Shannon Moncure, doctoral student in human dimensions, has earned a Dean’s Fellowship for the 2016-17 academic year.
Of the 54 applicants for the presidential, fling and dean’s fellowships, 17 won awards. Eleven were named dean’s fellows. The fellowships are awarded only to those landing in the top 10 percent of the applicant pool. Dean’s Fellowships provide partial financial support to students, who may accept assistantships or other work.
“Shannon is a very worthy recipient of a Dean’s Fellowship,” said Mark Burbach, Environmental Scientist and Moncure’s adviser. “Shannon is an outstanding PhD candidate and a role model for graduate students in SNR.”
Not only has Moncure been the lead author on several peer-reviewed journal articles, she has mastered qualitative and quantitative social science research methods, Burbach said. She also developed the NRES 409-Human Dimensions of Natural Resources course, has taught the course for four semesters and won a Holling Teaching Award for her efforts.
“In service, she wrote a successful grant proposal for the Nebraska Food Cooperative that resulted in $100,000 from the USDA,” Burbach added. “She has also been an active citizen of the School donating her time and effort to the SNR Graduate Student Association, representing graduate students on the SNR Graduate Committee, and representing SNR at the Campuswide TA Workshops for three years.”
For Moncure, that’s all just part of being a graduate student.
“Graduate school isn't just a time to take classes,” she said. “We are really junior members of SNR's faculty. Graduate students teach and do research, and it's important for us to commit to supporting our academic and local communities as well, just as the staff and faculty do. The SNR plays an important role in the university and in Nebraska and farther abroad. I try to find ways within that role that my interests and skills can support that role.”
Earning the Dean’s Fellowship is a boost of support, she said.
“It is gratifying to know that the Graduate Dean's Office found my field, and my work in that field, valuable enough to support,” she said.
Moncure’s studies focus on the people side of environmental issue: Why and how do people make decisions that impact the environment? Her doctoral project will connect her to groups of people in Los Angeles, Oslo, Norway, and Athens, Greece who work to support local sustainable agriculture.
“Each depends upon volunteers, and some volunteers are more dedicated than others,” she said. “I'll be working to find out what motivates these volunteers and how the three cultures impact them in similar and different ways. I plan to continue this kind of research in the future, finding ways to encourage everyday people to act in support of the environment.”
Moncure’s interest in local, sustainable agriculture extends outside of her research work. She is involved in the local food movement in Nebraska, participates in local environmental organizations, and enjoys gardening and spending time with animals in her down time.
- Shawna Richter-Ryerson, Natural Resources
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/y9wy