UAlbany's Influence on the Environment Movement
By Greta Petry
This is a story about persistence. Interest in ecology has existed in one form or another on the University at Albany campus, stretching back well before the 1950s. Distinguished Teaching Professor Margaret Stewart, director emerita of today�s Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy program, remembers that when she joined the faculty in 1956, her colleague Allen Benton was already teaching a course in conservation biology.

This seed of interest in how to preserve the Earth�s natural resources existed in biology, but also scattered here and there across the University. Like the hardy goldenrod that takes over the hill that was bare last summer, interest in ecology popped up in sometimes surprising places.

At times, it seemed to die out completely, the victim of budget cuts and changing priorities. Tension between what student activists wanted in the late 1960s and very early 1970s and the challenge of creating an intellectually rigorous science program gave the issue visibility but not sustained funding. And yet interest in environmental science always bounced back.

Today, UAlbany�s Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, along with the Public Policy Program of Rockefeller College, has a successful interdisciplinary master�s degree program in biodiversity, conservation and policy, where it prepares students to work around the world in finding solutions to environmental problems.

The biology department would appear to be the logical place out of which to run an ecology program. After all, ecology is the branch of biology that �deals with the relations between living organisms and their environment,� according to the dictionary. That definition assumes a respect for the science of ecology. This wasn�t always the case.

Jon Scott, professor emeritus of atmospheric science, contends, �A good percentage of biologists do not consider ecology a science.� He refers to Edward O. Wilson�s book, Naturalist, in which the internationally known sociobiologist and expert on the insect world tells war stories about how molecular biologists snubbed the traditional biologists at Harvard as far back as the 1950s. Wilson writes that James Dewey Watson, the codiscoverer of the structure of DNA, wouldn�t even acknowledge his existence when passing him in the hallway of Harvard�s Biological Laboratories.

Watson �arrived with a conviction that biology must be transformed into a science directed at molecules and cells and rewritten in the language of physics and chemistry. What had gone before, �traditional� biology - my biology - was infested by stamp collectors who lacked the wit to transform their subject into a modern science,� wrote Wilson, who received an honorary degree from UAlbany in 1999.

At Albany, many had a hand in either a formal or informal program of interest in the environment. They came from disciplines as diverse as biology, art, political science, atmospheric science and history. The late historian Arthur Ekirch Jr., for example, taught a course in the history of nature in America.

�It�s really an interest in natural history by intelligent people that fires ecology and, indeed, most of the topics that ultimately come to the fore in biology,� said biologist and professor emeritus Dan McKinley.

The late Robert Rienow, a professor of political science and Distinguished Service Professor, was �an early force in shaping the environmental movement in the U.S.,� noted the Times Union in an article about Rienow�s death in a tragic house fire. In that 1989 article, Jon Scott was quoted as saying, �a lot of the questions about the environment today you can find in Bob Rienow�s books 20 years ago.� Rienow and his wife, Leona Train Rienow, wrote the best seller Moment in the Sun in 1968.

Stewart recalled that Leona Rienow decorated a small plastic tree at Christmas. The thought that people were cutting down live trees to put in their living rooms made her �furious,� recalled Stewart.

The passion of the Rienows was in tune with the student activism of the day.

McKinley said �I suspect that it was just this personal approach to the whole affair (of ecology) by the Rienows that appealed to student enthusiasm, optimism and idealism. They wanted something that used all of the whole person, environmental and human community in a seamless way.�

McKinley had an impact on the national environmental movement as a writer and editor. He edited The Subversive Science with Paul Shepard; wrote Environ/Mental with Shepard; and Urban Ecology with Carl George. The Subversive Science received a rave review from Huey D. Johnson of The Nature Conservancy. According to Stewart, The Nature Conservancy, which buys up land with private funds to preserve it, �is probably the prime organization for saving open space in the world.�

Unlike the feuding biologists at Harvard, McKinley sent a memo to the deans in June of 1970 encouraging professors across the campus to look beyond �their own narrow windows onto the world,� and to consider teaching courses related to population control, world hunger and preserving natural resources.

