Core Faculty
Core Faculty
GPS Core Faculty
Tenure-Track Faculty
Zachary Christman, Ph.D.Professor |
John Hasse, Ph.D. AICPProfessor Dr. Hasse is a Professor in the Dept. of Geography, Planning & Sustainability and the founder/director of the Geospatial Research Laboratory, the department's hub for funded projects and community outreach activities. Since 2009 the "GeoLab" has conducted over $2M in externally funded projects. Dr. Hasse's research focuses on land development patterns and associated land resource impacts, smart growth planning evaluation and the nexus of land use, transportation and sustainability. Dr. Hasse has been involved in community development activities in the state, visualization of the impacts of sprawl and has testified as an expert witness. Since joining the department in 2001 Dr. Hasse has taught and developed many of the department's courses in planning, GIS and introductory geography. Dr. Hasse's most recent teaching interest involves integrating the concepts of Big History as a unifying theme across the department's Gen Ed courses. |
Qian He, Ph.D., AICPAssistant Professor Dr. Qian He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability at Rowan University. Her research focuses on the risks and resilience of vulnerable communities at the intersection of the urban built environment, public policy, and climate change. Her research and teaching advocate for equitable planning, adaptation, and response to climate change, including impacts of Sea Level Rise, hurricanes, and Presidential Declared Disasters (PDDs). Trained as a planner, her recent projects use spatial econometric modeling and urban informatics techniques to examine how planning decisions (land use regulation and transportation access) and public policies (federal disaster aid programs and place-based policies) can affect the well-being of historically disadvantaged communities on critical issues including public health disparity, housing affordability, and community safety. Prior to joining Rowan, Dr. Qian He was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Texas at Arlington. She previously taught as an instructor for planning practitioners at Planetizen with her expertise in infrastructure justice and community resilience. |
Kevin Keenan, Ph.D. AICPAssociate Professor |
Jennifer Kitson, Ph.D.Associate Professor, jointly appointed with the Department of Art, College of Communication and Creative Arts Dr. Kitson is an associate professor in the Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability. She is a west coast transplant with three degrees in geography: a doctorate from Arizona State University, a master’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s from San Francisco State University. |
Charles McGlynn, Ph.D.Assistant Professor |
Mahbubur Meenar, Ph.D.Associate Professor Dr. Mahbubur Meenar is an Associate Professor of Planning in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability and the director of Community Planning + Visualization Lab at Rowan University. Dr. Meenar has a multi-disciplinary background in architecture (B.Arch.), urban planning (M.U.P), and geography and urban studies (Ph.D.). He examines the connection between human and spatial dimensions (e.g., natural and built environments) in developing plans for sustainable and resilient communities, focusing on the nexus of land, water, and food. His specific research interests include (i) community food systems, environment, and security; (ii) blue, green, and grey infrastructure; (iii) sustainable development, design, and policy; and (iv) digital tools, technologies, and societies. Dr. Meenar has served as the principal investigator on research grants funded by the US EPA, NASA, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other agencies. His work has been published in leading journals. Dr. Meenar currently teaches Environmental and Sustainability Planning, Geovisualization, Planning Studio, and Community Planning & Site Design. |
John Mullen, Ph.DAssistant Professor of Sustainability Education, jointly appointed with Department of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Research (College of Education) Dr. John Mullen is an Assistant Professor of Sustainability Education with joint appointments in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability (School of Earth and Environment) and the Department of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Research (College of Education), and he is a member of the university-wide Catalysts for Sustainability initiative at Rowan University. His research interests lie at the intersection of educational theory, the environmental humanities, and sustainability science with a particular interest in the possibilities of and conditions for an ecological philosophy of education. He recently designed a new certificate of undergraduate study (CUGS) in “Sustainability Education and Leadership” of which his “Sustainability Education: An Introduction” is being offered during the Fall 2024 semester and his “Leading Sustainable Organizations” and “Integrating Climate Change Education Across Contexts” are being offering during the Spring 2025 semester. He also teaches “Earth, People, and Environment” and “Environmental Ethics.” He plays an active role in the implementation of the New Jersey K-12 Climate Change Education Student Learning Standards, contributing to their integration with students, faculty, and administration at Rowan University and across the state. Prior to Rowan, he was a postdoctoral research fellow with the Sustainability and Development Initiative in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He has graduate degrees from the University of Virginia and Eastern Michigan University (with a focus on ecojustice education) and he is a certified permaculture designer. |
Teaching Professors
Megan BucknumAssociate Teaching Professor Megan Bucknum applies her background in urban and environmental planning to the fields of food systems and participatory planning. Leveraging knowledge gained from holding positions across the food supply chain, she conducts research about regionally-based food distribution models that address sustainability and food security. Additionally, she integrates her experience facilitating public meetings, conducting interviews and designing participatory research projects into the curriculum of her courses and in support of faculty research projects. Motivated by the power of narrative, her research and class projects use interviews and oral histories to explore barriers and opportunities along our food supply chains and to understand how people connect to the built and natural environment This method allows people to be both involved and informed by her projects. She currently teaches Introduction to Planning and Environmental Design, Urban Geography and Food Systems Planning. |
Richard FedermanAssociate Teaching Professor Richard Federman has taught for the Department of Geography, Planning & Sustainability for the past sixteen years, first as an adjunct, more recently as 3/4-time faculty, and beginning Fall 2018 as a Full-Time Lecturer. Some of the courses he teaches on a regular basis include Earth, People & Environment, The Geography of New Jersey, Quantitative & Qualitative Methods in Geography, and Planet in peril: Environmental Science in the 21st Century. Prior to teaching at Rowan, Richard has worked as an environmental planner for the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, and as an actuarial analyst for a consulting firm in Philadelphia.
