Author: scass

When Nicole Entrup first started her undergraduate degree program at Clemson University, she didn’t think that studying abroad would be an option.

“I’m from 12 hours away in New Jersey, so was already paying out-of-state tuition,” Nicole said. “When you think of study abroad, you think of this big cost, and I just didn’t think that it would necessarily be financially attainable.”

A recreational therapy major in the Department Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Nicole had always been curious about what the field was like in other parts of the world. When she was planning her upcoming academic year, her advisor told her that a core degree requirement could be completed as a study abroad in Australia, and that the cost was similar to in-state tuition.

“The in-state tuition for EDGE in Australia made studying abroad a lot more feasible for me,” she said. “I think that also being away from home kind of opened my mind to it too, because if I could handle coming to Clemson, I could also handle going abroad to another country to see what recreational therapy and adaptive sports look like there.”

All students majoring in parks, recreation and tourism management (PRTM) are required to take a semester-long program called EDGE as part of their undergraduate degree. The focus of the semester is to prepare students for their chosen profession, while also helping them build skills and knowledge needed to succeed, such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and collaboration.

Throughout the PRTM EDGE semester, students take advantage of multiple opportunities to learn content through the use of innovative teaching methods, undergraduate research, real-world experiences and experiential learning. Students taking the EDGE Abroad program in Australia benefit from an international context to their classroom instruction, giving them the opportunity to build global connections while exploring a different part of the world.

Nicole appreciated the program format, which gave her a manageable balance between classroom learning and building her own industry connections in her free time.

“It was a really good balance of working hard Monday through Thursday, and then you have the weekend to travel, because we don’t have Friday class,” said Nicole. “Every Wednesday would be an educational field trip to somewhere like the Australia Zoo, but we’d be there to learn from them, so it was a really cool, interactive learning experience.”

One of the connections Nicole made during her spare time was with the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association, which works to ensure that every Queenslander with a disability will have opportunities to live a more active and healthy life.

Nicole reached out to the group, attended one of their workshops and then arranged for her study abroad cohort to participate in a wheelchair basketball practice and learn more about the organization and the people it serves.

PRTM EDGE Abroad is led by PRTM faculty members Teresa Tucker and Charles Chancellor. Chancellor says that Nicole’s initiative created an exciting learning opportunity for both the students in her class and future EDGE Abroad students.

“She singlehandedly sought out the Sporting Wheelies and set up a field experience for the entire class to attend a workshop to learn about the organization that included a chance to meet and play wheelchair basketball with the athletes,” Chancellor said. “The evening was a huge hit and highlight for the entire class regardless of their emphasis area.”

Chancellor added that although EDGE Abroad students regularly make industry connections during the trip, it’s rare for a student to introduce a new industry connection for the program. The Sporting Wheelies event is now a regularly scheduled field experience on the EDGE Abroad itinerary.

Nicole is now working with recreational therapy faculty member Jasmine Townsend to involve the Sporting Wheelies in an international study of adaptive sport organizations. Nicole is also planning to pursue a master’s degree in recreational therapy after graduation, while looking for other ways to grow her Australian connections.

“I just found out that Brisbane, which is the city we stayed in, was just announced as the preferred host location for the 2032 Paralympic Summer Games,” Nicole said. “Hopefully by the time I’ve graduated and been in the field a bit, I can make my way back there with the Paralympics.”

While the on campus EDGE program is offered each fall, spring and summer, EDGE Abroad in Australia is only offered during spring semesters. Signups are underway for Spring 2022 and students are encouraged to contact their academic advisor for details.

Two programs in need have created a valuable partnership indeed. Pressures brought on by COVID-19 have led to an innovative partnership that is providing a lasting impact for both Clemson University Recreational Therapy program students and an Upstate organization that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Last fall, the Rainbow Gang, a free community leisure and activity-based day program in Anderson County that provides recreation services to adults with intellectual and development disabilities, was in the process of planning to bring back in-person activity options after a fully virtual spring. They quickly realized, however, that they lacked the resources to effectively provide both virtual and in-person programming that could equally address their participants’ needs.

