal goals.”

“As I browsed the College website and saw how environmentally conscientious Prescott is, I knew that this was the right place for me.”

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Ph.D. in Sustainability Education “I selected Prescott College over other Ph.D. programs because of the conceptual and ethical framing with regard to sustainability. The College takes a stand on sustainability and doesn’t try to pretend that this concept is value-neutral. I also selected Prescott because the program would allow me to continue to work at my college and live in my community. I’m too far along in my career to want to give these things up.”

Tina Evans, Associate Professor, General Studies, and Chair, Environmental Studies, Fort Lewis College

Prescott College offers a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education with a concentration in Sustainability Education.

Sustainability Education focuses on local, bioregional and global citizenship and promotes environmental responsibility.

This low-residency, four-year program combines expansive interdisciplinary inquiry with intense individual research and practice. The Prescott College Ph.D. Program follows a cohort-based learning model with ongoing dialogue between students and faculty. Seven cohort symposia and colloquia provide opportunities for collaboration, interdisciplinary learning, presentation, research, and teaching about topics and issues related to the doctoral students’ programs of study.

This highly selective, innovative and forward-thinking program is primarily designed for: educators, and community leaders and activists; educational or administrative and staff involved with government and non-government organizations; and people working in related fields. Prospective doctoral students should have significant experience in their proposed individual focus areas. This life and work experience may include educational administration, teaching, research, consulting, business, design and program development, communications, community development, advocacy, policy development and analysis, or other possibilities. ThePh.D. Program is well poised to meet the learning needs of learners with emergent ideas, designs and program developments.

Individualized Areas of Study Within the central theme of sustainability education, students create individualized proposals for formal coursework and a practicum based on an educational vision. Ph.D. students undertake an action-oriented dissertation, demonstrating scholarship and its application in the sustainability education niche.

“The Ph.D. program in Sustainability Education is best suited for students seeking a different kind of doctoral experience; one that is collegial, action-oriented, and student-directed.”

Rick Medrick, Ed.D., Director and Faculty Ph.D. Program in Sustainability Education

How the Program Works Doctoral students complete the program in four phases over a minimum of four years. There is a maximum time limit of seven years from the date of entry to completion of all degree requirements, including the dissertation/project, and a minimum of ninety-six semester-hour credits beyond the master’s degree.

Phase One: Foundational Courses The first phase of the program is devoted to participating in foundational courses facilitated, in part, via an online learning environment by the Ph.D. faculty. Interdisciplinary and exploratory, this coursework is designed to help students develop a broad understanding of sustainability education and prepare for more specialized studies. During this first phase, students refine and revise their overall program study plan and create personal learning plans for their focus areas.

• Sustainability Theory and Practice for Education • Modes of Scholarly Inquiry: Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Design • Sustainability Education and Transformational Change

Phase Two: Individualized Learning During the second phase, students participate in a planned, individualized program of learning that reflects their personal, academic, and specialized orientations. With support from faculty members, staff, and their cohort, students design independent study theory courses supervised by Doctoral Mentors.

Examples of Student-Designed Courses • Foodways and Foodsheds in the Mojave Desert Bioregion • Media Ecology: Exploring the Content, Frames and Filters • A Socially Just Housing? The Social Movements Trajectory in Los Angeles • Buddhism, Mindful Learning and Nature Conservation: Lessons from Thailand • Community-Based Research for Food Sustainability • Philosophy of Religion, Conflict Resolution, and 25

Peace-building • Indigenous Perspectives and Sustainability Education for Higher Education • Green Building Education I: A critical inquiry and comparative analysis of existing green building programs in North America, Europe, and beyond

Phase Three: Research Methodologies and Methods, Practicum, and Dissertation/Project Proposal The third phase is organized around four major learning projects: intensive study of Research Methodologies and Methods, the Practicum, and the Dissertation/Project Proposal. Each student designs and/or participates in at least one Research Methodologies and Methods course (which may be done in the second phase) relevant to the individual focus area and dissertation/project.

