Teaching

At Canal Origins Park, Chicago IL, with students in SUST 250, April 2017 (photo: Roosevelt Univ.)
At Canal Origins Park, Chicago IL, with students in SUST 250, April 2017 (photo: Roosevelt Univ.)

Here at Roosevelt University, I am Professor & Director of Sustainability Studies (SUST) and Chair of the Department of Law, Society & Sustainability in the College of Humanities, Education, & Social Sciences .

My courses include SUST 101 (Humans & Nature), 210 (The Sustainable Future), 220 (Water), 240 (Waste), 250 (The Sustainable University), 320 (Sprawl, Transportation & Planning), 340 (Policy, Law, & Ethics), 350 (Service & Sustainability), 360 (Writing Urban Nature), and 395 (Sustainability Studies Internship).

Throughout my career at Roosevelt I have been involved in and dedicated to undergraduate general education. In the summer of 2024, I returned to my writing instruction roots by teaching a section of ENG 102 Intro to Academic Research. As a First-Year Faculty Fellow at Roosevelt for 2016-18, I also taught the general education seminar sequence ACP 101 First Year Seminar (“Our Sustainable Future”), ACP 110 Primary Texts, and ACP 250 Grounds for Change. In spring 2019, I taught the inaugural section of SUST 101 Humans & Nature, a new Ideas across Disciplines first-year course that is part of RU’s new CORE general education sequence.

From 1996 to 2015, I was a member of the Professional and Liberal Studies (formerly BGS) faculty in RU’s College of Professional Studies, whose academic programs were merged with other colleges in January 2017. In CPS I taught several of the program’s interdisciplinary general education seminars for adult students, including courses in natural science and humanities (PLS 391 and 392) and graduate courses in Interdisciplinary Studies. In the Fall of  2010, I co-founded Roosevelt’s undergraduate program in Sustainability Studies with then-RU colleagues Carl Zimring and Brad Hunt.

Fall 2024 Office Hours

  • AUD 829 hours: Tu 10:15am-1:45pm; Th 11:30am-4:30pm
  • Virtual hours: generally M/W/F 9am-5pm (email, phone, or Zoom)
  • Please email me to set up an appointment, whether during the above office hours or at another time; I check email 7 days/week and try to respond to messages within 24 hours Mon-Fri
  • Available via phone, Zoom, or email

Fall 2024 Classes

  • SUST 220 Water — Tu 2-4:30pm (WB 1214)
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship — by arrangement

Summer 2024 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (5wk session, online)
  • ENG 102 Introduction to Academic Research (8wk session, online)

Spring 2024 Classes

  • SUST 210 Sustainable Future / SUST 250 Sustainable University — T/Th 12:30-1:45pm (WB 616)
  • SUST 395 Internship — by arrangement
  • SOC 394 Internship — by arrangement

Fall 2023 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature — T/Th 11am-12:15pm (WB 1214)
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship — by arrangement

Summer 2023 Class

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (5wk session, online)

Spring 2023 Classes

  • SUST 210 Sustainable Future — T/Th 12:30-1:45pm (WB 616)
  • SUST 220 Water (online)
  • SUST 360 Writing Urban Nature (honors) — T 2-4:30pm (WB 616)
  • SOC 394 Sociology Internship — by arrangement

Fall 2022 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature — T/Th 2-3:15pm (AUD 518)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability — T/Th 12:30-1:45pm (AUD 518 + online)

Summer 2022 Class

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (5wk session, online)

Spring 2022 Classes

  • SUST 220 Water (online / session A)
  • SUST 250 The Sustainable University — Tues/Thur 11am-12:15pm (WB 616)
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship (by arrangement)

Fall 2021 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature — Mon/Wed 11am-12:15pm (remote)
  • SUST 320 Sprawl, Transportation, & Planning — Tues 2-4:30pm (remote)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability — Tues 9am-12pm (Eden Place Farms + online)

Summer 2021 Class

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (5wk session, online)

Spring 2021 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature — Mon/Wed 11am-12:15pm (remote)
  • SUST 220 Water (online)
  • SOC 394 Internship (independent study)

Fall 2020 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature — Mon/Wed 11am-12:15pm (remote)
  • SUST 220 Water — Mon 2-4:30pm (remote)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (online)

Spring 2020 Classes (as of 3/23/20, all classes are online)

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature  — Mon/Wed 11am-12:15pm (WB 1214)
  • SUST 220 Water (online)
  • SUST 340 Policy, Law, & Ethics — Wed 2-4:30pm (WB 1214)

Fall 2019 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (by arrangement)
  • SUST 220 Water (honors) — Wed 2-4:30pm (WB 1015)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago & online) — Mon 9am-12pm
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship (by arrangement)