At the same time, three students in the recreational therapy program at Clemson University lost planned internship positions because of the pandemic. The program, which had previously worked with the Rainbow Gang on a study exploring the benefits of yoga for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, approached Program Director Kathy Schofield for help.

“We received a call from the recreational therapy program’s internship coordinator offering internship support, including bringing a Ph.D. student to our facility to supervise them,” Schofield said. “This is just what we needed to build small group programming that could serve both our in-person participants and those who needed to continue to stay home, so no one would be without activity options.”

The result was an internship program called Tiger Wellness, with two undergraduate student interns supporting programming offered both in-person and online, and a third intern working virtually from Texas. The students were able to provide recreational therapy interventions two to three times a day, with activities focused on enhancing the group’s social, mental and physical well-being.

The recreational therapy program worked closely with their accrediting agency, the Commission on the Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education and their certifying body, the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification, to ensure that accreditation and certification guidelines were followed and met, including providing an internship supervisor.

Although the Rainbow Gang already had a certified recreational therapist working on-site, she didn’t yet have the one year of experience needed at her current job to supervise interns on her own. Faculty member Marieke Van Puymbroeck Chancellor took on that role, with Ph.D. student Kaitlin Mueller acting as her assistant and providing mentorship support to staff at the Rainbow Gang’s physical location.

Darby Hinson, the Rainbow Gang’s recreational therapist, said the mentorship provided by Clemson faculty and graduate students proved to be a unique and invaluable byproduct of the partnership.

“Having the advice of a person who’s supervised interns before helped prepare me for hosting my own,” Hinson said. “The Tiger Wellness program started right when I was eligible to start my own internship program, so it was helpful to have someone model what an internship program could look like.”

The program has three new interns this spring, two of which are from Clemson. They are also working to expand their virtual program to reach other medically vulnerable participants in the community who are not able to visit the center or who do not qualify for the day program.

Van Puymbroeck said that she is proud of how the team worked together to create a meaningful and innovative experience for the student interns.

“Together, we were able to turn the challenges we were facing into an incredible learning opportunity for our students,” said Van Puymbroeck. “I’m also so proud of our students who were able to be flexible and to try new and creative approaches to patient care, which is beyond what they’ve learned in the classroom.”

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The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management is part of the University’s College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in seven disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, almost a third of undergraduate students in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs change their major at least once. That was the case for Clemson University alumna Lee Hilderbrand Blakely (2008), who shifted her undergraduate degree focus from chemistry to communication, before a travel and tourism minor helped her discover a passion for event planning.

Blakely has since applied the same philosophy to her career, using experiences in different jobs to find the perfect fit. Blakely organized events for the Chick-fil-A Bowl Game in Atlanta, sold linens to event planners throughout Charleston, and worked as both a wedding planner and in destination management before launching her own business last fall. Now she’s sharing what she’s learned along the way with students in the Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM).

Students in the department’s program and events planning class learn about planning, implementing and evaluating leisure and recreation programs and events. Blakely will lead a group of students through a project that they will carry out in the Charleston community, where they will be required to assess the project’s needs, develop goals and objectives, and build and implement a comprehensive plan. They will then be asked to measure whether they achieved the goals and objectives they set out to accomplish.

Blakely said that applying lessons learned in the classroom to real-world experiences is invaluable, something she discovered during her own time as a PRTM student.

“My favorite class was with a professor who had worked in national parks, and who taught much of the class based off of his first-hand experiences on the job,” Blakely said. “It inspired me to go out and do my own thing and learn by experience. Now I’m excited to pass that on to other PRTM students.”

Sheila Backman, Ph.D., one of Blakely’s former professors, said that Blakely was a great student who has a lot of on-the-ground knowledge to share with those currently completing their degrees, so she can help students understand what skills they need to succeed in the field.

