Professor of Government Theodore Eismeier is participating in the River Summer program of the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities from July 6 through July 29. Eismeier will join faculty from more than half of the 44 member institutions aboard the R/V Seawolf, a research vessel operated by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, to learn about the development of the Hudson and its watershed while preparing curriculum units for their courses. Eismeier also participated in last year's program.
Participants will undertake a multitude of studies, focusing on the interconnectedness of many disciplines. Projects include water sampling, sediment coring, archaeology, biodiversity, wastewater, policies and laws surrounding the river, geology, history and culture. The faculty members will progress through modules covering the New York Harbor, Lower, Mid, and Upper Hudson and the Adirondacks. Other program topics include studying Riverscope instrumentation for near-real time data collection, the new political economy of the Hudson River Valley, GPS and orienteering exercises, acoustic surveying in New York Harbor, and writing about the Hudson.
The Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities was formed over the last two years under the leadership of the Pace Academy for the Environment (PAE). There are currently 44 member institutions throughout the Hudson watershed that have gathered for teaching, research and educational projects they could not do separately. Its members are pledged to a new era of cooperation through contribution of the skills and talents of faculty from diverse disciplines and institutions across the region.
-- by Laura Trubiano '07
