As the Director of Strategic Projects in the Office of the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, U-M College of Engineering, John works to promote a wide range of academic innovation and experiential learning initiatives. John is also a co-principal investigator for the Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program – a longitudinal study in collaboration with U-M Institute for Social Research that assesses sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes across U-M students, faculty, and staff to inform educational programs and campus operations.
John earned a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering Technology from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at UM–Ann Arbor. His teaching and research interests focus on environmental justice, environmental sociology, environmental management, experiential learning, and community-based research. From 2009-2018, John was a program director at the Graham Sustainability Institute - coordinating a wide range of sustainability research initiatives and serving as an instructor for UC 327: Interdisciplinary Thinking - the junior level course for the Graham Sustainability Scholars program. John came to the Graham Sustainability Institute in 2009 after serving for two years as the Director of the UM-Flint Office of Research. From 2000-2007, John was the founding director of the Institute for Community and Environment at Colby-Sawyer College and an Associate Professor of Social Sciences and Education. Between 1984 and 1987 John served as an agricultural volunteer with Peace Corps Nepal working on improving seed supplies in remote hill villages.
Recent Publication: Handbook of Sustainability and Social Science Research. Editors: Walter Leal Filho, Robert Marans and John Callewaert, Springer, World Sustainability Series. 2018. In this handbook, social science researchers who focus on sustainability present and discuss their findings, including empirical work, case studies, teaching and learning innovations, and applied projects.