Environmental Studies
- Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
- Department Interdisciplinary
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Major Minor
Environmental Studies is a holistic approach to studying interactions between humans and the natural environment. This interdisciplinary program comprises core courses augmented by courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. A culminating capstone experience draws upon this diversity of coursework to examine causes, consequences and solutions to environmental problems.
Why Study Environmental Studies at W&L?
- The curriculum draws on the strengths of W&L faculty across several departments and the outstanding natural setting of Lexington to offer a truly unique undergraduate experience with an emphasis on place-based learning.
- The faculty are accomplished scholars and teachers from diverse environmental disciplines. Students can take courses in applied ecology, environmental economics, Native American culture and anthropology, geology and eco-writing, among other topics.
- Interdisciplinary courses put professors from different departments in the classroom together. They demonstrate how their respective fields are brought together to better understand the nature of environmental problems and their solutions. Philosophers team with ecologists, economists with anthropologists, and so on.
- We emphasize place-based learning, putting course subjects in context with the local environment; examples include examining how land use around Lexington influences the health of the Chesapeake Bay coastal ecosystem, traveling to South Dakota to study how culture and economics intersect in the history of the Lakota people, or studying ecotourism in Central America.
- Our study abroad program in Brazil offers immersive experiences where students learn about human-environment relationships in a uniquely different cultural, political, economic and ecological setting.
- The capstone experience encourages students to complete independent research or work as part of a collaborative team to study a particular environmental issue from an interdisciplinary perspective and offer insightful, often creative solutions.
Opportunities
Collaborative research with faculty: Students can work with program faculty on applied environmental research during the academic year for credit or as paid research fellows during the summer months. Students often travel to national or international conferences to present their research and co-author publications with faculty in peer-reviewed journals.
U.S.-Brazil Exchange Program: In this six-month or one-year cultural immersion experience, students learn Portuguese, live in Brazil, take courses and perform research related to energy and the environment.
Internship opportunities: Faculty grants and collaborative research have led to student summer internships with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and similar offices. The A. Paul Knight Fellowship program offers internships with the Henry’s Fork Foundation in Idaho and the Nature Conservancy.
After W&L
Environmental Studies alumni have gone on to work in a variety of fields including environmental consulting, alternative energy industries, corporate environmental sustainability, federal and state environmental agencies, legal services, education and academia.
We cultivate connections with our alumni to offer opportunities for students to learn from their experiences and expand their professional networks.
“The Environmental Studies Department taught me to think more holistically about the connections between social justice and science, as well as how the environment shapes every aspect of human life.”
Kerriann Laubach
Class of 2013, ’16L
Scott’s passion for the environment carries over from the classroom to opportunities on campus and beyond.
Washington and Lee Names Four Faculty Members to Endowed Professorships
These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.
Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm to Deliver Lecture on Alternatives to Industrial Agriculture
The sustainable farmer’s talk will be held on March 19.
Environmental humanities classes introduced Hudson to new ideas on how humans interact with the world.
Meet a Colleague: Mauricio Betancourt
Mauricio Betancourt is an assistant professor of environmental studies.
Pablo Abufom to Deliver Lecture on Latin American Politics
The Chilean activist’s talk will be held Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.
Six W&L Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad
The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards of up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients.
W&L’s Greer Featured in bioGraphic Magazine Article about the Coral Gardens Reef
Professor Lisa Greer has been taking students to Belize since 2011 to study the thriving reef corals located there.
W&L Student Co-Authors Paper Published by the Pain Medicine Journal
Lucy Worthy ’24 assisted in the research and helped publish the results alongside two W&L alumni.
W&L Professor Featured by Graywolf Press in 50th Anniversary Anthology
Leah Naomi Green’s essay on Kaveh Akbar’s poem “The Miracle” is anthologized in “Raised by Wolves.”
Robert Humston will assess over 30 years of data collected by the U.S. Forest Service within the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson National Forests.
W&L Outcomes: Caroline Wise ’23
Caroline Wise ’23 is working as a backcountry guide for St. Elias Alpine Guides in Alaska.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Robert Humston
John Kyle Spencer Director for Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology
- P: 540-458-8341
- E: humstonr@wlu.edu
Humston teaches Introduction to Environmental Studies, Aquatic Ecology and Ecological Modeling, among other courses. He has researched fisheries management, fish ecology and dispersal/movement behavior of animals and plants.
Mauricio Betancourt
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Betancourt teaches Intro to Environmental Studies, Environmental Sociology, and the Commodification of Nature. His research has focused on agroecology, nature-society interactions, imperialism, and unequal ecological exchange.
Paul Cabe
Professor of Biology
- P: 540-458-8894
- E: cabep@wlu.edu
Professor Cabe teaches a number of genetics courses, as well as ornithology. His research interests focus on using modern molecular methods to collect data useful in answering questions in the areas of population genetics and evolutionary biology. He is also interested in ornithology, ecology and conservation biology.