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Ted Howell, Ph.D.Associate Teaching Professor, jointly appointed with Department of Writing Arts, College of Communication and Creative Arts Dr. Ted Howell teaches jointly in Writing Arts and GPS, focusing on environmental and sustainability issues, specifically climate change. He helps students develop their capacity for ecological thought and enables them to find actionable solutions to complex problems. His teaching on climate change fiction, which is often called “cli-fi,” has been featured in The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Smithsonian, and he leads workshops for local libraries about what novels can teach us about climate change. Dr. Howell’s research explores in how philosophies of nature are reflected in creative works and how scientists, reformers, and authors collaborate to formulate and frame ideas about the environment. His work has been published in Modern Language Quarterly and the collection Modernism and the Anthropocene. In addition to scholarly work, he presents and writes about teaching and pedagogy, including a series of freely available learning modules through Rowan’s Cultivating the Environmental Humanities group. Dr. Howell lives in Glassboro and enjoys hiking, gardening, playing disc golf and board games, and exploring parks and woods at every opportunity. For GPS, he currently teaches Senior Seminar and two additional courses that will appeal to GPS majors: Environmental Writing and Rhetoric (a Writing Arts course) and Environmental Communication (in Communication Studies). |
Louis L. Thomas, Ph.D. AICPAssistant Teaching Professor
Ph.D., Urban Planning, Policy, and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Discovery Hall 125
856.256.4500 x53975 Dr. Lou Thomas is passionate about creating an equitable, sustainable, and all-age-friendly city. His research focuses on family-oriented and multi-generational high-density as one tool in our toolbox for addressing climate change, inequality, and social isolation. His work has been published in JAPA, Planning Magazine, PLATFORM, Planning Perspectives, and he was a guest on UCLA’s Housing Voice podcast. A dedicated educator, he has previously taught in planning programs at Hunter College, the University of Maryland College Park, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University of the District of Columbia's Urban Sustainability and Environmental Science program. He was also an Associate Professor of American History & Urban Studies at Bard Early College DC and a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Urbanism Lab at the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD from MIT's Dept. of Urban Studies & Planning in 2019, and his MCP from UMD in 2012. He currently teaches Introduction to City Planning; Land Use & Conservation; Community Planning, Engagement & Site Design; and Environmental / Sustainable Planning. |
Ashley York, Ph.D.Assistant Teaching Professor Dr. York uses GIS and remote sensing methods to answer questions about the Earth’s cryosphere in a changing climate. Specifically, her research uses satellite image time series analysis to investigate spacio-temporal variability in sea ice conditions and ocean temperatures, as well as change point detection to test for significant transitions in the behavior of marine-terminating glaciers along the coast of West Greenland. She has also done work using historical air photos and photogrammetry to calculate mass changes of small glaciers in western Canada. She has participated in glaciological field work in Alaska and Greenland. In the past Dr. York has taught courses on earth system science, field methods for environmental science, and GIS. Whether based on computers or based on in-situ observations and fieldwork, her courses are designed to further the interests of individual students through project-based learning. She believes projects encourage student independence and she enjoys the one-on-one advising such projects provide, as this also provides her with a greater opportunity to learn from the students in return. She currently teaches Introduction to Mapping and GIS, and Fundamentals of GIS. |
Part-Time Faculty
Francesca Mundrick3/4-time Instructor Francesca Mundrick is an alumna of the Rowan University Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability. Francesca graduated with a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019. She is now pursuing a PhD of Sustainability Education in a hybrid program at Prescott College in Arizona. Francesca’s PhD Dissertation is on conservative environmentalism with focus on utilizing Community Rewilding strategies to break down social-political barriers to pro-environmental behavior. Francesca is the Founder & Executive Director for a nonprofit organization called Rewild New Jersey Community Cooperative (RNJCC). Due to her work with Rewild New Jersey Community Cooperative (RNJCC), Francesca now serves within the NJ Keep It Green Coalition. Francesca is very active in her community of Pitman, NJ. She serves as the Community Outreach Commissioner on the Pitman Environmental Commission and as a Committee Member of Sustainable Pitman. She develops and hosts a diversity of local events and programs including the Pitman Bioblitz, GeoLocal Explorers Summer Program, and, newly, the Hitting4Habitat Tournament. For her dedication to service in Pitman, Francesca was appointed to the first Emerging Young Leaders Committee of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC). Francesca, motivated by transformational, innovative ideas, is a rising environmental leader in New Jersey. |
Christine Nolan3/4-time Instructor Christine Nolan is the Executive Director of the South Jersey Land & Water Trust and has been with the organization since 2003. She has a degree in Geography & Environmental Studies from UCLA. Christine also serves as an adjunct professor of Geography at Rowan University and has served on her municipality’s Environmental Commission and Open Space Committee. She enjoys quilting, photography and travel in her free time. |