“She exhibited positive behavior as a student, came to class on time, and was prepared and engaged – all skills that can be taken for granted, but have served her well in her past employment,” Backman said. “I expect her business to be successful, and for our students to benefit greatly from her knowledge.”

Blakely said that she’s happy to give back to her alma mater.

“I have a very deep connection with Clemson, the college and with the major as well, in many different ways,” said Blakely, whose father (Van Hilderbrand, 1974), brother (Van Hilderbrand Jr., 2002) and husband (David Blakely, 2008) are also graduates. “It’s good to keep those connections going.”

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The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management is part of the University’s College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in seven disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.

Experience Holy City in Charleston specializes in event planning, destination management, day-of-wedding coordination and transportation for groups visiting Charleston or other parts of South Carolina. The business was founded by Lee Blakely in October 2020.

Drew Lanham, Ph.D., Distinguished Alumni Professor and Provost’s Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University, was recently honored with the William C. Everhart Award by the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of sustained achievements that provide creative insights and that foster an appreciation of our natural and cultural heritage.

The Institute for Parks presents the annual awards program, which is named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service, to showcase leading figures in the field of conservation. The awards are named for visionary leaders who make significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our natural, historical, and cultural heritage.

Judy Braus, Executive Director for the North American Association for Environmental Education, said while presenting the award that it is a testament to his outstanding contributions to conservation and education, and to making the world a brighter, kinder and more equitable place for everyone.  

“Drew has been such a wonderful friend to the environmental education community and is such a talented writer, speaker, poet, photographer and influencer,” Braus said. “He inspires all of us to do more and to be braver in helping to break down the systemic racism that has been part of our country since it’s beginning.” 

Clemson University Chief Academic Officer and first Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones said that Dr. Lanham is an extraordinary scholar and an inspiration to all.

“Few people are so capable of reaching across social boundaries to drive home the significance of conservation and nature,” said Provost Jones. “That he does so through both art and science makes him truly unique among America’s contemporary conservation leaders.”

A native of Edgefield and Aiken, SC and a Clemson University faculty member since 1995, Lanham is an internationally respected ornithologist, as well as a naturalist, bird-adorer watcher and conservationist-hunter. He is a past board member of several organizations including the National Audubon Society, Aldo Leopold Foundation, American Birding Association and BirdNote. He is also the former Chairperson of the advisory board for Audubon South Carolina and was a twelve year member of the SC Wildlife Federation, serving as the organization’s affiliate representative for most of that tenure. 

Lanham is also a widely published author and poet. His work shares his passion for place and draws upon personal insights to illuminate personal and societal conflicts that sometimes put conservation and culture at odds. Drew was named the Poet Laureate for Edgefield, South Carolina in 2018 and is the author of Sparrow Envy- Poems and Sparrow Envy – A Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts (Hub City Press 2018; 2021). 

His award winning book, The Home Place-Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature (print by Milkweed Editions 2016/ audiobook by Tantor Media 2019; Burroughs Medal Finalist 2016; 2018 SELC Reed Environmental Writing Award; 2020 Scholarly Book of the Decade; 2020 Memoir of the Decade) exemplifies his passion to define environmental sustainability and conservation in new ways by bridging the gaps between advocacy, education, inspiration, and conservation. 

His Orion Magazine essay, “Forever Gone” a lyrical treatise on extinction, was chosen as a Best American Essay for 2018 by Rebecca Solnit. He has also been summer faculty at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writing Workshop (2019, 2020) and the Writing in the Ruins Workshop (2012). Lanham is currently a Contributing Editor for Orion Magazine and was the 2019 winner of the National Audubon Society’s Dan W. Lufkin Conservation Award and the 2016 North American Association of Environmental Educator’s Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Parks Service Award. As a Black American, he’s intrigued with how ethnic and racial prisms bend perceptions of nature and its care. His forthcoming book, Range Maps — Birds, Blackness and Loving Nature Between the Two, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) of New York.

