Geography & Environmental Sustainability Faculty & Staff

Degrees

Ph.D. Sociology, North Carolina State University
M.A. Sociology, Western Michigan University
B.S. Sociology, Cognate in Environmental Studies, Michigan State University

Courses Taught

SOC 1001 Introduction to Sociology
SOC 1010 Social Problems

SOC 2008 Social Science Journal

SOC 2009 Social Research Methods

SOC 2600 Community Development and Planning
SOC 2617 Food, Society, & the Environment (GEOG/ ENSS cross-listed)
SOC 2645 Environmental Sociology
SOC 3009 Research & Analysis

SOC 4770 Population and Social Change

STAT 1010 Intro to Statistics

Research Interests

I am currently involved in research related to Community Development and Planning, primarily through the PLACES Institute. The Vibrant Communities Program is the basis for this research. I am also part of the research team studying the impacts of COVID on the local region (through ICIC and now CIRC). I am also continuing work in the area of Urban-Rural Sociology.

Selected Publications

Recent Articles:

Lasher, Emily, Fulkerson, Gregory, Seale, Elizabeth, Thomas, Alexander, Gadomski, Anne. 2022. “COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Political Ideation Among College Students in Central New York: The Influence of Differential Media Choice.” Preventive Medicine Reports.

Fulkerson, Gregory, Alexander Thomas, Michael McCarthy, Elizabeth Seale, Sallie Han, Kirsten Kemmerer, James Zians. 2021. “Social Capital as Mediating Factor on COVID-19 Induced Psychological Distress.” Journal of Community Psychology.

Thomas, Alexander and Gregory Fulkerson. 2021. “Urbanormativity and the University.” New Directions in Student Services, 1-8. DOI: 10.1002/ss.20361.

Recent Books:

Fulkerson, Gregory. 2022. Community in Urban-Rural Systems. Studies in Urban-Rural Dynamics Book Series. Lanham: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield. In production.

Thomas, Alexander R., and Gregory Fulkerson. 2021. City and Country: The Historical Evolution of Urban-Rural Systems. Studies in Urban-Rural Dynamics Book Series. Lanham: Lexington.

Fulkerson, Gregory and Alexander R. Thomas. 2021. Urban Dependency: The Inescapable Reality of the Energy Economy. Studies in Urban-Rural Dynamics Book Series. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Hobbies and Interests

Dr. Fulkerson enjoys the outdoors, going camping, hiking, sightseeing, fishing, and kayaking. He enjoys running and participating in local and regional races, such as the Pit Run.

Degrees

• Ph.D. Environmental Studies, Queen’s University (Canada)
• M.S. Geographic Information Science, University of Denver
• B.A. Geography and Earth Science, Carthage College

Courses Taught

• GEOG 1000 Introductory Geography
• GEOG 2030 Digital Earth and Basic GIS
• GEOG 3001 Physical Geography of the Global Environment
• GEOG 3010 Economic Geography and Sustainability
• GEOG 3606 Cartographic Principles

Research Interests

My research lies at the intersection of geography, sustainability, and economics. I use tools such as agent-based modeling, GIS, and qualitative methods to study how food systems and agricultural communities adapt to environmental, economic, and social change. Currently, my work focuses on the challenges alternative farmers face in accessing land and capital. I am also a fellow of the PLACES Institute at SUNY Oneonta, which advances locally relevant research in the central New York region.

Recent Publications

Collins, B. (2025). An Indicator Framework for Resilient Agroecosystems in Ontario, Canada. The Professional Geographer, 1-14.

Collins, B. (2025). Case studies to examine farmer perceptions and implementations of buffer capacity in Southeastern Ontario. Journal of Applied Farm Economics.

Collins, B. and Taylor, M. (2025). How alternative farmers in Southeastern Ontario mobilize mission-driven approaches for rural revitalization and resilience. De Gruyter Handbook of Rural Entrepreneurship. De Grutyers.

Liang, C. L., & Collins, B. (2025). Applying Agent-Based Modeling to Examine Business Strategies–Tools and Examples for Researchers and Practitioners. Small Business Institute Journal, 21(1), 16-24.

