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Environmental Studies Department

Overview

McDaniel Environmental Studies prepares students to become leaders, entrepreneurs, and environmental professionals  with the knowledge and skills needed to solve environmental challenges and create a better world.

McDaniel Environmental Center
Erik Yanisko '19 majored in Environmental Studies

Meet an Alum Class of 2019: Erik Yanisko

Erik Yanisko went to the Peruvian Amazon as part of a Jan Term study abroad trip titled, “The Forest Online” with a group of 15 students who ventured deep into the Amazon to create a multimedia research project consisting of interviews with indigenous people who have communities in the region, and researchers who are living there doing various projects.

McDaniel College alumna Ashley Pritchard '16 with dolphin

Environmental Studies alum sparks action to preserve the planet through education

The best part of Ashley Pritchard’s job as education coordinator at Marineland in St. Augustine, Florida — a job that often finds her swimming in crystal clear water with playful dolphins and other marine life — is motivating young people to make a difference, however small, in the health of the planet. 

Faculty Spotlights

How McDaniel expert Elly Engle teaches equity and sustainability through gardening Faculty Q&A

Elly Engle, assistant professor of Environmental Studies, was recently recognized with the Early Career Award from the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences. Engle discussed her down-to-earth approach to hands-on learning in the campus gardens, the Agrifood Program, Food Fellows, and plans for a local seed library.

Margaret Christie, Ph.D. Faculty Q&A

As a micropaleontologist, Margaret Christie looks at small organisms and parts of organisms to determine what the environment was like in the past. As a professor of Environmental Studies, Christie primarily studies wetland and coastal environments, but she has worked on projects reconstructing sea level, earthquake recurrence intervals, and pollution histories. She is currently working to restore wetlands at the McDaniel Environmental Center. She teaches Climatology, Environmental Geology, and Science of Soil, Water, and Air as well as courses on Wetland Ecology and Environmental Problem Solving.

Jason Scullion, Ph.D. Faculty Spotlight

Growing up in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in the state of Washington, I have long been passionate about the environment and forests in particular. As a professor, I teach courses in environmental management, environmental policy, and conservation biology. I also lead a field-based digital storytelling course in the Amazon, The Forest Online. As a scientist, my research agenda is designed to improve forest governance and conservation planning using interdisciplinary research methods.

Connect With Us

Benjamin Steinhurst

Associate Professor and Department Chair