Susan M. Mooney

Dr. Susan M. Mooney, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Program Director at Stonehill College.

Associate Professor, Biology; Environmental Studies Program Director

B.S., Biology, Stonehill College, 1982.
M.A.,Biological Sciences, SUNY Buffalo, 1984
Ph.D., Philosophy of Science, Boston University, 1991

E-mail: smooney@stonehill.edu
Phone: (508) 565-1171
Office: Shields Science Center, 104

Raised in a working class family, labor is defined by perspiration and loss of autonomy. Sometimes, it is still hard for me to believe that I'm free to think about whatever I find most compelling - and guide young people to think about the same thing.

For more than ten years now, I've committed myself to a pressing set of issues - our global, and local, environmental crisis. I focus my teaching on bringing students from ignorance to knowledge to action, personal and political. I work with colleagues across the campus, especially on our Environmental Stewardship Council, to help the college decrease its ecological footprint - and its carbon footprint.

I see all of this work as part of the mission of the college, encouraging our students to "think, act and lead with courage to create a more just and compassionate world." I attempt to empower my students - and they in turn push me to greater action. And that even leads me back to perspiration - cycling to campus now!

Research Interests:

  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
    • Integrative learning
    • Transformative learning
    • Pedagogies of Engagement

Courses Taught:

  • ENV270 Environmental Ethics
  • ENV200 Principles of Environmental Science
  • LC225 Change the World?
    (community-based learning course, part of a three-course learning community with Anne Mattina & CO320)
  • LC279 Swamp Walks & Roadside Shrines: The Religion and Science of Place
    (Everglades travel course, part of a three-course LC with John Lanci, RS335)
  • LC300 Food Justice: The Science and Ethics of What We Eat
    (community-based learning course, focused on The Farm at Stonehill and our partners in the Brockton Area Hunger Network, part of a three-course LC with Bridget Meigs, ENV200)