Collins, B., & Liang, C. L. (2024). Using NetLogo to Build an Agent-Based Model for Teaching Purposes at the Graduate Student Level. Applied Economics Teaching Resources Journal, 1-38.

Hobbies and Interests

Trying to visit every U.S. National Park 
Roadtripping and backpacking 
Running ultramarathons 
Following the English Premier League 
Fostering cats

Bio and Background

“My name is Ben, but all of my students call me “Dixon”, and I like that. 
I lived on the Great Plains for a number of years, and I have seen a tornado up close. 
Ever since age 18, I wanted to become a college professor, and I have been teaching college since 1993. 
I have been a professor here at SUNY University of Oneonta since 2001, and I love animals, especially dogs. 
Thank you for reading this. Graciously yours, DIXON.”

Degrees

• B.A. (in Geography) from Shippensburg University
• M.A. (in Geography) from the University of Kansas
• Ph.D. (in Geography) from the University of Oklahoma

Courses Taught

• GEOG 1000 Introduction to Geography
• GEOG 2025 Population Geography and the Environment
• GEOG 2060 Geography of USA and Canada
• GEOG 3606 Cartographic Principles

Research and Teaching Interests

• Asteroid Impact Craters on Earth,
• TREX Fossil Sites,
• The Gettysburg Battlefield,
• Yellowstone Supervolcano,
• Our National Parks,
• Sequoia Trees,
• Elephants, Giraffe, Polar Bears, & Pandas.
• Biogeography,
• Early Human fossils,
• Tornadoes,
• Castles,
• Our Ocean floors,
• Plate Tectonics,
• Antarctica,
• the Great Plains,
• the Rocky Mountains,
• the Adirondacks & New England,
• and Maps.

Selected Publications

Articles

“Furthering Their Own Demise: How Kansa Indian Death Customs Accelerated Their Depopulation.” Journal of Ethnohistory. 54.3 (Summer 2007) pp. 473-508.
“KAW (Kanza) Indians.” Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, David Wishart, Editor. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.) Pp. 579-580.
“The Gettysburg Battlefield, One Century Ago.” Adams County History Vol. 6 (2000) pp. 1-53.

Book

Learning the Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records (144pp. Gettysburg, Pa.: Thomas Publications, 2007).

Hobbies and Interests

• I love to eat healthy, exercise, and learn every day.
• Playing with my dog!!!
• Shopping (I can do it every day!)
• Driving (I love it so much, I can drive 5-8 hours a day, every day!)
• Exploring the Adirondacks and New England.
• Spending time in Gettysburg (the most beautiful town in America).
• I love to trying new restaurants, especially Diners, Donut shops, Pizza places, and Ice Cream stands.
• I will drive up to 4 hours just to try a new restaurant.
• Reading (every night before I go to bed), especially really old newspapers from the 1800s.

Degrees

Ph.D. Geography, San Diego State University | University of California, Santa Barbara
M.S. Geography, Marshall University
M.A. History, Clemson University
B.A. History and Philosophy, West Virginia University

Courses Taught

GEOG 1000 Introductory Geography
GEOG 2030 Geography of Culture and Environment
ENSS 3068 United States Environmental History (expected in the future)

Research Interests

My interdisciplinary research focuses on the social dimensions of environmental change in the Arctic with particular attention given to last chance tourism, cultural heritage, cinematic cartographies, and perceptions of the moral responsibility for climate change. I use methodologies spanning qualitative and quantitative approaches including interviews, surveys, archival research, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Other research interests include senses of place, historical geography and GIS, scientific tourism, rural geography, feminist theory, abjection theory, and gentle geographies.

Selected Publications

Grafton, D. and Aitken, S.C. (2026) The Nature of Spectacle: Arctic Amateur Documentary Film from the 1950s to Present. In C. Lukinbeal and S.D. Brunn (Eds.), Geography’s Media Turn: Exploring the Digital, Affective, and Unseen (pp. 235-247). Springer Nature Switzerland.