“Drew has done so much in his personal and professional work to ensure that future generations have the opportunities to enjoy and love nature, regardless of the color of their skin or their background,” said Braus. “He pushes all of us to learn and care and do more. I really cannot say enough good things about Drew. He is so special to me and to so many others. No one deserves this award more than him.”

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Watch Judy Braus present the award to Dr. Lanham and his acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 10 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the CUIP website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and its recipients.

George McDonald, the chief of youth programs for the National Park Service (NPS), has received the Robert G. Stanton Award from the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of his leadership attracting and developing the next generation of diverse park leaders and connecting an increasingly diverse public to the relevance of their national parks.

The institute presents the annual awards program, named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service, to showcase leading figures in the field of parks and conservation. Specific awards are named after visionary leaders that Hartzog respected and admired. Award recipients follow in Hartzog’s footsteps by making significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our heritage.

The Robert G. Stanton Award is named in appreciation of the remarkable career of  the first African-American Director of the NPS. The award recognizes sustained and innovative achievement in promoting racial or ethnic diversity in the management of North America’s natural, historic and cultural heritage.

Among Stanton’s many accomplishments were the expansion of the interpretation of diverse cultural meanings inherent in national parks and increased participation by racial and ethnic minorities as both visitors and employees. Stanton says that McDonald’s career in the NPS is similarly focused on making parks accessible to all.

“I could cite a number of programs that have been inaugurated under George’s leadership and his unwavering commitment to engaging youth in this noble endeavor that we call conservation,” said Stanton. “George has successfully launched, and indeed increased, youth participation in a variety of programs and was especially focused towards increasing diversity in these programs.”

Throughout his 20-year career in the NPS, McDonald has played a key role in projects designed to enhance and increase the number of underserved, minority and disadvantaged youth participating in park activities and engaging in employment and educational opportunities. He developed a service-wide funding source for the Youth Partnerships Program in collaboration with the NPS’s budget office in 2007, in order to support youth development programming that focuses on education, recreation, volunteer service and employment, and that engages diverse audiences.

“I am thrilled George is being honored with this award. His dedication to expanding opportunities for young people from every background to connect with their national parks has truly changed lives,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service Director. “His unmatched energy and collaborative spirit have spurred innovative partnerships that provide access and employment opportunities to thousands of young people every year. I can’t wait to see his lasting impact through the new generation of public lands stewards his work continues to empower.”

His career centers on building mutually beneficial partnerships, such as the NPS Boy Scouts of America Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program, established in 2007, and the NPS Girl Scout Ranger program started the following year. In 2014, he developed the NPS-YMCA Partner Program, which brings between 9,000 and 10,000 YMCA day campers per year into national parks for recreation and education and in 2015, he forged a partnership program with Boys and Girls Clubs. McDonald is currently developing federal guidelines for a new Indian Youth Service Corps Program.

McDonald is also focused on creating pathways to employment for Black, Hispanic and Native American youth. He created the NPS’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Internship Program in 2011 and the Latino Heritage Internship Program in 2013, making internship opportunities available to dozens of students throughout the country every year. The Mosaics in Science Internship Program, developed in 2012, provides science-based internship opportunities to racially diverse undergraduate and graduate students.

He has also led projects of major significance for the NPS, such as assisting in the development of the African Burial Ground National Monument and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site as well as serving as the project manager for the National Museum for African American History and Culture Presidential Commission (2002-03), which led to the successful development of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall.

Stanton says that he continues to be impressed by McDonald’s passion and dedication for his work, and for ensuring that parks are accessible to everyone, regardless of their race, gender or background.

“George has been recognized nationally by a number of organizations for his commitment and his accomplishments,” said Stanton. “I have had the opportunity to know and work with George for a number of years and I can personally attest to his commitment.”

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Watch former Director Stanton present the award to George McDonald, followed by McDonald’s award acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 10 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the Institute for Parks website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and its recipients.

