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Predoctoral Scholar-in-Residence at Sweet Briar College:
Using Geographic Information Systems for Conservation, Education, and
Natural Resource Management

Are you an ABD (All-But-Dissertation completed) graduate student trained
in GIS and GPS in any of the following?
    wildlife or plant conservation
    forest or watershed management
    habitat inventories
    biogeography
    remote sensing applied to biological conservation
    Appalachian or Piedmont geology or hydrology

Would you like to finish writing your dissertation in a peaceful rural
setting in one of the most beautiful places in the country?

Are you committed to, or curious about, a career in a small liberal arts
college?

    The Jessie Ball duPont Pre-Doctoral Scholar-in-Residence program will
bring four ABD doctoral students to Sweet Briar College for the academic
year 1998-99.  Dr. Linda Fink is looking for an applicant with a
background in biology, environmental science, geography, or earth
science, to teach one course per term and help develop a geographic
information system of the College s landholdings.

    The fellow will receive a stipend of $12,000, on-campus housing, up to
$750 for moving expenses, and funds for two return visits to his or her
home institution.  Responsibilities include: teaching or team teaching
one course or seminar each semester, interacting with faculty, and
conducting informal group discussions and workshops with students.  The
objectives of the program are to provide role models to encourage our
students to pursue graduate studies; increase the diversity of courses
in our curriculum; provide stimulating colleagues for faculty; and
introduce near-Ph.D. s to the challenges and rewards of teaching at a
liberal arts college.

    Sweet Briar College owns 3300 acres of hardwood forests, pastures,
cropland, pine plantations, lakes, and residential areas in the
foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Several hundred acres of
forests, including tracts of 200-year-old white oaks, are set aside as
sanctuaries.  The College produces its drinking water from a reservoir,
and owns more than 90% of its catchment basin. The campus, in short, is
an outstanding site for teaching and research in field biology,
environmental science, and rural land use management.  Creation of a
local GIS will enhance the value of the land as a research, teaching,
and recreational resource; and aid the College in long-term and
short-term land use decisions.  Existing databases to be incorporated
include complete tree maps of several of the sanctuaries; historic land
use records for much of the farm and timber land; 32 years of
bird-banding records; vascular plant surveys of the sanctuaries; trail
maps; and records from the water treatment plant.  Dr. Fink is in charge
of creating the GIS, collecting new data using GPS and other sources,
and developing maps.  As a behavioral ecologist marching into new
territory, she is looking for a colleague for brainstorming and
troubleshooting.

    Sweet Briar College, a residential liberal arts college for 650
undergraduate women, has strong programs in the sciences.  The
student:faculty ratio is 8:1, and average class size is 12.  Sweet Briar
is one hour south of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, and
three hours from Washington, D.C.  For more information about Sweet
Briar, refer to its web site at //www.sbc.edu.  The duPont Fellowship
program is described at //www.honors.sbc.edu/dupont.html.  Minority
candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

    If you are intrigued, please contact:

Linda Fink, Associate Professor of Biology
Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar VA 24595
(804) 381-6436
Email LFINK@SBC.EDU

Final deadline for the joint application to the College is 15 March; by
15 February I hope to have a candidate identified.