Grafton, D., Quandt, A., & Chu, V.W. (2025) Iñupiaq cultural heritage and local perspectives of environmental change in northernmost Alaska. Environmental Research: Ecology 4(4). DOI: 10.1088/2752-664X/ae23d3

Grafton, D., Quandt, A., & Chu, V.W. (2025) Last chance tourism? Revealing true tourist motivations for visiting northernmost Alaska. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights 6(2). https://doi-org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1016/j.annale.2025.100183

Van Den Abbeele, S., Grafton, D., Avila, M., Casimiro Vieyra, E., Chan, B., Husted, G., Kaloper, S., Moscona, B., & Cassels, S. (2025) Teaching and Learning About Geo-Social Determinants of Health. In M.A. Kolak and I.K. Moise (Eds.), Place and the Social-Spatial Determinants of Health (179-194). Springer Nature.

Quandt, A., Grafton, D., Gorman, K., Dawson, P.M., Ibarra, C., Mayes, E., Monteverde, C., Piel, D., & Paderes, P. (2023) Mitigation and adaptation to climate change in San Diego County, California. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 28(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-022-10041-6

Hobbies and Interests

I enjoy spending time with my family, playing computer games, and reading. I have traveled to twenty countries and forty-eight U.S. states, and look forward to experiencing more soon.

Employee Page

Education: 
B.S. SUNY Oneonta
M.S. Oregon State University
PhD. Rutgers University

Courses taught

I am a human-environment geographer with an interest in cross-cutting issues such as climate change, water and energy policy, environmental governance, justice, and sustainable solutions. I apply a social-ecological systems framework to analyze interactions between biophysical and human systems, using geospatial tools as well as qualitative and quantitative methods.

Prior to joining academia, I worked in government, non-profit, and consulting organizations, including with bilateral and multilateral agencies in Nepal and the U.S.

Degrees

Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Arizona
Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems Technology from the University of Arizona
Master’s in urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Courses Taught

ENSS 1010 Environmental Sustainability
ENSS 2100 Environmental Issues

Selected Publications

Saklani, U., Shrestha, P. P., Mukherji, A., & Scott, C. A. (2020). Hydro-energy cooperation in South Asia: Prospects for transboundary energy and water security. Environmental Science & Policy, 114, 22-34.
Scott, C. A., Shrestha, P. P., & Lutz-Ley, A. N. (2020). The re-adaptation challenge: Limits and opportunities of existing infrastructure and institutions in adaptive water governance. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 44, 104-112.
Gerlak, A. K., Guido, Z., Owen, G., McGoffin, M. S. R., Louder, E., Davies, J., Smith, K. J., Zimmer, A., Murveit, A. M., Meadow, A., Shrestha, P., & Joshi, N. (2023). Stakeholder engagement in the co-production of knowledge for environmental decision-making. World Development, 170, 106336.

Hobbies and interests

I enjoy nature and hiking.

Bio and Background

A Michigan native, I attended MSU as an undergraduate in the Department of Zoology. In 2010 I earned a minor in Conservation Biology at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and developed an interest in the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. Intrigued by the more applied approach to understanding human-wildlife interactions, I made the transition to the Fisheries and Wildlife Department for the completion of my Masters Degree. I recently graduated from the Department of Geography at the University of Nevada, Reno where I studied the biogeography of nonmigratory and neotropical migratory birds. I have worked with mammals, reptiles, and birds, but the country, people, and ecosystems of Nicaragua unite my diverse taxonomic interests.

I am a biogeographer with interests in spatial ecological modeling, GIS, UAS, and Motus wildlife tracking technologies. My current research focuses on distribution modeling and applied habitat mapping for threatened birds, as well as UAS applications in wildlife conservation. I am broadly interested in applied biogeographic research that engages undergraduate students and community members in the scientific process and collaborative conservation initiatives. Furthermore, I am an enthusiastic instructor with dedicated training in inclusive, experiential, and student-centered learning in higher education.