By Sam Brooks, communications intern

A wedding is a special day for people all over the world. The event represents the beginning of a new adventure that will define them for the rest of their life. This was the case for Clemson University Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) alumna Aysia Cooper; it just happened to be her sister’s wedding.

Born in Greer, South Carolina, Aysia has always had big dreams and found herself at Greer Charter High School, which gave her an opportunity to begin her college education early. After high school, she planned on becoming a dental hygienist and began her college career at Greenville Tech. Everything changed however when her sister became engaged and she was tasked with planning the event.

Whether it was picking out flowers, food or a dance playlist, Aysia immersed herself in the organization and planning process. While creating the perfect day for her sister, she found a hidden gift within herself. Aysia Cooper was made for organizing, planning, leadership and creating the perfect environment for others to enjoy. Once Cooper discovered her newfound passion she realized that that dental school was not the place for her. She turned her attention to find a place that could help develop the personal gifts that had been inside her all along. 

When deciding which field to study, she realized she needed more than just a hospitality degree. She needed a program that could fully develop all of her gifts and give her the opportunity to experience new things. Aysia found her home in the PRTM department.

“I like the chaos of everything, I like logistics, I like being in charge, handling all the moving parts and figuring out how we are all going to do an event together,” said Cooper. “Being in that chaos and taking control of a situation is what initially drew me to the program.”

She found that within the PRTM department, she could develop her event management skills, while also getting marketing experience that would help her in the professional world. 

“Clemson offers a PRTM concentration that is more than tourism and management, which is different from what a lot of other schools offer,” Cooper said. “We learned about so many different concentrations within the major that helped us understand different fields.”

Aysia recalls her classes with Bill Norman, Ph.D., a professor that is still a major influence in her life today. 

“Dr. Norman does a great job of connecting his classes to real life. He genuinely cares about you as a person,” said Cooper. “Every time I need a recommendation I give him a call and Dr. Norman still checks in on me. You can tell he really wants his students to succeed.”

Aysia’s PRTM learning also helped her put her natural abilities and knowledge gained in the classroom to the test. 

“Through one of my classes we got to plan and work the Student Affairs Gala for department donors,” Aysia said. “We planned the decoration, menu, and everything in between.”

Aysia said that her time working with Student Affairs played a significant role in her professional development.

“Student Affairs is something that is extra special to me. I worked with them for so long and it was such an important part of my Clemson experience.”

After graduating in the spring of 2020, Aysia was set to begin her dream internship with the City of Greenville in their special events department. However Aysia, like many former and current students across the country, had her internship altered due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A once paid internship became unpaid and her hours were cut down severely. 

Aysia had a choice to make. She could either make the most out of what was left of her opportunity or try to find something else. Aysia chose to maximize the opportunity she had been given. She bet on herself and the abilities the Clemson PRTM department had helped her develop. After the internship with the City of Greenville, she was able to land another internship with an architecture firm doing product marketing. This opportunity led to a full-time job with the architecture firm that continued to develop her professional skills. Aysia recently accepted a new position at Clemson University as an Event Coordinator. 

Aysia’s early success came as no surprise to her favorite professor, Bill Norman. 

“When I met Aysia she had a 4.0 GPA. When Aysia graduated she had a 4.0 GPA,” said Dr. Norman. “As her professor and advisor, I challenged her in the classroom and the profession. She surpassed my expectations at every turn. Aysia represents the best of PRTM and will do a great job as an Event Coordinator at Clemson University.”

The future for Aysia Cooper is bright and sure to be filled with exciting opportunities. She dreams of doing destination marketing for the City of Greenville full-time one day. In the meantime, she continues to believe in herself, work hard and trust the lessons she learned during her time at Clemson University. 

Paul Leonard, Ph.D., Science Coordinator for the Arctic Program of the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Fairbanks, Alaska, was recently honored with the Dwight A. Holder Award by the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of his outstanding work as a conservation researcher and teacher.