“A frequently asked question is whether one’s job can be considered as an acceptable practicum. It is often ideal to use one’s work-site for a practicum – as long as it is based on the student’s learning in the doctoral program, provides new challenges, and represents a stretch for the student. In other words, business-as-usual is not sufficient.”

Rick Medrick, Ed.D. Director and Faculty Ph.D. Program in Sustainability Education

Each student also creates and/or participates in one or more Practica that have been approved by the Doctoral Committee. The emphasis of this project is on providing service through action research to a community and learning from the experience. Finally, for the Dissertation/ Project Proposal, the student chooses a topic, poses challenging research questions, conducts an applicable literature review, constructs a conceptual/theoretical framework, proposes appropriate research methodologies/methods, and describes the applied or action-oriented aspect of the dissertation/project.

The Dissertation/Project Proposal is presented to the Prescott College community during a colloquium. These third phase projects demonstrate the student’s ability and readiness to begin the dissertation/project, and the student advances to candidacy when these learning projects are complete and the Dissertation/Project Proposal has been approved by the full Doctoral Committee.

Phase Four: Doctoral Dissertation/Project The fourth phase is devoted to the implementation and completion of the Doctoral Dissertation/Project, which consists of two separate but closely interrelated components.

One component is a traditional dissertation that provides documentation of rigorous scholarship and research methodology that supports the project. The other component is the project which is a practical application of the student’s expertise in an 26

individual focus area. Through this process, the student learns how to frame and solve problems in a scholarly fashion, considers multiple perspectives on a subject matter, articulates the context of the study, reveals an academic understanding of the project’s boundaries, and demonstrates the ability to apply research to “real world” problems. The last steps in the process are final evaluation/approval of the dissertation/project by the student’s full Doctoral Committee and a presentation to the Prescott College community at the last colloquium usually held in May or June. The successful dissertation/project demonstrates the student’s ability to be an effective, reflective, and passionate scholar/practitioner.

Examples of Dissertation Topics Designing a Economy of Sustainable Tourism in Croatia Education Law and Cross-cultural Policies Lifeways of the Graduates of the Sustainable Community Designing a Sustainable Foodshed in the Mojave Desert in California Can Waste Equal Food? Participatory Action Research on Consumption and Waste in a Community on Colorado Policy and Practice of Regional Bird Conservation in Klamath Basin Fair Trade in Thailand Transformational Education in Indigenous Cultures

Annual Sustainability Education Symposium Programs across Prescott College collaborated this Spring to present the College’s Second Annual Sustainability Education Symposium. All sessions in this exciting series were open to the public free of charge. The list of speakers included renowned experts Gibrán Rivera, Dr. Devon Peña, Sandy Grande and Andres Edwards. Prescott College Faculty, students, and others from the field of Sustainability hosted poster sessions, dissertation presentations, panel discussions, and seminars throughout the week.

Examples of the dissertation topics presented by the Ph.D. students: • Native Sustainment: The North Fork Mono Tribe's Stories, History, and Teaching of Its Land and Water Tenure, 1918 – 2009 • International Education and Transformational Learning: Being There • An Exploration of Sustainability Education: Conversations from the Lived Experiences of LowIncome Community College Students • Developing and Evaluating a Landbird Conservation Implementation Strategy • Living Thinking for a Culture of Transformation Wrestling with Sustainability: Convergence and • Contradiction in the Struggle for Economic and Environmental Justice

SOCIETY’S LEADERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: STUDENT PROFILE

Environmental Health is a Human Right Adam Zemans When Adam Zemans first moved to Bolivia 16 years ago, he found himself living on a mountain among adobe houses.

His drinking water was trucked in from elsewhere. He contracted three environmental illnesses at the same time from, he later discovered, contaminated water, “I decided to start Environment Las Americas, an environmental health education-advocacy organization,” he said.

The organization, founded in 2004, uses “Integral Sustainability Education (ISE)” to empower the next generation of leaders to think and act holistically about the interdependence between their internal and external environments.

