
Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Bill Hamilton
Biology Department Head and Professor of Biology, Interim Director for Environmental Studies
- Howe Hall 403
- Email: hamiltone@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8890
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.
Robert Humston
John Kyle Spencer Director for Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology
On Sabbatical AY 2024-2025
- Howe Hall 311
- Email: humstonr@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8341
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
- Tucker Hall 018
- Email: mbetancourt@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8196
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.
Jamie Casey
Professor of Economics
- Holekamp Hall 119
- Email: caseyj@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8102
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.
Lisa Greer
Department Head, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
On Sabbatical for 2024-2025
- Science Addition 123
- Email: greerl@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8870
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.
Andrew Hess
Ehrick Kilner Haight Sr. Term Professor of Business Administration and Associate Department Head of Business Administration
- Hopkins Hall 204
- Email: hessa@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8346
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
- Holekamp Hall 214
- Email: hessm@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8370
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.
Lawrence E. Hurd
Herwick Professor of Biology
- Parmly Hall 321
- Email: hurdl@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8484
Hurd teaches zoology, ecology and biodiversity conservation. His research is on tropical biodiversity and entomology.
Ryan McCoy
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
- Tucker Hall 019
- Email: rmccoy2@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8252
Prof. McCoy is a philosopher whose research focuses on social and ethical problems in climate change research and policy, as well as community-based approaches to address these challenges. He teaches Food Ethics, Environmental Humanities, Environmental Justice, and Introduction to Environmental Studies.
Catarina Passidomo
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
- Tucker Hall 020
- Email: cpassidomo@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4868
Passidomo is a human geographer whose research focuses on food systems and the relationships among food, place, nature, society, and power. She teaches Food, Place, and Power; Introduction to Environmental Studies; the Capstone seminar; and other courses in Environmental Studies.
Affiliated Faculty
Brian Alexander
Associate Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 320
- Email: alexanderb@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8054
Alexander teaches courses primarily in U.S. government and international relations. He has nearly 20 years of professional experience and previously worked in the
office of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI).
Paul Cabe
Professor of Biology
- Howe Hall 303
- Email: cabep@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8894
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.
Madhumita Chakraborty
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- Science Addition A217
- Email: mchakraborty@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8866
Professor Chakraborty teaches general geology and courses on water resources and hydrology. Her research focuses on understanding water contamination dynamics and identifying safe water resources.
Leah Naomi Green
Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and Environmental Studies
- Payne Hall 213
- Email: greenl@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4821
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.
Joseph Guse
Professor of Economics
- Hopkins House 207
- Email: gusej@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8915
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.
Rebecca C. Harris
Professor of Politics
- Holekamp Hall 204
- Email: harrisr@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8199
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.
Margaret Anne Hinkle
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- Science Addition 115
- Email: hinklem@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8271
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.
Elizabeth Knapp
Director of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity; Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
- Science Addition G17
- Email: knappe@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8867
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
- Parmly Hall 320A
- Email: marshd@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8176
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
- Washington Hall 112
- Email: smoutk@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8979
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.
Emeritus Faculty
Greg Cooper
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
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.
James Kahn
Emeritus Faculty, John F. Hendon Professor of Economics and Professor of Environmental Studies
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.
Staff
Debra Frein
Environmental Studies Program Coordinator
- Tucker Hall 015
- Email: freind@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-4870
Environmental Studies Program
Program Info
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Environmental Studies Program
Tucker Hall 015
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia 24450