The Institute for Parks presents the annual awards program, which is named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service, to showcase leading figures in the field of conservation. Specific awards were named after visionary leaders that Hartzog respected and admired. Award recipients are following in Hartzog’s footsteps by making significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our natural, historical and cultural heritage.

The Dwight A. Holder Award recognizes academic professionals that exemplify Mr. Holder’s illustrious career as an entrepreneur and public servant, which included leading South Carolina’s parks to a new era of service. Dr. Leonard received this award for outstanding work and sustained achievement that fosters understanding, wise use and conservation of natural and cultural resources.

Professor Rob Baldwin Endowed Chair and Professor of Conservation Biology at Clemson University, said when presenting the award that Leonard is one of those unique public servants who cares more about the land than their own careers. 

“As a scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he has applied his understanding of landscape ecology and conservation biology to complex problems surrounding climate change, native peoples, wildlife migration and energy extraction,” Baldwin said. “Paul has made an early impact as a researcher and I’m excited to see where his career continues to take him.”

Leonard earned his master and doctoral degrees at Clemson University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) before moving to Alaska in 2018. Working with multiple levels of government, NGOs and Alaska native communities, the goal of his research is to provide resource managers and partners with the information, science and translational tools necessary to be better stewards of functional ecosystems. He investigates ecological patterns and processes using applied, bottom-up questions that deal with everything from Caribou movement ecology to the recreational experiences in soundscapes and viewsheds of wilderness. 

Before moving to Alaska, Leonard was developing a conservation plan for a 15-state conservation cooperative centered around the Central and Southern Appalachians. This planning process incorporated thousands of private parcels, conservations easements, state and national parks, and other public lands and placed them into a framework for understanding their contribution to regional conservation efforts. This work was conducted during his postdoctoral fellowship, where he was first inspired by the power of federal agencies to bring people together to plan for future landscapes.

Baldwin is inspired by Leonard’s work and vision for conservation and hopes his career brings him close to Clemson’s hills again sometime in the future. 

“Today he explores the trails and waterways of the land he is committed to conserve,” said Baldwin. “He is an avid birder, and like the birds he watches, he will migrate again someday. We hope his travel lands somewhere near here, if only for a stopover.”

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Watch Robert Baldwin, Ph.D., present the award to Paul Leonard, Ph.D. and his acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 10 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the CUIP website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and its recipients.

Kerri Cahill, Ph.D., Branch Chief of the National Park Service’s Denver Service Center Planning Division, was recently honored with the Walter T. Cox Award by the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of her sustained leadership and achievement in public service that preserves our natural and cultural heritage.

The Institute for Parks presents the annual awards program, which is named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service (NPS), to showcase leading figures in the field of conservation. Specific awards were named after visionary leaders that Hartzog respected and admired. Award recipients are following in Hartzog’s footsteps by making significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our natural, historical and cultural heritage.

The Walter T. Cox Award recognizes park administrators that exemplify Dr. Cox’s distinguished career in education and public service, which included his tenure as President of Clemson University and as the Director of the Santee-Cooper Authority.

Jeff Hallo, Interim Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University, said when presenting the award that Cahill’s contributions span across regions, national programs, other agencies and with international partners. She has also applied a scientific lens to her agency’s planning work.

“In her role as branch chief, Dr. Cahill has built a truly amazing technical team in the field of visitor use management and socioeconomics,” Hallo said. “This is one of her greatest accomplishments and has truly impacted our field for the positive.”

Hallo adds that having a centralized team at the Denver Service Center ensures that technical expertise and leadership is available to parks and other land management agencies looking to understand and respond to needs and opportunities related to visitor use.