Recently, Environment Las Americas developed and successfully lobbied for five key changes in the new Bolivian Constitution, with a $1,000 budget, a two-month timeline, an outstanding US student volunteer and 3 part-time Bolivian lawyers. “This shows the effect a few committed environmentalists can have in countries like Bolivia and what they can go home feeling they accomplished,” Adam said.

The changes include rights to bring suit for groups who are not directly affected by environmental harm, for potential future harm, without a statute of limitations and with direct appeal possibilities to the court of highest instance. “In the old Bolivian constitutions, the word, “environment” did not exist. We truly were part of a revolution!” he said.

Although Adam originally attended law school to advance his degree in human rights, he now believes environmental health is the most important human right. “My long term goal is simple – I want to see real sustainability in the world,” he said. “Now we need to focus beyond local activism, no matter what kind of environmentalists we are.

We must put carbon dioxide and methane poisoning, aka, global climate change, at the top of their list of priorities.”

Adam’s Prescott College Ph.D. dissertation, “Integral Environmental Health Defense: A New Model for Environmental Activism,” will document work he is doing towards holistic environmental health justice, in what he calls “one of the most marginalized countries in the world.” He hopes to teach environmentalists from “one of the most privi-

leged countries on earth, the US,” to become more committed and analytically stronger environmental leaders.

“Beginning my Ph.D. studies at Prescott College marked an end of an old mask that I had worn for a long time, as a Georgetown lawyer. The processes that were required to arrive at and apply to Prescott helped me to become a soul more grounded in authentic self.”

As a Prescott College scholarship recipient, Adam noted that he’s designed his studies around building the core programs of Environment Las Americas. “Prescott College Ph.D. studies put an intellectual frame on all of this work, as well as keeping my family housed and fed,” he said. “In the future, I hope that Prescott College students will be among those who join us for volunteer, study abroad and research experiences and external funders will assist in the process.”

The Journal of Sustainability Education In May 2010, students and faculty from the Ph.D. in Sustainability Education program launched the The Journal of Sustainability Education (JSE). The JSE serves as a forum for academics and practitioners to share, critique, and promote research, practices, and initiatives that foster the integration of economic, ecological, and social-cultural dimensions of sustainability within formal and non-formal educational contexts.

JSE is a peer-reviewed, open access trans- and interdisciplinary e-journal. Each issue will include research and practice feature articles, professional and news reports of projects and initiatives, opinion pieces, announcements of educational and research opportunities, and book and other media reviews. JSE encourages submissions from educators active in a wide variety of settings: public and private K-12 schools; higher education; early childhood education; environmental, outdoor and experiential education; community organizing and education; residential and nonresidential treatment and therapy programs; as well as informal and non-traditional educators.

Read the journal at www.journalofsustainabilityeducation.org/wordpress.

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Faculty 30 28

Jared Aldern Humanities and Environmental Studies, Core Faculty M.A., History and Environmental Studies, Prescott College, 2002; A.B., Physics (Concentration in Biophysics), Cornell University, 1981.

Jared Aldern is an environmental historian, ecological restorationist, and educator living in Central California. Jared draws on archival research, linguistic anthropology, literary theory, and oral history, in research focusing on how members of the North Fork Mono Tribe construct historical knowledge, restore meadows in the foothills and higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, and sustain their water tenure in the watershed of the upper San Joaquin River. Jared has developed various indigenous language and ecological field research programs in collaboration with Native American nations and natural resource agencies and has helped to develop community-based curriculum for a number of K-12 school districts. He also served as a Start-up Committee member and the public school liaison for the Southern California Tribal Digital Village. Jared has taught in elementary schools, high schools, and at several California colleges and universities.

Joel Barnes Coordinator of Graduate Teaching Assistant Program; Environmental Studies and Adventure Education Ph.D., Union Institute & University, Environmental Conservation and Education, 2005; M.S., California State University at Humboldt, Natural Resource Studies in Wilderness and Water Resource Management, 1991; B.A., Prescott College, Environmental Sciences and Education, 1981.

