Ron Steffens M.F.A.

Associate Professor of Communications
Director of Communications

Dunton Hall 221
One Brennan Circle
Poultney, VT 05764-1199
Email Address: steffensr@greenmtn.edu
802-287-8294; Fax: 802-287-8080

Education
M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Creative Nonfiction and Fiction), University of Arizona, 1986
B.A. in English (with honors), Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1980

Research Interests

Journalism education (campus and community publications; desktop and electronic publishing; digital video).
Environmental communication
Creative writing: creative nonfiction and fiction
Creative writing in elementary and secondary schools
Interdisciplinary education
Computer assisted instruction/ distance education
Natural resource management

Teaching Experience

Associate Professor, Communications, Green Mountain College (2004-)
Associate Professor, Journalism & English, Southwestern Oregon Community College (1994-2004)
Eastern Oregon University (Fall 2003)
Adjunct Instructor, English, Arkansas State University (1993-1994)
Writer-in-Residence, Central Wyoming College (1992)
Visiting Writer, ArtsReach (1990-1998)
Artist-in-Residence and Arts Consultant, Wyoming Arts Council (1990-1994)
Artist-in-Residence and Arts Panelist, Arizona Commission on the Arts (1986-1992)
Adjunct Lecturer, Composition and Creative Writing, University of Arizona (1987-1991)
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona (1984-1986)

Recent Publications & Work in Progress

 

• Podcast Scripts, “Destination Poultney: Walking Tour of East Poultney and Main Street Poultney, Driving Tour of Poultney.” Scheduled publication, December 2008
• “Fair, balanced and impassioned reporting for our green world” (blog/essay). VoiceYourself. www.yoiceyourself.com. (Website sponsored by Woody Harrelson, launch date, October 2008.)
• Essay/Review: “Favorite Books of 2006.” Bloomsbury Review, November/December 2006
• Essay/Review: “Books of these Bloomsbury Years.” Bloomsbury Review, November/December 2005.
• Essay/Review: “Edges & Rivers: Crossing the Country, Word by Word.” Bloomsbury Review, July/August 2005
• “Enter on Duty.” Whole Terrain, 2005-2006.
• “Why this ‘seasonal’ rides the public’s range.” Writer’s on the Range Series, High Country News. www.hcn.org. June 2005.
• Producer, Website and Video, "Coastal Environments Learning Network" (Regional Nature-Based Tourism) (2004)
• Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship for Writers: Literary Nonfiction (2003)
• Commentary: "A Bandon Hope." Portland Oregonian. Dec. 22, 2003. 
• Essay/ Review: "Natural States: The reality of water and the 'Environmental Imagination.'" Bloomsbury Review, January/ February 2004.
• Essay/ Review: "America the West: A myth ready for re-inhabiting." Bloomsbury Review, July/ August 2003.
  
• "A wilder ocean for Oregon? Launching a Marine Protected Areas movement may help resolve Oregon's latest biodiversity challenge," and "What is a Marine Protected Area," essay and reporting, Winter 2003, Wild Earth. 
• Review: Hasselstrom, Linda. Between Grass and Sky: Where I live and Work. University of Nevada Press, 2002. In Bloomsbury Review, January/ February2003. 
• Review: Hogan, Linda, and Brenda Peterson. Sightings: The gray whale's mysterious journey. National Geographic Society, 2002. In Bloomsbury Review, July/ August 2003. 
• Essay/ Review: Jensen, Derrick. The Culture of Make Believe. Context Books, 2002. In Bloomsbury Review, January/ February 2003.

   

   

Conference Presentations

• Presentation: “The Green Blog. Route-finding a new-media path between reporter and advocate.” College Media Advisers Convention, March 2008. With Katie Sobalsky, GMC Mountaineer editor, and Barbara Moss, film producer and producer of “VoiceYourself” blog.
  
• Tour Leader, “The Sweet Science of Maple Syrup: UVM's Proctor Maple Research Center” (including atmospheric deposition research). Society of Environmental Journalists, Annual Convention. Burlington, VT, October 2006.
  
• “Community Stories and the Resolution of Landscape-Scale Trauma.” Society for Human Ecology, Annual Conference. Unity College, Maine. October 2006.
• “Mountains with (and without) Burnt Trees: the role of aesthetic imagery in documenting landscape-scale change in Grand Teton National Park.” Society for Human Ecology, Annual Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. October 2005.