Social Sciences

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Kathleen E. Halvorsen Associate Professor of Natural Resource Policy Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996 Department of Social Sciences and School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Office Location: 225 Academic Office Bldg Office Phone: 906.487.2824 FAX: 906.487.2468 Email: kehalvor@mtu.edu   2008 Curriculum Vita Environmental Policy Graduate Program

Kathy has a joint appointment with the Department of Social Sciences and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. As part of the Environmental Policy Program, she teaches the Sociology of the Environment, which presents the societal dimensions of environmental concerns and natural resource management. She is Graduate Director of the Environmental Policy program.

Kathy currently has two main research projects.  One is a study of the potential for renewable energy biofuels in the upper Midwest.  The other is aimed at understanding why Michigan watershed groups formed and how they define success.  Her past research has focused on public participation in the land use policy making and issues related to the regulation of onsite sewage systems around the Great Lakes. She has also studied organizational change within the USDA Forest Service and the property rights of private landowners in New York's Adirondack State Park.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Great Lakes Onsite Sewage System Regulatory Programs
Kathleen E. Halvorsen, Hugh S. Gorman, and Kristine Bradof August 2004. PDF Format

She has advised and supervised graduate students pursuing projects and theses related to wind energy, watershed groups, Nepali community forestry, citizen participation in local land use planning, Forest Service forest plan revision, Chinese public policy on agricultural land conversion, environmental education, wetlands regulation, and the feminist study of public participation. She has co-authored research articles with several of her graduate students.

She greatly enjoys advising and is always looking for enthusiastic students interested in combining policy, sociology, and environment.

   Our Michigan Watershed Group Research Team:                  Michigan Watershed Group Research Project Poster

    Alex S. Mayer, Gerald K. Greer, Julia A. Kalloz,                                             by Julia A. Kalloz                  

    and Kathleen E. Halvorsen on downtown

    Houghton waterfront (Photo by Laura Smith)

On a more personal level, Kathy is a passionate cook, berry picker, and organic gardener who enjoys sharing her garden bounty.