Sustainability, Society & Resource Management
Increasingly, the social, political and economic pressures on our resource base has created a climate of concern that depletion or damage may occur (if it has not already) unless a strategy of sustainability is implemented. Within individual disciplines, sustainability efforts take on a narrow focus that reflects the expertise imparted by that area of work. Ecologists tend to work on natural populations and ignore social or economic issues. Social scientists focus on the human element, but seldom have an understanding of natural systems. Scientists in both of these areas frequently struggle with the challenges of communicating with those outside their discipline, especially the lay community.
The Sustainability, Society and Resource Management (SSRM) program in the Bachelor of Integrated Studies (BIS) degree is designed to offer students an opportunity to develop interdisciplinary skills in biology, communication, geography and social sciences that are required for effective resource management in today’s complex world. Those completing the emphasis will be equipped to work in a variety of agencies, organizations and industries that impact or have responsibility for protection and management of resources.
In Fall 2018, the PSU Sustainability Leadership Certificate was created for students interested in becoming a sustainability leader in their professional career and community. By providing significant exposure to sustainability-related concepts and practices, within their current degree focus, students gain an understanding of how to integrate human-environmental systems-thinking within everyday reality.
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Learn more about the Bachelor of Integrated Studies in Sustainability, Society and Resource Management.
If you have questions about the Sustainability, Society & Resource Management program, please contact Dr. Bobby Winters at 620-235-4079 or bwinters@pittstate.edu.
- Student Success
- Outreach Efforts
- Scholarships
- Faculty Contributors
- In the News
Our students frequently present their original research at a variety of local, national and international conference such as:
- PSU Research Colloquium
- International Symposium on Society and Resource Management
- National Applied Geography Conference
- Las Vegas National Technology & Social Science Conference
- National Social Science Association
The PSU Sustainability, Society and Resource Management students, along with the PSU Students for Sustainability and university faculty organize, support, and participate in a variety of outreach efforts. Opportunities to become involved in these events will be posted through Canvas and the PSU Students for Sustainability Facebook page.
Christopher Anderson, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of English
Dr. Anderson teaches courses in American literature, creative writing, and popular culture. As a scholar in American literature, Anderson’s interests include American environmental writing, ecopoetry, science and technology in literature and film; and the depiction of ugliness, decay, waste places, and garbage in literature and culture.
Christine Brodsky, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Biology
Dr. Brodsky joined the PSU Department of Biology in the Fall of 2016 and teaches the Environmental Life Science course. Her research focuses on small urban greenspaces as a habitat resource for urban wildlife, particularly vacant lots as habitat for the bird community. Additionally, she has studied the human perception and environmental justice of greenspace management in cities.
Catherine Hooey, Ph.D. - Professor of Geography/Geography Program Coordinator
My research focuses on human-environment interaction. I am particularly interested in marginal environments and how people perceive and adapt to variable conditions. Recent research includes southeast Kansas and mining landscapes, and west-central Alberta and agriculture.
Delia Lister, M.S. - Biology Instructor and Director of PSU Nature Reach
Ms. Delia Lister is a graduate of PSU and joined the Biology Department in January of 2007. She teaches Environmental Life Science as well as Natural History Interpretation. As the Director of Nature Reach, Ms. Lister presents outreach programming to area schools using live animals as well as trains and supervises the student animal keeper staff.
Kristen Livingston, M.A. - Instructor, Department of Communication
Ms. Kris Livingston is a communication instructor for Pittsburg State University teaching advertising. She served as an Assistant Professor of Communication from 2009 to 2015 in the Department of Communication for Missouri Southern State University. She has worked at Pittsburg State University as the Assistant Director of Student Diversity advising and supporting ethnic minority groups.
Alicia Mason Collins, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Communication
Dr. Alicia Mason Collins joined the PSU Department of Communication in Fall of 2009. She is a former broadcaster, who worked with local media outlets KOAM and KKOW in SE Kansas, prior to receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Mason's work has been presented at several national and international conferences, and appears in top academic journals.
Joey Pogue, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Communication
Joey Pogue joined the Department of Communication in the fall of 2004. Besides acting as the Director of Graduate Studies, he teaches media theory, interpersonal communication and gender studies to both undergraduate and graduate students. Gender Communication is his favorite area of study.
James R. Triplett, Ph.D. - Emeritus Professor of Biology
After his Ph.D., he joined the faculty in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Ohio State University, but left in 1981 for a position in the Biology Department at PSU where he served as Chair from 1985 until 2008. He currently works in the area of natural resource policy and management with an emphasis on sustainability.
Students now can earn certificate in sustainability
A new undergraduate academic certificate in sustainability is available to all undergraduate students beginning this fall. It’s a certificate that they complete at their own pace and within a variety of degree programs in any of Pittsburg State’s four colleges. Learn more
Artwork at PSU highlights global health risks of climate change
Pittsburg State University's Axe Library is the new host of artwork from Environmental Graphiti, a nonprofit inspired by the science of climate change. Learn more
Recycling initiative on Move In Day takes coordinated effort
Pittsburg State University Recycling Services, the on-campus Students for Sustainability group, and the Southeast Kansas Recycling Center will be collecting and salvaging recyclable materials that are discarded during the move-in process. It is a coordinated effort that began in 2012. Learn more