Laura Stroup is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Science at Vermont’s Saint Michael’s College, where she was the first professor to join the college’s cross-disciplinary major in Environmental Studies, and where she teaches undergraduate courses including Environmental Research Methods, Environmental Hazards, and Water Resources. She was recently named Associate Editor of UC Press’s journal Case Studies in the Environment.
UC Press: Welcome to Case Studies in the Environment!
LS: Thanks for the warm welcome and invitation for this biographical interview. I look forward to working closely with Jennifer Bernstein, the esteemed group of new and existing Associate Editors, and University of California Press, on the journal.
UC Press: One area of your specialization has to do with the impacts of climate change on water resources. What are you working on now?
LS: Right now I am working on two scholarly projects. I was invited to co-author a chapter on extreme flooding events for the second edition of U.S. Emergency Management in the 21st Century. Vermont of course is experiencing and reacting to these currently. Another call for papers, that a colleague at SMC and I are collaborating on, is an abstract regarding how education and training is transitioning and adapting due to current climate change. We are going to use the example of our interdisciplinary study away course to Wales and how that nation views the challenge of sustainable governance in the context of well-being of future generations. It is really a renaissance period in terms of working in this field of environmental and water resource concerns. It is not an esoteric or boring area to work within in the 21st century.
UC Press: Aside from water management, are there other environmental issues or subject matter that you have a special interest in?
LS: I have a fairly wide background in environmental issues, being a geographer by training. I have been a college professor for 15 years, at two institutions, and that has lent itself to a fairly broad base within the discipline. This semester I am teaching a 300-level seminar on Environmental Activism 1960-present. As a result of my teaching Introduction to Environment and Society, a 100-level course for 10 years at Saint Michael’s, I thought the time was right to explore the development and changing frame of environmental activism. The students and I are currently getting a lot out of it. Clearly, I really enjoy thinking and continuing to learn about all aspects of environmental thought. It is going to be exciting to see what case studies are submitted as I move forward within my role as Associate Editor of the journal.
UC Press: Do you use case studies in the classroom?
LS: Case studies form an integral part of my classroom teaching. I was very excited when I saw the call to apply for an Associate Editor position with CSE. I am both a heavy user in my teaching and also look forward to editing and working with authors on their case studies. It is a window to the larger world in terms of the diversity of cases and perspectives needed to effectively understand and teach Environmental Studies today.
UC Press: Are there any specific topics or types of case studies you would like to see submitted to the journal? Advice for someone considering submitting a manuscript to the journal?
LS: In terms of classroom teaching, I would really like to see cases of sustainable urban development and planning. Another really important area is agricultural innovation, considering climate change and the revolution to more sustainable agricultural practices. Jennifer and I will be working with a guest editor, Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki, on a CSE Special Collection entitled Climate-Resilient Development (CRD) in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector: Perspectives and Prospects. I look forward to learning about this important sector as well for developments in climate change-resilient innovation.
UC Press: Thank you, and best of luck this academic year and with your term as CSE Associate Editor!
LS: Thank you! I appreciate this opportunity to reach out and talk about how impressive CSE is as a journal and as a professional resource. I look forward to working with such an esteemed and welcoming group of new colleagues and singing the praises of the uniqueness and importance of case studies for the Environmental Studies and Sciences.
Case Studies in the Environment is a journal of peer-reviewed case study articles and case study pedagogy articles. The journal informs faculty, students, researchers, educators, professionals, and policymakers on case studies and best practices in the environmental sciences and studies.
online.ucpress.edu/cse
