HUXLEY COLLEGE FACULTY and STAFF

Administration • Environmental Sciences • Environmental Studies

With a faculty devoted to teaching environmental studies courses, conducting research, and mentoring students, Huxley students receive quality instruction in their areas of study whether it be Environmental Science or the Environmental Social Sciences.

Huxley College Dean

Bradley F. Smith, Professor and Dean of the College. B.A. (political science and international relations) and M.A. (political science and public administration), Western Michigan University; Ph.D. (School of Natural Resources and Environment), University of Michigan.

Dr. Smith was named Dean of Huxley College beginning Fall Quarter 1994. From 1991 to 1994 he was the first director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education in Washington, D.C. From 1975 to 1991, he was a professor of political science and biology at Delta College in Michigan and concurrently was executive director of Michigan's Tobico Marsh National Refuge. His research projects have included waterfowl, shorebird and wetland research for Environment Canada and the Canadian Fish and Wildlife Service and watershed management in the Great Lakes region. Of particular interest to him is the creation of multi-disciplinary environmental program partnerships.

Department of Environmental Sciences Faculty

Brian L. Bingham, Professor. B.S. and M.S. (zoology), Brigham Young University; Ph.D. (biology), Florida State University.

Courses include invertebrate biology, marine ecology, deep-sea biology and a graduate course in experimental design. Research emphasizes marine ecology with particular interests in the dynamics of benthic communities and the importance of reproductive and larval processes.

Leo R. Bodensteiner, Associate Professor. Chair, Environmental Sciences Department, B.A. (biology), Moorhead (MN) State University; M.A. and Ph.D. (zoology), Southern Illinois University.

Courses in environmental pollution, fundamentals of ecology, limnology, stream ecology and environmental biology of fishes. Research interests include lotic ecology and aquatic habitat restoration, environmental tolerance of aquatic organisms, freshwater fisheries management, and aquaculture.

Andy Bunn, Assistant Professor. BS (zoology) The Evergreen
State College; MEM (resource ecology) Duke University; PhD, Montana State
University-Bozeman (environmental science).

Devon A. Cancilla, Associate Professor. B.S. (general science) and M.S. (chemistry), University of Iowa; Ph.D. (environmental health sciences), University of California, Los Angeles.

Courses in environmental toxicology, environmental chemistry, and environmental disturbances. Research interests include development of analytical methods, environmental assessments using environmental techniques, and computer-based evaluation of environmental data.

James Helfield, Assistant Professor. BA (English), Duke University;
MSc (physical geography), University of Toronto; PhD (forest ecology),
University of Washington

Peter S. Homann, Professor. B.A. (natural sciences) and B.S. (chemistry), Case Western Reserve University; M.S. (forest ecology), Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; Ph.D. (forest soils, nutrient cycling), University of Washington.

Courses include terrestrial biogeochemistry, environmental systems, water quality, biostatistics, and soil processes. Research is focused on 1) quantifying soil organic matter at local and regional scales, evaluation of controlling factors, and assessment of uncertainty, 2) nutrient and carbon cycling in forest ecosystems, and 3) modeling plant-soil interactions at seedling to forest-stand scales.

Wayne G. Landis, Professor, Director, Institute of Environmental Toxicology. B.A. (biology), Wake Forest University; M.A. (biology), Indiana University; Ph.D. (zoology), Indiana University.

Courses in environmental toxicology and risk assessment. His current research is in developing new methods in toxicology, evaluating multispecies toxicity tests, and describing how ecosystems respond to stressors.

Robin A. Matthews, Professor and Director, Institute for Watershed Studies. B.S. (biology), University of California at Riverside; M.S. (environmental studies), Indiana University; Ph.D. (botany/aquatic ecology), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Courses in stream ecology, environmental pollution, aquatic and environmental toxicology, limnology, and statistical ecology. Research interests in freshwater ecology and aquatic toxicology.

John F. McLaughlin, Associate Professor. B.A. (biological sciences),(integrated science program), (biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology), Northwestern University; M.S. (biological sciences) and Ph.D. (biological sciences, population biology), Stanford University.

Courses in fundamentals of ecology, population biology, conservation of biological diversity, field methods in vertebrate ecology, and biostatistical analysis. Research interests include habitat relationships of birds and carnivores, effects of forest management on wildlife, population dynamics, and predator-prey interactions.