Cahill began her career in public service with a county environmental management department in Florida, and then went on to work for Florida State Parks, Office of Park Planning. During this time, she was inspired by planning as a forum for conversation to welcome a wide range of voices, along with integrating science and policy. Her work at the National Park Service began in 2003 after completing her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in Forestry, specializing in recreation management. She has worked on a diverse array of projects in support of parks, including helping build the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council in 2011. Cahill chairs the council, which coordinates across six federal agencies to provide consistent guidance and tools for visitor use management. The council has produced several guidebooks on best practices and is developing related training. This guidance has been integrated into many projects, agency policy, and is now being adapted for use in other local, state, and federal agencies in the United States and around the world.

In addition to these accomplishments, Cahill helped develop planning guidelines for the National Park Service related to the topics of visitor use management and visitor capacity and co-led an NPS working group on visitor use management that developed tools and a central portal of resources for the agency.

Cahill has also collaborated with the international community, developing and sharing best practices for managing visitor use on public lands and waters. She received other awards during her career, including the 2017 George Wright Society Social Science Achievement Award and the 2016 Legends Award from the American Recreation Coalition. Cahill is forever grateful for these amazing career experiences and continues to be passionate about her work and collaborating with her talented colleagues in the National Park Service.

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Watch Jeff Hallo, Ph.D., present the award to Kerri Cahill, Ph.D. and Cahill’s acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 10 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the CUIP website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and its recipients.

Kelly S. Bricker, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah, was recently honored with the Benton H. Box Award by the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of her academic and instructional leadership in preserving our natural environment and inspiring the next generation of park and conservation leaders. 

The Institute presents the annual awards program, which is named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service, to showcase leading figures in the field of parks and conservation. Specific awards were named after visionary leaders that Hartzog respected and admired. Award recipients are following in Hartzog’s footsteps by making significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our natural, historical and cultural heritage.

The Benton H. Box Award recognizes academic professionals that exemplify Dr. Box’s distinguished career as an educator and administrator. Dr. Bricker shares this year’s award with John W. Day Jr., Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and College of the Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University, for leadership in preserving our natural environment and inspiring in students the quest for knowledge and the development of an environmental ethic.

Matt Brownlee, Associate Professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences at Clemson University, said when presenting the award that its description aptly reflects Dr. Bricker’s achievements as a scholar, teacher, and university administrator. 

“As a scholar, Kelly has co-authored and edited seven books focused on sustainable tourism and published several peer reviewed journal articles, yielding more than 2,500 citations,” said Brownlee. “She also has a prolific speaking record, travelling to more international destinations for keynote speeches in a single month than most of us dream of in a lifetime.”

Brownlee added that the encouragement and support Dr. Bricker provides to her students and faculty is also unmatched. “As a teacher and mentor, Kelly effectively guides students with empathy and support, while also challenging them to teach beyond their preconceived goals, climbing to new heights,” he said. “As an administrator, Dr. Bricker is equally kind and tenacious and, like water over limestone, she consistently and patiently perseveres without wavering once strategic goals are collectively identified.”

Over the past four decades, Bricker has focused her career on nature-based recreation and tourism as tools for conservation, sustainable resource management, and rural economic development. Her expertise blends more than 20 years of practical, on-the-ground experience in land management, environmental education, nature-based recreation and tourism, with an academic focus on social science research that examines the relationships between socio-economic, environmental and cultural management. In addition to her Professor and Department Chair roles at the University of Utah, Dr. Bricker serves on the boards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the Tourism and Protected Area Specialist Group of the IUCN and the Central Wasatch Stakeholders Council. 

In 1998, Bricker and her husband launched an ecotourism program focused on river conservation and community well-being in the Republic of Fiji, called Rivers Fiji. The program is a unique collaboration between several landowning groups, a logging company and the area’s Native Land Trust Board focused on conservation. Together, they established the country’s first conservation area of its kind and its first internationally designated Wetland of International Importance, also called a Ramsar site. In return for their involvement, area partners receive lease payments, user fees and employment opportunities focused on sustainable, ‘leave no trace’ tourism. This creative approach to conservation has protected and preserved 28 kilometers of wetlands and pristine river habitat in the highlands of Fiji for future generations, while also promoting and preserving its people and heritage. 

