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Faculty
Troy Knight
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Office: New Science 116, Saint John's University
Troy Knight began teaching at CSB/SJU in the fall of 2009. His initial academic training was in archaeology where an interest in how past societies impacted their environments, and were in turn impacted by environmental change, was ignited. His current research efforts are focused on the role of climate in past (late Holocene) vegetation change in the American West. He specializes in dendrochronology, the study of tree-rings, to learn about our planet's recent natural history. Outside of academia much time is spent in the yard with his daughter, planning for travel, and watching old episodes of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes.
Courses:
ENVR 175: Integrated Environmental Science I
ENVR 300G: Science of Global Climate Change
Educational History:
Ph.D. in Progress (ABD) in Geography, University of Arizona
M.S. in Geography, Georgia State University
B.A. in Anthropology and History, University of Georgia
Dr. Derek Larson
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and History
Environmental Studies Department Chair
Office: New Science 118, Saint John’s University
Dr. Derek Larson began teaching at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in 1998. His academic and research interests include US environmental history, public lands, history of the Pacific Northwest, environmental thought, and popular culture/consumer behavior.
Courses:
ENVR 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies
HIST 360: U.S. Environmental History
ENVR 215: Environmental Learning Community
ENVR 395: Research Seminar
Educational History:
Ph.D. in History, Indiana University
M.A. in History, Indiana University
M.A. in Religion, Yale University
B.A. in History and Religious Studies, Lewis and Clark College
Dr. Jean Lavigne
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Office: New Science 114, Saint John's University
Jean Lavigne started teaching at CSB/SJU in the fall of 2006. She has traveled extensively (especially in Asia), and as a geographer she is interested in the entire world. She spent fall semester of 2008 leading the CSB/SJU semester abroad in France. Her academic interests at the moment (they change frequently, since she has a low boredom threshold) are in the policy dimensions of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), water resources, and environmental issues in Asia. She has two children who sometimes show up on campus, and a cat who stays at home. She is very happy to be here at CSB/SJU, where she finds her colleagues truly collegial and her students truly studious.
Courses:
CORE 100 and 395
ENVR 150: Intro to Environmental Studies
ENVR 311: Intro to Geographic Information Systems
ENVR 300A: Environmental Geography
ENVR 395: Senior Research Seminar
Educational History:
Ph.D. in Geography, University of Kentucky
M.S. in Geography, Pennsylvania State University
B.A. in Geography, Macalester College
Diane Veale-Jones
Professor of Environmental Studies
Office: New Science 112, Saint John’s University
Diane Veale Jones began teaching in the Nutrition Department in 1985. She transferred to the Environmental Studies Department in 2007. She is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and a Licensed Dietitian. Diane has a wide variety of interests and hobbies that include gardening, baking bread, cooking (especially ethnic foods), traveling (especially to food museums), and spending time with her children and grandchildren. Her academic interests include ethnic foodways, locally grown foods, food issues related to gender, farm to school initiatives, world hunger, and innovative environmental studies pedagogy. 
Courses:
ENVR 150: Introduction to Environmental Studies
ENVR 225: Food, Gender and the Environment
ENVR 321: Sustainable Agriculture
CORE 390: Poverty, Hunger and Moral Issues
Ethics: Poverty, Hunger and Ethical Issues
Educational History:
M.S. in Human Nutrition, Cornell University
Emphasis in international nutrition and community nutrition
Minor in Rural Sociology, emphasis on food and agriculture
B.A. in Dietetics, San Jose State University
Honors in Dietetics
Other Faculty:
Jeff Anderson, Peace Studies (Ph.D. The American University)
Richard Bresnahan, Art (B.A. Saint John’s University)
Gordon Brown, Biology (Ph.D. University of Minnesota)
Matt Callahan, English(M.F.A. University of Alaska Anchorage)
Terry Check, Communications (Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh)
Larry Davis, Geology(Ph.D. Washington State University)
Ernie Diedrich, Economics (Ph.D. Colorado State University)
Bernard Evans, Theology (Ph.D. The Catholic University of America)
William Lamberts, Biology (Ph.D. University of Minnesota)
Matthew Lindstrom, Political Science (Ph.D. Northern Arizona University)
Jim Makepeace, Sociology (Ph.D. Washington State University)
Michael Ross, Chemistry (Ph.D. University of Minnesota)
Marcus Webster, Biology(Ph.D. Washington State University)
Richard Wielkiewicz, Psychology(Ph.D. University of Hawaii)
Charles Wright, Philosophy(Ph.D. State University of New York—Stony Brook)
Staff:
Jennifer Kutter
Department CoordinatorAssistant to the Chair
Office: New Science 104, Saint John’s University
Educational History:
B.A. in Chemistry and Environmental Studies,
College of Saint Benedict
Jenny joined the Environmental Studies department and Saint John’s Arboretum in July of 2008. She balances a variety of interests in creative local foods, baking, gardening, music and living gently and sustainably at her home in Grey Eagle.