Joel has designed and taught a number of college-level interdisciplinary field programs across the Colorado Plateau and Mexico, Latin America, Alaska, and New Zealand. Joel’s professional interests emphasize the integration of environmental studies and adventure education with backcountry travel and bioregional explorations. Joel’s doctoral studies had him conducting research in the Grand Canyon National Park to support Wild and Scenic River designation for the Colorado River and its tributaries.

“Through teaching and advising I encourage students to wrap their education around their passions and run with it. I feel lucky to be part of an academic community that encourages this approach to learning.”

Joan Clingan Associate Dean for Graduate Studies; Humanities and Sustainability Education Ph.D., 20th Century US Literature and Culture, Union Institute & University, 2008; M.A., Applied Psychology, University of Santa Monica, 1992.

Joan teaches in Prescott College’s Ph.D. and master’s Programs. Her research design courses cover a breadth of methods and methodologies, with a particular focus on justice, action, and community-based research. Her literature courses examine social and ecological justice and their interconnections, and explore them within the very large conceptual framing of sustainability.

Her personal research uses 20th century US literature to examine issues of supremacism, marginalization, and oppression, as well as consideration of, and action toward change, justice, and sustainability. Joan’s dissertation, “Who is We?: Toward a Theory of Solidarity; Toward a Future of Sustainability,” develops a critical theory based on the philosophies and practices of solidarity and sustainability. Her master’s work concentrated on spiritual psychology and her undergraduate work on literature, creative writing, and social justice.

She has been a member of the graduate faculty since 1999, when she took on the role she held through 2009 of Chair of the Humanities Master of Arts program.

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Ed Grumbine Environmental Studies, Core Faculty Ph.D., Environmental Policy, The Union Institute, 1991; M.S., University of Montana, 1982; B.A., Antioch College, 1976.

Before coming to Prescott, Ed directed the Sierra Institute Wildlands Studies program at the University of California at Santa Cruz, for 21 years. Much of his professional work focuses on bringing conservation biology principles into federal land management practice. Ed’s writings include Ghost Bears: Exploring the Biodiversity Crisis; and Environmental Policy and Biodiversity, among numerous other publications. Ed is also an affiliate faculty member for the College’s Ph.D. Program and teaches environmental studies in the On-campus Bachelor of Arts Program.

Rick Medrick Director and Faculty, Ph.D. Program in Sustainability Education Ed.D., University of Northern Colorado, Humanistic Psychology and Experiential Education, 1985; University of Colorado, graduate studies in Philosophy, Psychology and Organizational Development, 1963-73; B.A., Dartmouth College, Philosophy and Literature, 1963.

Rick has been an adventure guide and experiential educator with a special interest in personal transformation, deep ecology, and ecopsychology. He is the founder/director of Colorado-based Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars (OLTS), an Outward Bound director, professional mountain guide, ski instructor, and river outfitter. The role of the educator is one of mentoring, coaching and facilitating a lifelong learning commitment that engages students at the deepest level of their social, ecological, mental, emotional physical and spiritual being. This process recognizes the potential of each person to change and help create a society that honors our interdependence with the natural world and our responsibility for its wellbeing. Rick believes that the challenge for educators is to develop programs and processes to help students become agents of change for a sustainable future.

Pramod Parajuli Sustainability Education, Chair; Director of Program Development in Sustainability Education Ph.D., International Development Education, Stanford University, 1990; M.A., Anthropology, Stanford University, 1989; B. Law, Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu, Nepal), 1976; M.Ed., Education, Tribhuvan University, 1976; B.Ed., Education, Tribhuvan University, 1974.

Born in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, Pramod brings to Prescott almost 30 years of interdisciplinary scholarship, activist passion, and cutting-edge pedagogical innovations. A whole systems thinker and a permaculture practitioner, he is interested in nothing less than the four Ls: life, livelihoods, learning, and leadership. He envelopes all four Ls within the emergent fields of sustainability, social justice, and bio-cultural diversity.