John Rybczyk, Associate Professor. B.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Biology, Michigan State University M.S. Ecosystem Biology, Eastern Michigan University
Ph.D. Louisiana State University (1997). Oceanography

Courses taught at Western: Wetland Ecology, Wastewater Treatment Wetlands, Environmental Systems, Environmental Disturbances. Research interests include: Global warming, sea level rise and coastal wetland sustainability; Ecological modeling; Wetland wastewater treatment systems, Riparian wetland restoration.

David H. Shull. Associate Professor. BS (oceanography), University of Washington; MS (oceanography) University of Connecticut; PhD (environmental science) University of Massachusetts Boston.

Courses include oceanography, environmental science, and biodiversity and evolution. Research interests in benthic ecology with emphasis on the effects of benthic communities on the transport and distributions of dissolved and particulate materials in marine sediments.

Ruth M. Solfield, Associate Professor. BA (Biology), West Virginia U; MS (Environmental Science) McNeese State U; MS (Environmental Science and Engineering) and PhD (Environmental Science and Engineering), Colorado School of Mines. Courses in environmental toxicology and environmental chemistry. Research interests include how genetic make-up of organisms affects tolerance during chemical exposures, and effects of water chemistry on bioavailability of metals to exposed organisms.

David O. Wallin, Professor. B.S. (biology), Juniata College; M.A. (biology), The College of William and Mary; Ph.D. (environmental science), University of Virginia.

Courses in fundamentals of ecology, terrestrial ecology, landscape ecology, and use of remote sensing in ecology. Research interests focus on the regional-scale study of land-use effects on the structure and function of forest ecosystems. His work is heavily dependent on the use of simulation models and satellite remote sensing. Recent studies have used satellite data to evaluate the consequences of forest change on vertebrate diversity and the regional carbon budget.

Department of Environmental Studies Faculty

Troy D. Abel (2006) Assistant Professor. BS, Indiana University (public health); MPA (public policy analysis) and Ph.D. (public policy and science and technology policy), George Mason University.

Courses in U.S. environmental policy, U.S. and Washington State environmental regulation, Globalization and Conservation, and Environmental Impact Assessment.  His research interests include environmental justice, environmental governance, globalization and the environment, and civic environmentalism. 

Andrew J. Bach, Associate Professor. B.S., M.A. (geography), University of California, Davis; Ph.D. (geography), Arizona State University.

Courses in physical geography, statistics, cartography, soils and water resources. Research interests include aeolian and glacial geomorphology, the history and resource management of the Olympic Peninsula, soil genesis and weathering and water resources of the Western United States.

Gigi Berardi, Professor, B.A. (biology), University of California at San Diego; M.S. (natural resources conservation) and Ph.D. (natural resources, policy and planning), Cornell University.

Courses in human geography, research and writing, and a graduate course on the history and philosophy of geography. Research interests include environment and society, the study of natural resource-dependent communities and persistent rural poverty in the U.S., native Alaskan populations at risk.

Patrick H. Buckley, Associate Professor. B.S. (civil engineering and geology), University of Notre Dame; M.A. (economic geography and South Asian studies), University of Washington; Ph.D. (economic geography), Boston University.

Courses include human geography, United States, Japan, analysis of areal data, natural resources management, geographic information systems, planning process, transportation planning, third world, world affairs. Research interests are economic geography and regional development (differential regional impacts of policy and planning, impacts of technological and industrial change, ethnic integration of the U.S. workforce) and international development (Japan and Pacific rim development, special emphasis on India and Nepal).

William (Bill) Dietrich, Assistant Professor, B.A. (journalism) Western Washington University, Nieman Fellow (journalism) Harvard University. Also employed by the Seattle Times and as an author of commercial fiction and non-fiction. Courses in environmental journalism and adviser to The Planet student magazine.

Stefan Freelan, GIS Specialist. BA (Liberal Arts, Environmental Ethics), Fairhaven College, WWU; M.S. (Geography), Huxley College, WWU.

Courses taught: Introduction to GIS and Computer Cartography. Provide support for GIS, GPS and the Spatial Analysis Lab.

Michael Medler, Assistant Professor. B.S. (philosophy), MS (environmental studies), University of Oregon; PhD (geography), University of Arizona.

Courses in GIS, natural resources, biogeography and wildland fire. Research interests center on developing techniques that simplify the mapping and understanding of complex biophysical processes such as forest fire, fire hazard, or habitat.

Jean O. Melious, Associate Professor. B.A. (government and environmental studies), St. Lawrence University; M.Ph. (urban design and regional planning), University of Edinburgh; J.D., Harvard Law School.

Courses in environmental and land use law, environmental dispute resolution, international environmental policy, environmental law and Canadian environmental policy. Significant experience in handling matters involving environmental impact assessment, regulation of air and water pollution, hazardous waste regulation, endangered species issues, planning and zoning law, growth management, and transportation issues.

