Vol. II - June 2009
In This Issue
About MES
You’ll take courses across the University and collaborate with Penn’s world-class researchers and practitioners in the physical, biological, and social sciences, economics, and other arts and sciences disciplines, as well as professionals in planning, engineering, business, health care, and the law. Gain the breadth needed to address complex issues of the environment while you develop the depth required to provide specific expertise in environmental restoration and protection. More>
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Two MES Lecturers win 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award
Each year the College of Liberal and Professional Studies honors distinguished teaching in their graduate and undergraduate programs. Candidates for the award receive a nomination from their home department, which includes letters from students, faculty, department chairs, and program directors. An LPS committee then chooses a winner form the many excellent candidates that are nominated. This year, both the Graduate and Undergraduate awards went to lecturers who are active in the Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program. For 2009 the LPS Distinguished Teaching Award for a lecturer in a Professional Masters program went to Stanley L. Laskowski and the Undergraduate Distinguished Teaching Award went to Dr. Barbara Riebling.
 Stan Laskowski is a lecturer in the Department of Earth & Environmental Science and an academic advisor in the Master of Environmental Studies program at Penn. He typically teaches two courses each semester with a focus in U.S. and global environmental management, environmental policy, and issues related to the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation. To that end Stan has taken students in his courses on field trips to meet officials at the United Nations in New York and EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. Last summer Stan took his Topics in Global Water Issues class to Stockholm, Sweden to attend the World Water Conference. Part of the course requirement was to meet and interview speakers at the event. Students in the class commented that they learned more in a week at the conference than they would ever have learned in an entire semester in the classroom and Stan’s guidance was key to their success.
This spring Stan took his Global Water class to the World Water Forum V, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey. For the class grade students had the option of interviewing speakers as the previous class had done in Sweden or they could do their own research and present at the conference. The students chose to do research and with the help of Stan were able to make connections with groups such as Project WET and the Leaders of the World Water Forum session on Women and Water. The students went one step further and hosted their own two-hour session at the event focused on water quality issues as it affects women and children around the world.
Whether Stan is lecturing in a classroom in Philadelphia or taking his students half way around the world, his students agree that Stan has expertise, dedication, energy, and enthusiasm for the field of Environmental Studies that is contagious.
 The winner of the undergraduate distinguished teaching award for 2009 went to Dr. Barbara Riebling who is a Lecturer in the Department of English with a specialization in Renaissance English literature, both drama and poetry. At first glance Barbara might seem like an unlikely instructor for the Master of Environmental Studies program. However, Barbara teaches two Environmental Literature courses for the MES program: Literary Representations of Nature and Society and Town or Country: Warring Ideologies on Living the Good Life. Students have commented that the perspective of how the environment is perceived and represented in literature can be of great help when addressing environmental issues involving various interest groups. Most MES students take one of Barbara’s courses to fulfill their foundation course requirements and agree that the perspective she gives has been useful in their chosen concentration whether that be Environmental Policy, Resource Management or Environmental Biology.
In addition to these courses, Barbara has been the instructor for the final course in the program: ENVS 699 Capstone Seminar. Each student in the program is required to complete a Capstone for the MES degree and the Capstone Seminar has been designed to help students stay on track toward writing the Capstone. An academic/research adviser guides the student in the completion of the capstone research. Barbara oversees the students’ writing. She arranges students into peer groups who critique each others writing. She also edits and advises students on drafts of their capstones. When students complete Barbara’s course they have a polished capstone paper and have learned to review others work critically and to take peer criticism.
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