At Prescott College, he is incubating several new innovations that could build on its forty years of accomplishments and seek new heights and horizons. He sees rich potential in creating bioregional learning community Hubs for Prescott students, alumni and Mentors in each bioregion. In the long run, he is also imagining the Prescott College community being fully engaged in the restoration and regeneration of water and food systems in the Colorado Plateau.

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James Pittman Environmental Studies, Core Faculty M.S. with distinction, Ecological Economics, University of Edinburgh, 2004; M.A., Whole Systems Design, 2001Antioch University Seattle,; B.A., Ecopsychology, Education and Sustainability, Prescott College, 1997.

James Pittman focuses on the Concentration in Sustainability Science, and Practice and is a resource consultant for the College’s Ph.D. program in Sustainability Education. He is also the Managing Director of a leading ecological economics think-tank and consultancy, the non-profit Earth Economics in Seattle, serving public and private sector clients with a focus on ecosystem service modeling, sustainability indicator assessment, and stakeholder engagement facilitation.

James has been a sustainability consultant, serving as a consultant to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development; the USDA Forest Service; the US Department of Energy; the City of Washington, DC; the Washington State Department of Ecology; the EcoSage Corporation, a Fortune 50 software corporation, as well as various other agencies, corporations, nonprofits and public utilities.

Peter Sherman Environmental Studies, Chair Ph.D., Behavioral Ecology and Tropical Community Ecology & Conservation, School of Natural Resources & Environment University of Michigan, 1997; MA, Biology, Physiological Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, State University of New York at Binghamton (now Binghamton University), 1992; BA, Microbiology, Oberlin College, 1986.

Trained as a systems ecologist, Peter studies the world's most complex and sustainably functioning ecosystem: the tropical lowland rainforest and how animals influence plant species diversities. Recently, Peter has begun to apply his system's level understanding of nature's most complex and sustainablyfunctioning ecosytem to the business and industrial sectors.

Terril L. Shorb Liberal Arts Core Faculty, Prescott Ph.D., Sustainability Education, Prescott College, 2009; M.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, Sonoma State University, 1992; Journalism Certificate, Sonoma State University, 1990; B.A., Communication Studies, Sonoma State University, 1990

Terril is the founder and coordinator of Prescott College’s Sustainable Community Development Program. He is a widely published photojournalist and with his wife, Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb, is the publisher of Native West Press, which has now issued four natural history books. Terril recently completed his doctoral studies in Sustainability Education at Prescott College.

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Melanie Wetzel Environmental Studies, Core Faculty Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences, Colorado State University, 1990; M.S., Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, 1980; M.A., Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1978.

Doctor Wetzel conducts international and regional research in climate-scale environmental processes, satellite observations, renewable energy applications, and curriculum development for atmospheric monitoring. Her teaching background includes several university courses at the undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. levels, in topics that provide an integrated approach to atmospheric science, geography, physics, and environmental impacts. Her outreach initiatives have engaged audiences from middle school to college instructors, and her curriculum design projects created experiential learning field courses, computer-based instructional modules, and professional training workshops for faculty and agency scientists. Melanie served as Director of the Atmospheric Sciences graduate degree program at University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and spearheaded the development of a new undergraduate degree in that discipline at UNR.

Robert Ziemba Environmental Studies, Cory Faculty Ph.D., Biology, Arizona State University, 1998; B.A., Biology, specialization in Marine Science, Boston University, 1992.

Robert is a broadly trained biologist with experience in laboratory and filed research on aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates. Prior to joining Prescott College, he taught ecology and evolutionary courses for eight years at Centre College, including: Conservation Biology, Human Ecology, and Tropical Ecology. Robert’s teaching interests include all levels of organization in life, from molecular to ecosystem and global system, with particular focus on interactions between science and society.