John C. Miles, Professor. B.A. (anthropology), Dartmouth College; M.S. (recreation and park management), University of Oregon; Ph.D. (education), The Union Institute.

Courses in conservation history, environmental ethics, nature writing, and experiential and environmental education. Dr. Miles' current research interests are in wilderness education and wilderness management, national park and forest policy, and the history and natural resources of the North Cascade region.

Scott B. Miles, Assistant Professor, B.S. (civil engineering), Washington State University; M.S. (civil engineering), University of Massachusetts; Post-graduate Diploma (geographic information systems), University of Edinburgh; Ph.D. (geography), University of Washington.

Courses in disaster risk reduction, hazards mitigation, GIS, environmental modeling, sustainable development, environmental conflict resolution, research and writing. Research interests in social vulnerability, community resilience, sustainable livelihoods, hazards modeling, GIS modeling for decision support, participatory methods.

Debnath Mookherjee, Professor. B.Sc. and M.Sc. (geography), University of Calcutta; Ph.D. (geography), University of Florida.

Courses in systematic and regional fields of geography including urban and economic geography, regional development, spatial analysis of environmental problems, the developing world and Asian geography. Professional activities include research publications and presentations at national and international professional associations and organizations. Current research interests include comparative urbanization, regional development and growth management.

Olin E. (Gene) Myers, Jr., Associate Professor. B.S. (environmental studies), Western Washington University; M.A. and Ph.D. (psychology and human development), University of Chicago.

Courses in social science and humanistic perspectives on the environment, including environmental history and ethics, environmental education, community-based change, and educational research. Research interests include conservation psychology, development of environmental responsibility, human-animal interaction, and history, philosophy and methods of social science.

Lynn A. Robbins, Professor. B.A. (anthropology), University of Utah; M.A., Ph.D. (anthropology), University of Oregon.

Courses in human ecology, social impact assessment, environmental impact assessment, and U.S. and international environmental policy. His research interests are social impacts of energy resources and recreational development of Native American and Eskimo tribes and bands, and California fishers, most recently on subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska's Bristol Bay, the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on Kenai, Alaska, and cultural resource management on the White Salmon and Klickitat Rivers in Washington.

David Rossiter, Assistant Professor. B.A. (geography), University of British Columbia; M.A., Ph.D. (geography), York University.

Courses in human geography, Canadian geography, natural resource management in Canada, graduate seminar in the history and philosophy of geography and environmental history and ethics. Research interests include colonial resource geographies in British Columbia, the cultural politics of Aboriginal land claims, and the development of environmental discourses.

Jennifer Seltz, Assistant Professor. A.B. (history/literature and society), Brown University; M.A., Ph.D. (history), University of Washington.

Paul Stangl, Assistant Professor. BS (liberal arts), Kansas State U; MCRP (city and regional planning), Rutgers U; PhD (geography), U Texas, Austin.  Courses in the history and politics of planning, processes and methods in planning, planning for sustainable communities, planning studio and campus planning studio.  Research interests include pedestrian planning, new urbanism, urban landscapes, memory and meaning, and Europe and Berlin. 

Thomas A. Terich, Professor Chair, Environmental Studies Department. B.A. (history) and M.A. (geography), California State University, Los Angeles; Ph.D. (physical geography - coastal processes), Oregon State University.

Courses in physical geography, geomorphology, land resources management and land planning. Research interests include coastal processes and coastal zone management; natural hazards.

Wendy Walker, Visiting Assistant Professor. B.A. (geology), Western Washington University; M.A. (religion), Florida State University.

Courses in environmental education, interpretation, curriculum, and outdoor education. Wendy divides her time between Huxley College and consulting work in interpretive writing, exhibit development and planning.

Grace Wang, Assistant Professor. B.S. (political economy of natural resources), University of California, Berkeley, M.S. and Ph.D. (forestry), University of Minnesota.

Courses in environmental studies, natural resource and environmental policy, and public land policy. Research interests include forest policy, human dimensions of natural resources, and resource management.

Nicholas C. Zaferatos, Associate Professor. B.S. (geography), State University of New York at Buffalo; M.S. (environmental planning), Western Washington University; Ph.D. (urban planning), University of Washington.

Courses include urban and environmental planning, sustainable community development, planning theory and methods, environmental policy, Native American natural resources policy. Research interests include growth management, community development, intergovernmental relations, and Native American community and economic development and federal Indian environmental policy.