Environmental Career Strategies for Women
This 1-credit class was developed as a graduate seminar entitled Women in Scientific Professions (FOR 797) in concert with the speaker series of the same name and launched in Spring 1999.  The instructors also welcome interested upper division undergraduate students (FOR 496).  Participants discuss issues faced by professional women, such as mentoring and productivity, and attend presentations of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series, generally offered during the scheduled class time, in lieu of that class.  Students also meet with the speakers, often for dinner the evening after their presentations in order for speakers to share their experiences in their work environment, and their perspectives of that environment over time.  For this reason, we try to bring speakers from a variety of employer types, such as academic, NGO, state agencies, and industry.  Previous campus wide-seminars have included:   Dr. Donna Perison, International Paper, Jackson, MS "Meeting the Challenge of Change"; Ellen Ketterson, Indiana University, "Phenotypic Engineering: Using Hormones to Explore Adaptation and Constraint"; Dr. Shirley Malcom, AAAS, "Bringing Science to People and People to Science: New Faces --New Places"; and Sandra Brown, Winrock International, Corvallis, OR, "Kyoto, forests and Climate Change."

This course has been listed as an exemplary teaching resource by  Engineering Pathway (links to "high-quality teaching and learning ...for use by K-12 and university educators and students") and Content Matters (a collection of syllabi that "demonstrate how to combine diversity awareness with science and technology topics and content.")

A particularly innovative aspect of this class is its cross-departmental origins in the team of Robin Hoffman (Associate Professor and BLA Curriculum Director, Department of Landscape Architecture), Ruth Yanai (Professor, Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management) and Therese Donovan (formerly of the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, currently Assistant Unit Leader, USGS Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Research Associate Professor, University of Vermont).  The current instructors are grateful for their groundwork, and for their notes, libraries, continued support, and their trust in us.  We also benefit from cross-departmental support in terms of suggesting and sponsoring speakers.

Syllabi -Because the course evolves annually in response to "what topics should we add or combine?" and "which readings were the most useful?", the reference list may be significantly different from year to year. Syllabi to date are linked here:    1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,  2009,  2010,  2011, and 2012.

The speaker series stands alone, in the sense that anyone can attend any lecture without having listened to any other or without participation in the seminar class.  However, the seminar class helps in the behind the scenes planning, and in turn, receives invaluable mentoring from each speaker.  We are always looking for good speakers, and share suggestions with other series coordinators, departments and student organizations.  We also share the speakers themselves, by scheduling time for them meet with other students and faculty during their visits to campus.  Please send speaker suggestions (name, affiliation, field of expertise, why she would be a good speaker, suggested cosponsors) to Heather Engelman, engelman@syr.edu.