Degree(s)

• BS Zoology, Michigan State University 2012
• Minor: Applied Conservation, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
• Specialization: Environmental Studies
• MS Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University 2017
• PhD Geography, University of Nevada, Reno 2023

Courses Taught

• GEOG 1000
• GEOG 3106
• GEOG 3001
• ENSS 3098
• (GEOG 3004, 3116, 3226, and 4106 are expected in the future)

Research and Teaching Interest

• Conservation Biogeography
• Species Distribution Modeling
• UAV Applications to Wildlife Management
• GIS and Spatial Analysis

Selected Publications

Articles

• Mitchell C.I., D.A. Friend, L.T. Phillips*, E.A. Hunter and others. 2021. ‘Unscrambling’ the drivers of egg production in Agassiz’s desert tortoise: climate and individual attributes predict reproductive output. Endangered Species Research 44:217-230. *First position shared by first three authors
• Burnett, K., M.N. Zipple, L.T. Phillips, P. Panwar, L.P. Mcguire, and W.A. Boyle. 2019. Nocturnal reductions in body temperature in high-elevation Neotropical birds. Tropical Ecology, 60(4):581-586.
• Phillips, L.T, S. Zlotnik, M.N. Zipple, K. Burnett, and T. Doan. 2017. Prevalence of saurian malaria in Anolis lizards of La Selva, Costa Rica. Herpetological Review 48(4):770-771

Hobbies and Interests

Skiing, Gardening, Outdoor Recreation, DIY projects, Cats, Learning the names of every organism around me ?.

Geo/SAT 2 Site

Professor Emeritus

Degrees

• B.A. Geography, Russian Studies, Indiana University 1961
• M.A. Urban Geography, Indiana University 1962
• Post Masters Work, Indiana University 1963
• Advanced Graduate Work in Urban Geography, University of Cincinnati 1963-1966

Professional Accomplishments

National Science Foundation Fellowship 
NASA Earth Resources Laboratory 1978-1979

National Council for Geographic Education
Recipient: Distinguished Teaching Award, College-University Level 1984

President of the Middle States Division of the
American Association of Geographers (AAG) 1993

State University of New York at Oneonta
Department Chair 1983-2008

Courses Taught

• GEOG 1000 - Introductory Geography 3 s.h.
• GEOG 2060 - Geography of the United States and Canada 3 s.h.
• GEOG 3043 - Quantitative Geographic and Planning Models 3 s.h.
• GEOG 3106 - Geographic Information Systems: Principles and Methods 3 s.h.
• GEOG 3612 - Geography of Urban Environments 3 s.h.
• GEOG 3606 - Cartographic Principles 3 s.h.
• GEOG 4106 - Geographic Information Systems: Advanced Methods 3 s.h.

Research Interests

I am currently involved in research related to urban heat islands, history of aerial photograph and satellite imagery (remote sensing), and environmental disasters.

Publications

To see my publication record, do a Google search on Earth From Afar Paul Baumann.

Other Interests

Genealogical research and living in the mountains of Southern Colorado.

Bio and Background

Dr. Mills was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and spent the first 40 years of his life in the Upper Midwest. He spent much of his early life on Minnesota lakes and on the upper Mississippi River. Some of his notable experiences as a youth and young adult include a cross-country trip on a boxcar, working for the US Forest Service in Idaho, and playing saxophone in Luke Warm and His Hot Drips. He moved to Oneonta in 1998 to join the faculty at SUNY Oneonta. He has had the opportunity to travel extensively in Asia, including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, and India.

Degree(s)

• BS Natural Resource Planning from University of Wisconsin – Madison
• MA and PhD in Geography – University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Courses Taught

• GEOG 1000 – Introductory Geography
• GEOG 2030 – Geography of Culture and Environment
• GEOG 2074 – Geography of Asia
• GEOG 3122 – Religion, Spirit, and Environment
• GEOG 3203 – Geography of Southeast Asia
• GEOG 3213 – Geography of China, Japan, and Korea
• ENSS 3098 – Interdisciplinary Junior Seminar

Research Interests

• Culture and environment
• Sacred space and spiritual landscapes
• Pilgrimage
• Green Burial Practices

Recent Book Publication

Pilgrimage Pathways for the United States: Creating Pilgrimage Routes to Enrich Lives, Enhance Community, and Restore Ecosystems – North Atlantic Books, 2021

Hobbies and Interests

Travel, constructing rock walls, and carving wooden spoons.

Courses taught:

ENSS 1005 -Research and Careers in Environmental Sustainability