At Centre College, Robert designed several environmental courses in the context of international experiential learning, including Tropical Ecology taught on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. He also acted as Director for the Centre College study abroad program in Merida, Mexico. Since 2001, Robert has been a leader in the Kentucky River Watershed Watch environmental advocacy group. He has also served as Chair of the LexingtonFayette Urban County Government Infrastructure Hearing Board, responsible for hearing appeals to civil citations related to storm water pollution.

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Graduate Society’s Leaders for the 21st Century Prescott College founder Dr. Franklin Parker’s vision “for a pioneering, even radical, experiment in higher education” and “to graduate society’s leaders for the 21st century who would be needed to solve the world’s growing environmental and social problems” seems especially prescient today. Human society is coming to terms with the fight against global warming and its potential for large-scale, adverse health, social, economic and ecological effects, and our society looks to new models of education to better prepare students for their role as global citizens.

Prescott College is foremost,

“for the liberal arts, the environment and social responsibility.”

Everything we do and plan and dream is embodied in that phrase. We are dedicated to fostering a passion for learning, empathy for ethical, environmental, and social issues, and an appreciation for diverse perspectives. We believe that through service to others, we can foster compassion, and that by understanding issues of ecological sustainability, we can develop the skills necessary to both appreciate and protect the environment.

Intrigued?

Care about the environment, sustainability and social responsibility?

Passionate about charting your own course?

Would you like to learn more?

You can also request information from Prescott College Admissions by email at admissions@prescott.edu To speak to an admissions counselor, phone (877) 350-2100 or (928) 350-2100 www.prescott.edu/sustainability-studies 33

Prescott College Earns High Marks National media, ratings, and rankings list Prescott College among best and greenest.

US News and World Report: Best in the West US News and World Report has rated the College as a “Best in the West” College and in their list of best colleges in the U.S.

Princeton Review: One of Best in Nation This past spring the Princeton Review added Prescott to its annual book announcing the best 300-plus colleges in the nation.

Prescott College earned high marks in ten categories, ranking in the top ten in Gay Community Accepted, Class Discussions Encouraged, Lots of Race and Class Interaction, and 11th and 12th, respectively, in the categories Professors Get High Marks and Happiest Students. Last year the Review also selected Prescott as one of 165 schools profiled in America’s Best Value Colleges, 2008, and for several years has named the College as one of 123 schools in 15 states as “Best in the West.”

New York Times: Green Education The New York Times noted Prescott College’s environmental focus in three articles, including a piece on Eco-Education and another which highlighted the College’s trademark Wilderness Orientation (“Outside the Box”) in November 2007, and a July 2008 article on sustainability in higher education.

Sierra Magazine In a November/December 2007 article calling the environment “the hottest thing since coed dorms,” Sierra included Prescott College, as an Eco League member, in an article on the top ten greenest campuses in the US, noting an “emphasis on environmental learning and hands-on experience.” In its September/October 2008 issue Sierra lauded Prescott College and the other Eco League schools for “active pursuit of environmental studies” and “integrating experiential learning into the curriculum.”

National Wildlife Federation The NWF’s 2008 Campus Ecology Report honored Prescott for having recruiting programs and offering interdisciplinary degrees in environmental or sustainability studies.

Arizona Department of Education The Arizona Department of Education reported that the Prescott College Teacher Ed Certification Programs at all levels of study clearly meet, and in many categories exceed, state certification requirements.

Sunset Magazine: Youthful Pulse An article in Sunset on dream towns credits Prescott College with providing the “youthful pulse” of the city – quite a credit, considering Prescott is included on dozens of lists and rankings as among the best places to live in the US.

Prescott College Admissions Office

Prescott College Tucson Center

220 Grove Avenue • Prescott, AZ 86301 (877) 350-2100 • (928) 350-2100 Fax (928) 776-5242 admissions@prescott.edu www.prescott.edu

2233 E. Speedway Blvd.

Tucson, AZ 85719 (520) 319-9868 (888) 797-4680