Brownlee says that Dr. Bricker and her work continues to make a profound impact on the world and on the people she meets. “My life is better because I know Kelly. The fact is, my life is just not better, but it’s been positively transformed because of our collaborations,” said Brownlee. “Anyone lucky enough to interact with Kelly, operate under her leadership or receive her mentorship is better for it.”

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Watch Matthew Brownlee, Ph.D., present the award to Kelly S. Bricker, Ph.D. and Bricker’s acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 8 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the CUIP website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and this year’s recipients.

John W. Day Jr., Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, at Louisiana State University, was recently honored with the Benton H. Box Award by the Clemson University Institute for Parks in recognition of his academic and instructional leadership.

The Institute presents the annual awards program, which is named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service, to showcase leading figures in the field of conservation. Specific awards were named after visionary leaders that Hartzog respected and admired. Award recipients are following in Hartzog’s footsteps by making significant contributions to the management of parks and preservation of our natural, historical and cultural heritage.

The Benton H. Box Award recognizes academic professionals that exemplify Dr. Box’s distinguished career as an educator and administrator. Day shares this year’s award with Kelly S. Bricker, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah, for leadership in preserving our natural environment and inspiring in students the quest for knowledge and the development of an environmental ethic.

William Conner, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University, said when presenting the award that his academic partnership with Day began in 1973, when Conner became one of his first graduate students. Almost five decades later, they are still working together– a testament to Day’s ongoing commitment to wetlands research and conservation throughout the world.

“During his career, John has always impressed upon his students the importance of wetlands and the impact man and nature has on them,” said Conner. “We’ve come away with an understanding from John that we need to preserve and protect the wetlands for the future generations that are coming behind us, because of all of the important ecosystem services that wetlands provide.”

John W. Day, Jr. began his career at Louisiana State University in 1971 and he has published extensively on the ecology and management of coastal and wetland ecosystems including the Mississippi Delta.  Day worked with noted ecologist Dr. H.T. Odum on his Ph.D. in marine and environmental sciences, which he earned from the University of North Carolina. He was a visiting professor in the Institute of Marine Sciences of the National University of Mexico in 1978-1979, at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands during 1986, at the Laboratoire d’Ecologie, Unversité Claude Bernard in Arles France during 1992-93, and in the Department of Geography at Cambridge University in 2000-2001. He has also worked at the University of Campeche and the Institute of Ecology in Xalapa, Mexico, and studied the impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean’s Venice Lagoon and Po, Rhone and Ebro deltas between 1992 and 2007. 

Day has served as major professor for 70 master’s and doctoral students, written and edited 17 books and monographs, and published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, with his work being cited more than 25,000 times. He has received several awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship for study in France, the Estuarine Research Federation Cronin Award for excellence in teaching in coastal sciences and the National Wetlands Award. He has also served on many panels and committees, including serving as chair of the National Technical Review Committee for the Mississippi delta’s restoration program and its Science and Engineering Special Team, which is focused on restoration efforts, as well as the Scientific Steering Committee of the Future Earth Coasts program, an international coastal science effort. Finally his current work focuses on addressing the impacts of 21st century megatrends on the sustainability of natural and human systems. 

“I can think of no better person for this year’s award,” said Conner. “It’s been my honor to work with John for the last 47 years, and to him I say congratulations.”

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Watch William Conner, Ph.D. present the award to John W. Day, Jr. and Day’s acceptance speech.

The Clemson University Institute for Parks (CUIP) provides research, education, training, and outreach that enhances the management of the world’s parks and protected areas. It accomplishes this by providing park and protected area managers with innovative research to support science-based decision-making; and by developing current and future leaders in the park movement by providing interdisciplinary and transformative education and training programs. The Institute currently consists of 35 Fellows and 8 Scholars working on park-related research.

Visit the CUIP website for more information about the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Environmental Awards program and this year’s recipients.