Education:
BA - Antioch College, MS & PhD, Development Sociology, Cornell University, (minor in Southeast Asian Studies).
Bio/Interests:
I reside, volunteer, and work for pay in, on and for sustainable communities. I teach and research both types of community - those of place and those of political interest. The communities of place that draw my attention include, in the first place, the town of Shelburne where I live and serve as a local planner and member of the Board of Civil Authority. But other places I've lived and/or studied include all of the other 254 places in Vermont, and similar places in New England, the American Southwest, and Central America, especially Belize, Honduras and, in Southeast Asia, Malaysia. When it comes to communities of political interest, I'm engaged with those whose agenda reflects commitment to equality (especially for residents of rural places) and a working environment.
For me, a working environment encompasses human activity conducted on a scale that can sustain both the environment and appropriately scaled political, economic and social organization. I believe firmly in making decisions about our present and future based on a firm grasp of local demographics, an understanding of the natural resource base and resident human and social capital. To accomplish this I founded the Center for Rural Studies around 1978 (see www.crs.uvm.edu). In collaboration with activist scholars (including students, citizen consumers, faculty, the Extension Service, state and national legislators and many others), we have built an immense information base oriented to local decision making (again visit crs.uvm.edu). At the CRS we have conducted an annual survey called "The Vermonter" poll to measure changing attitudes of our citizens. Current projects range from building a curriculum core for citizen planners and community leaders, through sharing skills in using electronic media to better understand and inform local decision makers (working with groups ranging from Vermont school board members to youthful Conservation Corps members in Honduras), building profiles with interested communities, to helping local activists to conduct opinion polls and built indicator bases monitoring environmental reconstruction.
I teach in the undergraduate and graduate program in courses including both community and rural studies, with an international as well as domestic focus. Policy studies also capture my attention, especially when it impacts local folks and shapes our land and resource use. With CDAE Chair Jane Kolodinsky, we are directing the Center for Rural Studies expand its capacity, and am working with Deep Ford, Dan Baker, Ken Becker, Thom Patterson and other faculty to develop our international agriculture and development program. In addition to my town's planning commission some of my other current community activities include membership on UVM's Committee on Outreach and Engagement, Vermont's Rural Development Council, Vermont's Institute for Government, and the national, Community Transportation Association.
Courses Taught
CDAE 205: Rural Communities in Modern Society
CDAE 218: Community Leadership, Organization and Institutional Development
Current Projects
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