Profile of Dr. Carol Brewer

College of Arts and Sciences, LA 136
University Of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
Phone: (406) 243-2632
Fax: (406) 243-4076
carol.brewer@umontana.edu

Current Position: Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Biological Sciences

Education:  Ph.D. Botany, University of Wyoming, 1993

Dr. Brewer joined the faculty at the University of Montana in 1993. She received a B.A. in Biology from California State University, Fullerton (1981), and went on to complete a B.S. in Science Education (1985), M.S. in Zoology and Physiology (1986), and Ph.D. in Botany (1993) at the University of Wyoming.  She has research programs and mentors graduate students in physiological plant ecology and ecological and biological education (www.bioed.org).  The core philosophy of her research program is that acquisition of knowledge alone will not be sufficient for improving scientific literacy unless this knowledge is disseminated and applied effectively; scientists must communicate about science in a way that captures the imagination and understanding of the communities in which they live. Recent areas of research in her lab include the functional morphology of plants, influences of film and TV on science literacy, designing a citizen science campaign to monitor plant phenology (www.BudBurst.org), the elements of ecological literacy, and training teachers to use their schoolyards for leading ecological investigations to ensure no child is left indoors (www.bioed.org/ecos/)  Brewer led education planning for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and the National Phenology Network. In 2007, she received both the Eugene P. Odum Award for Ecological Education from the Ecological Society of America and the Education Award from the American Institute of Biological Sciences.