McKinley was part of the Environmental Forum, a group that hosted weekly speakers on ecological issues. �The Environmental Forum was a great wing ding while it lasted,� he said.

�We had local talent like Rienow, Lou Ismay, Ed Cowley from the art department, Stan Blount from geography, Vincent Schaefer and all the talent from people in his Atmospheric Sciences Research Center,� said McKinley. Jon Scott recalled that Lou Ismay, a local artist and high school art teacher, started the forum, hired by Ed Cowley.

�Without Ed nothing would have happened,� Scott said.

Stewart noted that in addition to McKinley and Rienow, �there was a whole cast of characters who played other parts.� Scott, then an associate professor of atmospheric science, was leading the students. Through the Student Association, he helped the students form a group called the Protect Your Environment Club. Once the Albany students joined, they organized the first Earth Day on campus, according to Scott, who recalled that one PYE president, George Keleshian, later succeeded in getting Ralph Nader to speak at the UAlbany campus.

Under President Louis Benezet, who succeeded Evan Collins in 1970, an interdisciplinary program in environmental science began. Scott directed it in the early and mid-�70s. While Scott was in charge, environmental studies was offered through the Division of Social Science.

�President Benezet didn�t want environmental studies offered at a university-wide level and I didn�t think it belonged in science since it was a social problem,� said Scott, who added that the history of the environmental studies program at UAlbany would make a whole other story. Whatever its disciplinary location, the environmental studies program was successful in drawing students.

�We were second to computer science in FTE (full-time equivalents)/faculty ratio,� Scott said. He ran the program with the help of Lou Ismay and Rosemary Nichols until about 1977 when the program became a victim of funding cuts and changing priorities, along with larger programs like astronomy, nursing and the Allen early decision program. McKinley said a new and promising but struggling history of science department did not survive the cuts either.

Meanwhile, back in the biology department, Margaret Stewart, was chairing an environmental sciences program committee. She spent several years working on this, but the program did not materialize after what she surmises were changing administrative priorities.

Around 1977, Stewart became involved with a course called World Food Crisis. �This isn�t even my field - I am a vertebrate biologist who works on frogs,� she said. Nevertheless, she was involved with this team-taught course for a dozen years.

�Two times I picked up the ball and tried to save programs relating to natural resources,� Stewart said.

The second time, resources �were dwindling like mad,� and she and Professor Jerram Brown and others put their heads together in order to come up with a program that would catch people�s attention and draw new faculty funding. (Brown�s book, The Evolution of Behavior, published in 1975, helped pave the way for the explosive development of the fields of behavioral ecology and sociobiology that occurred in the 1980s.)

Event ually, with a committee that had input from other colleges in the area, �We drew up a plan for this (biodiversity) program. It was time for a whole new wave. Time to do something sound focusing on biological diversity and the loss thereof,� said Stewart.

Former President H. Patrick Swygert offered his support.

�Karen (R. Hitchcock), then vice president for Academic Affairs, worked with me. She was a major player in finalizing the program,� Stewart said.

But vision and persistence alone were not enough to create a new academic program in a time of less reliance on state government for funding. What finally made it all gel was a private bequest from Harriet Dyer Adams in honor of her late father, the pioneering ecologist Charles C. Adams. The Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy Program continues to need external funding, especially for graduate student support. To donate funds to the program, contact Sorrell Chesin at (518) 437-4770.

�Although it took six years before the program in Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy was approved, I felt that it was important enough for me to keep working on it,� Stewart said. �The way I look at it, the goals of the program are going to benefit the world a lot more than a couple more papers on frogs that I might write.� Now that the program is successfully underway with seven students graduated, Stewart will return to her work on frogs, important natural resources.

