Andrea Stephens

Andrea Stephens is the Director of Undergraduate and Field Education for the Wilderness Institute in the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. Andrea believes that transformative education happens most profoundly in small groups emphasizing experiential learning and community engagement. She created, directed and taught undergraduate field programs in western Montana for nearly 20 years while also leading seasonal field biology crews. Her field teams worked for a decade in the Swan Valley to map boreal toad breeding habitat and collect genetic samples and snorkel survey data on westslope cutthroat trout. Andrea earned a Wilderness Education Association teaching fellowship and her volunteer field biology program, the Wildlands Volunteer Corps, was honored with the US Forest Service Chief’s Youth Volunteer Award.

Andrea teaches NRSM 273 Wilderness and Civilization Field Studies.

Andrew Larson

Andrew J. Larson is Professor of Forest Ecology and Director of the Wilderness Institute. His research includes forest and fire ecology, and ecological forest management, especially forest restoration and climate change adaptation. He has a long history of collaboration with leaders in wilderness science and his research has been recognized with the U.S. Forest Service National Wilderness Award for Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Research. Andrew believes ecological science and natural resource conservation are best taught, and learned, in the field. He has taught field classes across the western US from Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness to Yosemite National Park, and many places in between.

Andrew teaches NRSM 373 Wilderness and Civilization.

Cara Nelson

Cara teaches NRSM 271N Conservation Ecology every other year.

Sam McPhee

Sam McPhee is a lecturer in the Department of English. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and The University of Washington. He has taught literature, cinema history, and nature writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the mountains of Alberton, where he is working on his first novel.

Sam teaches LIT 280L Ecology of Literature.

Solomon Dobrowski

Dr. Dobrowski is a professor and landscape ecologist in the Department of Forest Management in the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. His research focuses on conservation biogeography, fire ecology, and climate change impacts in forests of western North America. He works collaboratively with federal agencies and NGOs including the USDA Forest Service, the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, USGS, and the Nature Conservancy. Dr. Dobrowski also serves on the University Leadership Team for the USGS Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and as a science advisor for Blue Forest Conservation. He received his PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, where he was a NASA Earth System Science Fellow. He teaches both in and out of the classroom, is an avid fan of trees, hunting, fishing, sailing, and playing his old guitar.

Solomon teaches NRSM 271N Conservation Ecology every other year.

Steven Krutek

Steven Krutek studied art at Colorado College, the University of Montana (MFA), SALT Institute for Documentary Field Studies, and with photographer Stuart Klipper. Steven teaches drawing, two-dimensional foundations, photography courses, painting courses, art history courses, and art education courses in the School of Visual and Media Arts at the University of Montana. He has also taught elementary and secondary students in various capacities since 1997. Steven has exhibited work throughout the Inland Northwest and internationally. He was one of five photographers selected internationally to present work at the Society for Photographic Education's 43rd national conference. Steven's work has been exhibited at Project Basho in Philadelphia and in Tokyo at Ricoh's RING CUBE gallery. His work has also been chosen as the cover image for a collection of poems, Earth Again by Chris Dombrowski and has recently been published on the cover of The Sun Magazine. Steven's current work of non-objective paintings and mixed-media pieces reflect on the way we divide up our landscape and how these divisions may be communicated, for better or for worse. When he isn't teaching, making art, or spending time with his family, Steven performs Balinese music with the Missoula-based community gamelan, Manik Harum.

Steve teaches ARTZ 394 Environmental Drawing.