How can people have equitable access to rich and rewarding lives while living within the means of natural systems? This question is central to the research and teaching of Dr. Jeff Gerwing, who holds a special interest in sustainability, an area of academic inquiry that bridges many disciplines.

As an ecologist, Dr. Gerwing's research focuses on understanding the impacts of logging on forest ecosystems and looking for ways those impacts might be mitigated. His work in the Brazilian Amazon centers on the effects of current logging practices on the growth and proliferation of lianas (i.e., woody vines), and how those effects can be mitigated through forest management techniques. He recently began working with the Clackamas County Stewardship Partners, which is developing the first "stewardship contract" logging project for the Mt. Hood National forest. The goal of this innovative approach to forest management is to balance environmental, social, and economic goals through a collaborative decision-making process.

Since joining the University Studies faculty, Dr. Gerwing has worked toward developing innovative approaches to science literacy within interdisciplinary general education by asking how non-science majors can engage in the process of scientific thinking in a way that has practical implications for their roles as citizens. One outcome of this agenda has been his role in developing the Pathways to Sustainability and Justice Freshman Inquiry, which draws on ecology, sociology, and the arts to help students contextualize social and environmental issues and better understand how social change occurs.

Jeff Gerwing, PhD
Assistant Professor
University Studies
curriculum vitae
office: 117T Cramer Hall
phone: (503) 725-4482
fax: (503) 725-5977
email:jgerwing@pdx.edu