UAlbany's Biodiversity Program Thriving Today
By Greta Petry
Suzanne Hohn, M.S. �99, a graduate of the University at Albany�s biodiversity program, is in Malawi, southeast Africa, where one of her challenges in the Peace Corps is the reintroduction of the elephant. Her job involves working to improve relations between the local communities and the parks.

Considering that an elephant can trash a field in minutes, Hohn�s job requires tact, diplomacy, people skills, and the ability to translate the ecological value of protecting elephants into how living near a national park can benefit the local community.

Hohn is one of George Robinson�s former students. Robinson, associate professor of biology and co-director of the graduate program in biodiversity, conservation and policy, says Hohn is typical of those trained in biodiversity today. As a liaison between science and the public, she translates the complexities of ecosystems.

In the 21st century, it is no longer enough for scientists to provide evidence of how humans are polluting the air, ruining the water, or making plants and animals extinct.

�One of the things that defines our program is that we realize that science can help solve environmental problems. It�s not just the responsibility to put out information about what�s wrong, it�s providing the expertise to solve the problem,� said Gary Kleppel, director of the biodiversity program.

He continued, �Our goal is to develop a professional who can link science and policy seamlessly. We are developing a whole new way of thinking about science and its role in society. Fundamental academic science can respond to human needs. Our approach is very different from the environmentalism of the �60s. Back then scientists would measure pollutants in the environment and expect government to regulate the polluters. Today we see problems in the environment and we try to find incentives to help resolve the problem. It�s more cooperation, less regulation. It�s part of the new vision of environmental consciousness that the University at Albany is creating.�

Every time a local government agency decides whether to site homes on a particular piece of land, dredge and fill wetlands, or locate an industry, biodiversity (the sum of the variety of all living organisms, at the species level) is affected. And biodiversity is important because all organisms play some role in an ecosystem.

Why be concerned about biodiversity? �Because it is being lost at alarming rates . . . scholars believe that we are currently experiencing extinction rates rivaling or exceeding the rates of the prehistoric mass extinctions. Although 99.9 percent of all animals that once lived on Earth are now extinct, the mass destruction attributable to one species (our own) is apparently unique in the Earth�s history,� notes information from the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute.

As Kleppel notes: �The overwhelming majority of land use decisions are made at the local level � that�s the No. 1 factor.�

While decisions of this nature have a major impact, few local governments have professional employees � conservation biologists � who can give scientific guidance on the impact of such land use decisions.

Cooperation among local governments in making these types of decisions is crucial, he noted. If one community conscientiously protects the river, for example, and the next town over does not, all the good is undone.

When local government makes a land use decision without considering its impact, the result may be a devastating loss of habitat for a plant or animal.

�A little change in decisions could make a big difference,� said Robinson. In many cases it is a matter of just translating the science, so that the impact is made clear.

�Our students have to be good communicators. They must read and write well and speak well. They have to be able to communicate the importance of what they are doing and put it in a local context,� Robinson said.

An important piece of the biodiversity program is its collaboration with Rockefeller College and co-director Thomas Birkland.

�One of the key strengths of Albany�s program is the public policy component,� said Birkland, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Public Affairs. �Our students graduate with a good grounding in science and a good sense of how to apply science to real world policy problems.�

Robinson added, �I think we�re very different from any other program especially when combined with Rockefeller College. Without it, we wouldn�t exist.�

One example of how UAlbany�s biodiversity students have an impact even before they graduate is their involvement in the state�s Open Space Conservation Plan.

�Several of our students had input into that plan and they are actually helping to make policies that will help protect ecosystems in the state. Not only is it a learning experience for the students, it is a valuable asset to the state,� said Kleppel.

The plan, which allowed each part of the state to prioritize the spaces it wants to conserve, assesses values of property for recreation, aesthetic value, and economic development.

�Our students provided input and documentation. We added biodiversity as a component of the plan,� said Kleppel.

Making that stronger connection between science and politics means bringing in young, enthusiastic people who are willing to dedicate their careers to this kind of work, Robinson said.

Historically, research into conservation has been poorly funded. Part of the problem is that protecting the environment does not have a high-publicity profile like space exploration or cancer research.

