2005 College-wide Symposium on Teaching, Research and Outreach
A Continuing Dialogue on the Synergy Between Teaching, Research and Outreach
Friday, October 7, 2005, Marshall Hall, Alumni Lounge
11:45 am
Sign-in and Lunch
Welcome and Overview:
Prof. Scott Shannon, Landscape Architecture, and Executive Chair, Faculty Governance
Dr. Chuck Spuches, Associate Dean, ESF Outreach
Welcoming Remarks: Dr. Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., President Dr. Chuck Spuches, Associate Dean, ESF Outreach
Keynote: Applications in Engineering and the Environment, Dr. Susan Powers
Dr. Powers is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Associate Dean of Engineering for Research and Graduate Studies at Clarkson
University (Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan). Dr. Powers' work as PI of both NSF-REU and GK-12 grants leading to the
integration of research and education over a wide range of educational levels contributed towards her receipt of the National Science Foundation's
Directors Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholar. This is the NSF's most prestigious award in this area.
1 pm - 2:20 pm
Facilitators: Dr. Art Stipanovic, Chair, Faculty Governance Committee on Outreach and Public Service, Dr. Rene Germain, Associate Professor, Forest &
Natural Resources Management
Presentation/discussion leaders engaged faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students in dialogue on synergistic teaching, research, and outreach
activities. Outreach-focused projects and initiatives from throughout campus were represented.
Panel Presentations
A local and international perspective on the synergy of teaching, research and outreach (S. Shannon & C. Doble, Landscape Architecture)
Integrating conservation biology and environmental engineering in an urban environment (T. Endreny, ERFEG; D. Leopold, EFB)
Serving working adults through post-graduate certificates in current and emerging high technology areas (B. Ramaro, PSE; J. Hassett,ERFEG)
Realizing the K-16 continuum through the ESF Science Corps and related programs
(R. Beal, Outreach)
The Synergy Between Research and Outreach: Lessons from theSyracuse Urban Metal Mapping Project (D. Johnson, Chemistry)
Integrating service learning into the curriculum (B. Whitmore, ES)
Perspective: Dr. Susan Powers
Synthesis Comments: Dr. Bruce Bongarten, Vice President for Academic Affairs / Provost
2:30 pm
4 pm
Informal discussion with Panel Presenters and Discussion Leaders
Symposium participants had an opportunity for informal follow-up conversation with panel presenters.
Reception and Recognition of Achievements in ESF Teaching, Research and Outreach
Facilitators and Presenters: Dr. Spuches, Dr. Stipanovic, Prof. Shannon, Dr. Bruce Bongarten (Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost), and
Faculty Chairs
Environmental and Forest Biology
Mr. D. Andrew Saunders
Dr. James Gibbs
Chemistry
Dr. Greg Boyer
Dr. David Johnson
Forest and Natural Resources Management
Dr. Rene Germain
Dr. Diane M. Kuehn
Paper Science and Engineering
Dr. Tom Amidon
Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering
Dr. Ted Endreny
Environmental Studies
Dr. Sue Senecah
Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering
Prof. Ken Tiss
Landscape Architecture
Prof. Cheryl Doble
Prof. Emanuel Carter
Music by Blue Café.
This Symposium is sponsored jointly by ESF College Faculty Governance (Committee on Outreach and Public Service; Subcommittee on Instructional Quality),
Academic Affairs, the office of the President, and the Graduate Student Association.
For more information, contact ESF Outreach, 315-470-6817.
Past Symposia
ESF Outreach Home
Panel Presentations / Discussions
A Local and International Perspective on the Outreach, Research and Teaching is an integral part of the Department of Landscape Architecture’s long
tradition of community outreach through undergraduate and graduate studio projects. These efforts have become more organized and systemic within the last 10
years through the creation and development of the Center for Community Design Research.
In addition to being an important component of our core teaching philosophy, outreach activities enhance our research. Outreach activities through our courses
uncover research projects, which are taken on by faculty, graduate student thesis work and undergraduate capstone projects. This is particularly evident in the
international sector, resulting in collaborative projects with long standing interdisciplinary partnerships in:
Costa Rica with SUNY Buffalo and the Monteverde Institute
Brazil with CAPES/FIPSE
Chili/Spain with CES Vitoria-Gasteiz & University of Chile
In each case, we are able to build strong relationships with communities by first acting as guests not experts, and valuing local knowledge and expertise.
Contacts: Scott Shannon and Cheryl Doble, Landscape Architecture
Integrating Conservation Biology and Environmental Engineering in Urban Environments merges outreach, teaching and research. Outreach programs
build strong partnerships where each member benefits. Researchers are given access to pursue their work and community members are able to voice their concerns
and guide the research. For example the Onondaga Lake CleanUp Corps is composed of community groups. ESF Faculty members and graduate students educate
these groups about the science of Onondaga Creek and Lake. Together, they are involved in a dialogue to create a research agenda based upon a common vision for
the Lake. These efforts are naturally integrated into the faculty’s classrooms where the city of Syracuse serves as a laboratory. Key to this process is researching a
self-organizing and low maintenance watershed system, enhancing biotic integrity while protecting residents from flooding.