Spring 2019 Classes

  • SUST 101 Humans & Nature (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 11-12:15pm (AUD 414)
  • SUST 250 The Sustainable University (Chicago) — Wed 2-4:30pm (WB 1215)
  • SUST 340 Policy, Law, & Ethics (online)
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship (by arrangement)

Fall 2018 Classes

  • SUST 240 Waste (Chicago) — Wed 2-4:30pm (WB 1215)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago and online) — Tue 12-3pm (Week 1 room TBA, then meets off-campus at Eden Place Nature Center); course preview
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship (by arrangement)
  • RU Course Finder and Blackboard resources and login page

Summer 2018 Class

Spring 2018 Classes

  • ACP 110 Primary Texts (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 11-12:15pm (WB 616)
  • ACP/SUST 250 The Sustainable University (Chicago) — Mon 2-4:30pm (WB 616)
  • SUST 395 Sustainability Internship (by arrangement)

Fall 2017 Classes

  • ACP 101 Our Sustainable Future (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 11-12:15pm (AUD 524)
  • SUST 220 Water (Chicago) — M 2-4:30pm (AUD 308)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago and online) — Tue 10am-1pm (AUD 825 initially, then meets off-campus at Eden Place Nature Center); course preview

Summer 2017 Class

  • SUST 390 / PLS 371 Writing Urban Nature (Chicago, May 22-26) — course pre-session on Wed 5/10, 4-6pm in WB 1215

Spring 2017 Classes

  • ACP 110 Primary Texts (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 11-12:15pm (AUD 414)
  • SUST 220 Water (online) — runs from 1/17 to 3/10
  • ACP/SUST 250 The Sustainable University (Chicago) — Mon 12:30-1:30 Peer Instructor meeting (AUD 829) and Wed 2-4:30pm class (AUD 420)
Members of my SUST 240 Waste & Consumption honors seminar (Fall 2014) on a field trip to Canal Origins Park and Bubbly Creek, Chicago IL, Sept 2014 (photo: M. Bryson)
Members of my SUST 240 Waste & Consumption honors seminar (Fall 2014) on a field trip to Canal Origins Park and Bubbly Creek, Chicago IL, Sept 2014 (photo: M. Bryson)

Fall 2016 Classes

  • ACP 101 Our Sustainable Future (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 11-12:15pm (AUD 434)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago) — Tue 12-3pm (AUD 606 initially, then meets off-campus at Eden Place Nature Center); course preview

Summer 2016 Class

Spring 2016 Classes

  • SUST 220 Water (online)
  • SUST 340 Policy, Law, & Ethics (Chicago) — Tues 2-4:30pm (WB 1214)
  • SUST 390 Sustainable Campus (Honors / Chicago) — Wed 2-4:30pm (WB 1214); course preview here

Fall 2015 Classes

  • ACP 101 Our Sustainable Future (Chicago) — Mon/Wed 12:30-1:45pm (WB 1017)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago) — Tue 12-3pm (WB 915 initially, then meets off-campus at Eden Place Nature Center (course preview)

Summer 2015 Class

Spring 2015 Classes

  • SUST 210 The Sustainable Future (Chicago) — Mon 1-3:30pm (WB 1214); syllabus pdf
  • SUST 240 Waste & Consumption (online) — each week starts on Tuesday; syllabus pdf
  • SUST 390 Special Topics: The Sustainable Campus (Chicago) — Wed 3-5:30pm (WB 616); syllabus pdf

Fall 2014 Classes

  • SUST 210 The Sustainable Future (online)
  • SUST 240 Waste & Consumption (Honors, Chicago Campus, Th 1-3:30pm)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago Campus, T 12-3pm, meets offsite at Eden Place Nature Center – preview)

Fall 2013 Classes

Summer 2013 Class

  • PLS 391 Seminar in Natural Science (online, 6 credits)

Fall 2012 Classes

  • SUST 220 Water (Chicago, 3 credits) — see my course preview and the Water in Schaumburg student web project
  • PLS 391 Seminar in Natural Science (online, 6 credits)

Summer 2012 Course

Spring 2012 Classes

  • SUST 210 Sustainable Future (online)
  • SUST 210 Sustainable Future — Honors (Chicago, Tue 2-4:30pm, Gage 110)
  • SUST 350 Service & Sustainability (Chicago, Wed 3-5:30pm, Gage 302-G)

Spring 2011 Courses

  • SUST 210 The Sustainable Future (Schaumburg and online, 3 credits)
  • SUST 210 student research project: Schaumburg’s Sustainable Future
  • PLS 392 Seminar in Humanities (online, 6 credits)