�Congress is afraid of interfering with assumed property rights that are indeed right in the Constitution,� Robinson said. In his view, this right has been overinterpreted. �If you are messing up the world, you�re messing up more than just your own property,� he said.

By working collaboratively in a pragmatic way with government, conservation biologists can help bridge the gap between land use and the evidence from ecological studies of land use.

The young program already is benefiting students through internships and job placements.

Josh Drew, a recent graduate, completed thesis work in marine conservation biology that was based on an internship with the American Museum of Natural History, for the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.

Karen Frolich, another recent graduate, is a biodiversity specialist for the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute in Albany. She conducted thesis research on dragonflies and damselflies communities, which Robinson called �painstaking.� She demonstrated a previously unseen connection between acid rain and the distributions of these animals.

Jeff Zappieri, a 1998 graduate, is a coastal ecologist with the NYS Coastal Management Program, working with ecological restoration projects and the development of coastal natural resource management plans.

Kleppel said, �We are admitting four new students to the program this year. All have incredible credentials, including GPAs approaching 4.0 and GRE scores in the upper 80-90th percentiles. One student has a research portfolio that rivals the experience of scientists many times her senior. She has conducted research in Cameroon and Kenya. Two students turned down other opportunities. One of these students was offered a position at the University of Michigan and the other was offered a seat in the freshman class of a leading veterinary medical college. Both opted for the biodiversity program at UAlbany because the program is unique and highly relevant, and while the University is large, one gets the feeling that people really care about you here,� Kleppel said.

Save Africa from AIDS Campaign Hosts Speaker
Susan Hunter (M.A. �74, Ph.D. �87), a medical anthropologist, will speak at a meeting of UAlbany�s Save Africa From AIDS Campaign on Monday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. in the Business Administration Building, Room 219 on the main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Hunter has worked on HIV/AIDS concerns in 13 sub-Saharan African countries and in Haiti for UNICEF and USAID. During her lecture, she will present research findings on the �Crisis of sub-Saharan Africa�s AIDS Orphans.� She is the author of Reshaping Societies HIV/AIDS and Social Change: A Resource Book for Planning, Programs and Policy Making (Hudson Run Press, 2000).

More than 5,000 Africans die each day with AIDS and 15,000 new HIV infections occur daily in Africa. By 2010, it is projected that there will be 40 million AIDS orphans in Africa. The Save Africa From AIDS campaign is committed to increasing HIV/AIDS literacy and to promote HIV/AIDS control and prevention among rural African villagers. Those interested in working on this problem are encouraged to check the group�s Web site at https://www.albany.edu/africana.

�We hope this campaign will spread to other campuses, like the struggle against apartheid,� said Marcia Sutherland, a professor in the Department of Africana Studies at UAlbany, who is co-chair and founder of the campaign. �We are committed to developing and strengthening partnerships with organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS to help meet the concrete needs of these people.� Joseph Sarfoh, chair of Africana Studies, serves as a co-chair.

University Council Meetings
The University Council will meet on September 28, November 2, and December 14 at 4 p.m. in the President�s Conference Room, University Administration Building. Any questions should be directed to Secretary to the Council Sorrell Chesin. He can be reached at 437-4770.

History Department News
Remi P. Clignet, professor of sociology (emeritus), University of Maryland and visiting professor, University of Madagascar, will give a presentation on �Don�t Shoot the Messenger: Gustave de Beaumont and American Slavery, c. 1830� on September 14 at 4 p.m. in Humanities 354. The lecture is open to the public.

Clignet, who is also the educational adviser to the government of Burkina Faso, is the author of many books and articles, including Du temps pour les sciences sociales, and Death, Deeds, and Descendants: Inheritance in Modern America.

Julian Zelizer, associate professor of history, will conduct a book signing in celebration of the paperback publication of Taxing America: Wilbur Mills, Congress and the State on September 16 at 2 p.m. at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza.

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