Contacts: Ted Endreny, Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering and Don Leopold, Environmental & Forest Biology
The Certificate Programs in Advanced Engineering Tools, Bioprocess Engineering and Indoor Environmental Quality are outreach programs that serve
un/underemployed workers as well as the business community. Faculty members teach courses that are geared towards working adults that seek training in areas
where there is job growth. The certificate programs allow faculty to teach a different audience than is typically taught at ESF, thus gaining a valuable perspective.
Working with high growth, emerging technologies gives the faculty an opportunity to apply their research to their teaching.
Contacts: Bandaru Ramarao, Paper Science & Engineering and Jim Hassett, Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering
The ESF Science Corps creates an outreach forum that allows ESF faculty and graduate students the opportunity to present the results of their own cutting edge
research to New York State high school students. Thus, supporting the teaching of environmental science in the community. The graduate students in this program
gain teaching and communication skills through their work with partner teachers and high school students. These skills will be used when the students teach
university courses and when they communicate their research to potential funders and/or policy makers.
Contact: Rick Beal, Outreach
Lessons from the Syracuse Urban Metal Mapping Project involve using ESF students, outreach and research to improve the quality of urban life. The goal of
this project is to determine amounts and sources of lead in homes in Syracuse. Childhood lead poisoning is a problem in Syracuse affecting the brain development in
young children. Thus, this research project has clear outreach implications. ESF students were involved in communicating the research to homeowners, gaining
access and obtaining dust samples to analyze. Because ESF students were integral to the study, they gained valuable research and outreach experiences
themselves.
Contact: David Johnson, Chemistry
The Service Learning Component of Writing for Environmental Professionals (CLL 410) bridges students' academic work with their citizenship activities in
the local community. Each student performs a minimum of 20 hours of service at such sites as Westcott Community Center; PEACE, Inc.; Beaver Lake Nature
Center; the Dorothy Day House; Baltimore Woods; Syracuse Stage; and several city elementary and middle schools. Their class projects involve preparing written
and audio-visual materials such as volunteer training manuals, posters, web pages, brochures, and video productions. This program is a model for embedding
outreach directly into teaching. Students are more motivated and gain valuable out of class experience through this type of service learning.
Contact: Benette Whitmore, Environmental Studies
2005 Recognition of Achievements in ESF Teaching, Research and Outreach Recipients
D. Andrew Saunders
Research Associate, Environmental & Forest Biology
D. Andrew Saunders
D. Andrew Saunders teaches approximately 200 students a year how to develop informational materials for diverse community audiences.
Within the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology all the interpretation courses require numerous service learning and outreach
projects directed at science students of all ages. Andy is best known for developing and advocating an interpretive process that engages
students in the methods of science through the guided exploration of conservation themes and nature in the local environment. Over the
years, students have crafted more than 25 self-guiding trail booklets for regional towns, reserves and agencies, conservation education
and science education modules.
James Gibbs
James Gibbs
Associate Professor, Environmental & Forest Biology
James Gibbs' major interests include many aspects of conservation biology, including biological monitoring, population biology,
conservation genetics, and improving conservation biology education— particularly in tropical, developing countries. He does an exemplary
job blending his research in conservation biology into serving the public. One example of how James applies his professional skills to
resolving local, national and international conservation problems in his role helping Honeywell make conservation decisions on a significant
tract of land just to the west of the city of Syracuse.
Ken Tiss
Instructor, Construction Management and Wood Products Enginerering
Ken Tiss is the liaison between ESF and the SU-ESF Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Ken has helped his students apply their classroom
learning to real-world situations. The students interface between the builders and owners of the projects as project managers. They
develop schedules and provide safety training. In this context, the Habitat structure has become an extension of the classroom.
Rene Germain
Associate Professor, Forest & Natural Resource Management
Rene Germain uses his expertise in forest management to help provide New York City residents with clean
water. He oversees the Frost Valley Model Forest, a 290-acre tract in Claryville near the Neversink River. The
land is a key element in a far-reaching effort to use good forest management practices to provide the New York
metropolitan area with clean water. As coordinator of the NYC Watershed Model Forest Program, Rene leads the
effort to set up four model forests in the New York City watershed. The primary purposes of these demonstration sites are outreach,
continuing education and research. Not only do city residents benefit from Rene's efforts, ESF students conduct research within the model
forests.