Jamie Casey
Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8102
- E: caseyj@wlu.edu
Casey is a 1991 W&L graduate who teaches courses that focus on the relation between the economy and the environment. His research centers on environmental funding and the economics of agriculture.
Greg Cooper
Emeritus Faculty, Professor of Philosophy
- P: 540-458-8181
- E: cooperg@wlu.edu
Cooper’s teaching and research interests are wide ranging but often meet at the intersection of philosophy and ecology. He has researched and published on the philosophy of biology and general environmental philosophy.
Leah Naomi Green
Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and Environmental Studies
Green’s courses include Eco-Writing, “Wilderness, Wildness, & Cultivation," and topics for first-year writing seminars. She has researched creative writing (poetry), environmental literature, Buddhist practice, and food justice.
Lisa Greer
Department Head, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- P: 540-458-8870
- E: greerl@wlu.edu
Professor Greer teaches general geology, global climate change, oceanography, history and evolution of the earth, and sedimentation and stratigraphy. She is a core member of the environmental studies faculty. She has spent years researching the health, abundance and history of the endangered Staghorn coral in the Caribbean.
Joseph Guse
Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8915
- E: gusej@wlu.edu
Joseph Guse teaches Microeconomic Theory, Game Theory, and Statistics and Environmental Economics. He co-teaches Spring Term courses on the Lakota and Tohono O’odham tribes. His research focuses on credit in American Indian communities.
Bill Hamilton
Biology Department Head and Professor of Biology
Hamilton teaches courses in biology and environmental studies, such as Yellowstone Ecology and Experimental Botany. His research pertains to ecosystem dynamics with a focus on animal-plant-soil interactions in Yellowstone National Park.
Rebecca C. Harris
Professor of Politics
- P: 540-458-8199
- E: harrisr@wlu.edu
Harris teaches applied American Politics courses in government, public policy and environmental policy. Her interdisciplinary work focuses on genetic science and partisanship in food politics.
Andrew Hess
Ehrick Kilner Haight Sr. Term Professor of Business Administration and Associate Department Head of Business Administration
- P: 540-458-8346
- E: hessa@wlu.edu
Hess is a 1997 alum who researches and teaches in areas of social innovation, strategy and international business. Before returning to W&L, he worked for Fleet National Bank and Silicon Valley Bank in Boston.
Megan F. Hess
Associate Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8370
- E: hessm@wlu.edu
Hess is a 1997 alumna who teaches courses in auditing, accounting ethics and corporate sustainability. Before becoming a professor, she spent 12 years working in the industry with a focus on investigating financial statement fraud.
Margaret Anne Hinkle
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- P: 540-458-8271
- E: hinklem@wlu.edu
Professor Hinkle teaches general geology, water resources, environmental field methods, hydrology, and earth and environmental geochemistry. She is an affiliate member of the environmental studies faculty. Her research is aimed at understanding how biogeochemical processes at the mineral-water interface affect water composition.
Lawrence E. Hurd
Herwick Professor of Biology
- P: 540-458-8484
- E: hurdl@wlu.edu
Hurd teaches zoology, ecology and biodiversity conservation. His research is on tropical biodiversity and entomology.
James Kahn
Emeritus Faculty, John F. Hendon Professor of Economics and Professor of Environmental Studies
- P: 540-458-8036
- E: kahnj@wlu.edu
Kahn is a 1975 alumnus who teaches courses on the economics of the environment and development. He also teaches a Spring Term study abroad course in the Amazonas and researches environmental policy and resource economics.
Elizabeth Knapp
Director of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity; Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- P: 540-458-8867
- E: knappe@wlu.edu
Professor Knapp teaches general geology and introduction to the geology of Hawaii. She is an affiliate member of the environmental studies faculty. She has researched low-temperature aqueous geochemistry and water quality/contaminant transport.
David Marsh
Professor of Biology
Marsh teaches Intro to Behavioral Ecology, Microbiome, Field Herpetology, Animal Behavior and Statistics for Biology and Medicine. His research includes effects of climate change on endemic mountaintop salamanders, effects of roads and land use on frog and toad populations across the Eastern and central U.S., and population dynamics of terrestrial salamanders.
Kary Smout
Associate Professor of English
- P: 540-458-8979
- E: smoutk@wlu.edu
Smout teaches courses on the literature of the American South, American West and business in American literature. His research interests include language and culture, writing instruction and the politics of higher education.
Alice Tianbo Zhang
Assistant Professor of Economics
- P: 540-458-8627
- E: atzhang@wlu.edu
Zhang teaches Statistics for Economics and Introduction to Economics, and she is interested in developing courses on the economics of climate change, migration and gender. She is an environmental economist and her current research focuses on energy infrastructure, climate change, migration and natural disasters.