By Eric Foster
In a move
that wouldn’t have been possible without integration, five Commonwealth
University faculty members, representing Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield
are collaborating to create a Watershed Ecology Center. In addition to creating
a resource to help preserve Pennsylvania watersheds, this Center of Excellence expands
students’ research opportunities and career networks.
“About five
years ago, we were noticing a bit of burnout in the students who were not
getting to do what they wanted for careers related to water, water conservation
and ecology in general,” says Dr. Steven Seiler, professor of biology at Lock
Haven. “So, we developed coursework and did a lot of small research projects
with freshmen and sophomores, that would continue until the time they
graduated, just to get them excited, engaged, and retained. We like to include students on our
research projects with agencies and conservation groups like Trout Unlimited
and the PA Fish and Boat Commission to build connections to future job
opportunities.”
Seiler
was joined in his efforts by Lock Haven biology colleagues Drs. Heather
Bechtold and Daniel Spooner. With the integration of Bloomsburg, Mansfield, and
Lock Haven as Commonwealth University, they were joined by Dr. Steven Rier,
professor of biology at Bloomsburg, and Dr. Gregory Moyer, associate professor
of biology at Mansfield. In addition to representing a variety of campuses, the
faculty bring a variety of specializations to the Center. Bechtold specializes
in contaminants and algae, Rier specializes in algae and microbial ecology;
Seiler is an expert on fish and invasive species; Moyer focuses on fish and conservation
genetics; and Spooner is an expert on freshwater mussels.
Water
ecology is particularly relevant to Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvania has the second
highest density of streams in the entire country next to Alaska,” says Rier.
“And there’s a range of conditions of the streams — from super pristine and
rich to systems that have been seriously impacted. We’ve got this natural
laboratory right here. We can not only do research and understand it better,
but we can also educate our students so they understand how ecosystems should
work and how humans have impacted them.”
“The idea
is to give students experience with hands-on skills so that they are easily
employed,” says Dr. Bechtold. “Before they leave our campuses if they have
experience electroshocking or taking water samples, or if they know those sorts
of methodologies, agencies are going to scoop them up real fast.”
“Once
students have their own kind of projects and participate in these research
activities, there’s more buy-in from the student in terms of their own
education,” says Spooner. “I have students who I’ve done research with and now
they find really interesting articles and bring them to me. They own their own
science.”
In
addition to involving students in research on their home campuses, they also
envision having students work together across campuses, particularly during
summers. Dozens of students are involved in research courses and projects at
each campus every semester. Faculty have begun interacting with students across
campuses.
“Steve
Rier had me join a committee for one of his master’s degree students,” says
Bechtold. “That’s an opportunity for me to help shape the student’s project and
get involved in the creeks and streams near Bloomsburg.”
“Connections
and networking are an important part of getting a job,” Bechtold added. “With
our connections across the three institutions, we have a large network where we
can place students. We’ve tripled the network of any given student on any given
campus. We can let our contacts know about our students, what their interests
are, and they will get hired.”