Diane Kuehn
Assistant Professor, Forest & Natural Resource Management
Diane Kuehn brings real world situations to her students to solve in her recreational tourism classes. Her students work with groups from
both the public and private sector to facilitate regional tourism development. The course gives students an understanding of the basic
concepts of tourism planning with an emphasis on ecotourism and nature-based tourism and allows them to explore the interrelationships
between resource management and tourism planning and development
Susan Senecah
Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
Susan Senecah has incorporated her work with the New York Senate Committee on Water Resources and the
Great Lakes Legislative Coalition plus her conflict resolution work into her coursework content at ESF. She works with communities helping
them campaign for or against issues, mediating disputes among community/agency/industry, leading regional planning efforts, providing
public involvement process training and facilitation. Susan's students have benefited from her dual profession. Currently a graduate
student from ESF's program in environmental communication and participatory processes is serving as a senate fellow in the office of the
chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. Other students have served in various legislative and agency arenas as
interns, fellows or career professionals. Susan is also associate director of the Program for Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC) at
Syracuse University and this benefits both ESF and SU graduate students who study in this area.
Gregory Boyer
Professor, Chemistry
Gregory Boyer is working on harmful algal blooms that occur in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. This includes the toxic red tides
that occur along the North Atlantic coast, brown tides that occur off Long Island, and toxic blue-green algae that can be found in
freshwater ponds and lakes throughout the world. Greg runs an analytical facility for the study of algal toxins at ESF and is actively
developing monitoring methods for the toxins in the great lakes. He is interested in developing both new and novel analytical methods to
detect these toxins, as well as understanding the biochemical function these compounds play in the algae themselves.
David Johnson
Professor, Chemistry
David Johnson has a particular interest in the development of analytical techniques for the determination of the chemical and physical
forms of heavy metals in soils, and atmospheric and aquatic samples. This has translated into research detecting the amount of heavy
metals such as lead in house dust and urban soils. Current activities seek to combine geography with urban geochemistry to study the
spatial and temporal resolution needed for addressing pollution abatement and remediation of metals in urban soils, and for the creation
of geography-based exposure assessments in environmental health studies. Particular emphasis is being given to the transport of outdoor
soils to the indoor environment.
Thomas Amidon
Professor and Chair, Paper Science and Engineering
Thomas Amidon's outreach activities have focused heavily on the pulp and paper industry as a member of the Chief Technology Officers
Agenda 2020 Task Force which developed a strategic plan to enhance industry profitability over the next few decades. A key element of
this strategic vision is the evolution of this industry to a broader product slate including fuel ethanol, biodegradable plastics and other
renewable products in the context of "Advancing the Forest Biorefinery." Tom has been able to integrate this "outreach" effort into new
research programs in PSE including wood hemicullulose extraction and utilization, membrane separation of valuable chemical components,
and improved pulping processes. In addition, the industry-wide vision of a wood-based "biorefinery" has catalyzed the development of a
new undergraduate curriculum in PSE, bioprocess engineering. As a result, outreach "synergy" has been achieved in both research and
teaching in PSE.
Theodore Endreny
Assistant Professor, Environmental Resources and Forest Enginerring
Theodore Endreny has been an active member of a group of researchers and community members working to restore Onondaga Creek.
His teaching philosophy centers around facilitating student learning through interactive lessons, often based in experiential or service
learning, that utilize standard and innovative tools. Ted provides lectures that introduce topics, connect themes, and field questions, as
well as facilitate classroom discussions that reinforce application and untangle misconceptions.
Emanuel Carter
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture
Emanuel Carter has been responsible for a number of prominent public service projects in the Syracuse area that have significantly
contributed to the college's public visibility. Of particular note, Emanuel is the lead researcher for the Syracuse Vacant Land Strategy. The study explores the roles of
agricultural, horticultural, and forestry cooperatives in the designing, restructuring and revaluing vacant parcels and neighborhoods in Syracuse's Inner City. He is
also a principal in the ongoing project to create the Onondaga Botanical Garden and Arboretum. This year he completed additional conceptual design studies,
preparation of NEPA review materials and oversight of the restoration of the historic Fire Barn. Emanuel continues to coordinate the consortium between the
University of Chile and the Center for Environmental Studies in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. He advised a team of students who won a design competition on community
sustainability sponsored by the consortium.
Emanuel Carter
Cheryl Doble
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture
As the first director of the Center for Community Design Research, Cheryl Doble has been playing a significant
leadership role in making the center initiative a reality. Some of her major accomplishments include working
with Assistant Director Maren King to increase service-learning activities and broaden ESF's capacity to serve
New York communities. She also worked with Maren to prepare a strategic plan to guide activities in a manner
that will increase staffing capacity and stability and ensure sustainable practices in the center. Cheryl continues
to conduct on-going research into students' experience in service-learning courses. She is also working with
faculty from other architecture, landscape architecture and planning programs through the Association for Community Design to
coordinate our research methods and share our collective findings. Cheryl is the lead researcher for the City of Binghamton, Northside Vision Planning and
Waterfront Project. This work included completion of a neighborhood vision plan, a conceptual study of the northside's riverfront edge to understand the potential of
this resource to support the vision plan and preparation of design development drawings for a priority site improvement on the riverfront.