Biologist Jim Ebersole, from Colorado College, will lead the ACM Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins program in fall 2014 as Visiting Faculty Director.
“Professor Ebersole has been leading and teaching in off-campus programs since he completed his graduate work in plant ecology, first directing an interdisciplinary undergraduate field course in Alaska,” said Joan Gillespie, ACM Vice President and Director of Off-Campus Study Programs, in announcing the appointment.
Jim Ebersole
“Most recently, he has led and taught courses in ecology and conservation in Namibia, Tanzania, Patagonia, and the Canadian Arctic,” she said, “and I’m sure his widely-varied experience will serve the students well.”
The Tanzania Program, based at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), features six weeks of fieldwork at locations in and around Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania, where students conduct field practicum projects in environmental studies, biology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, education, medical anthropology, and other areas. As director, Ebersole will supervise the projects and teach the program’s Research Methods course.
“He’s taught a course on Biostatics and Experimental Design at Colorado College and served as thesis advisor or second advisor to numerous student research projects,” Gillespie noted. “Those experiences are also directly relevant to his responsibilities in Tanzania.”
The program’s curriculum also includes classes taught by UDSM faculty in Human Evolution, Ecology of the Maasai Ecosystem, and the national language, Kiswahili.
Ebersole received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Since joining the Colorado College faculty in 1988, he has taught courses at all levels in the biology of plants, ecology, and plant ecology, frequently leading students on daylong and multi-day field trips. He has often included undergraduates as co-authors on published research articles and has supervised student presentations at professional meetings and conferences.
Links:
- Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins
- Jim Ebersole’s faculty profile on the Colorado College website
