Faculty Highlight

Favorite book:
Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Favorite movie:
A Christmas Story

Areas of interest (work or leisure):
Leisure–To explore the less-traveled places of the planet, particularly in the developing world. I’ve been to 58 countries with more trips planned, including a second wildlife safari to southern Africa this winter (to include an additional five countries).

Work–I enjoy researching how lake ecosystems work. In fact, I’ve been researching predator-prey interactions, food web relationships and nutrient cycling questions on several lakes in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1980 with continuous funding from the National Science Foundation.

People don’t know that...
I am a frustrated artist (water colors, pen and ink, and nature photography) and that I love to bird watch. Some of the most rewarding bird watching experiences were in the rainforests of Peru’s Manu Biospheric Reserve.

Describe a favorite classroom experience:
I have many, and they always involve experiencing students’ excitement about what they are learning and how it relates to the “bigger picture.” It’s all about the passion of science.

What is your most interesting experience with a student at St. Norbert?
I have had many meaningful experiences with students involving collaborative student-faculty research. This is particularly rewarding when you are able to co-author scientific articles with them. Each of these becomes interesting and exciting for each individual student.

What would you most like students to learn from your classes?
To develop the skills to become naturalists and scientists. My main mission as a professor at St. Norbert College is to excite my students about their discipline. I believe it is very important that they understand the intellectual content of their discipline and the process by which this knowledge develops. To provide my students with real research experiences is to instill in them abilities to formulate and test hypotheses. Research opportunities that excite them about their discipline are paramount to their transition from incipient to ardent scientists.

What would you most like students to gain through their years at St. Norbert?
To be able to see the reality of life, to be able to be self-learners, and to be to develop a passion for their discipline.

As a naturalist yourself, what advice would you have for people on campus who are looking to go green?
Learn to make a smaller environmental footprint on the plant by understanding the true meaning of sustainability.

Name
Dr. Jim Hodgson

Discipline
Biology and Environmental Science

Hometown
Madison, WI 

Academic Credentials 
UW-Madison, UW-Platteville, Western Michigan University, and Montana State University

Fall Semester Classes
Ecology, Environmental Science, Limnology, Mammalogy, Tropical Biology