Beth Choate

Education

BS, Centre College

MS, University of Kentucky

PhD, University of Maine

Areas of Interest

• Interdisciplinary environmental problem solving
• Education for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Sustainable agriculture
• Evaluation and promotion of insect biodiversity

Selected Publications & Presentations (*indicates student authors)

• Choate B. and Giannini L.* (Accepted, In process) Do Sustainable Campuses Create Sustainable Citizens? North American and European Perspectives on Sustainability in Higher Education. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.
• Choate B. (March 2023) Countdown to (Net)Zero: Leading Sustainability Efforts on My Campus and in My Community to Achieve Carbon Neutrality. EcoNutrition Cafe. University of Mississippi. Oxford, MS.
• Filho WL, Salvia AL, Choate B, Pallant E, Pearce K. (Eds.) (2023) Educating the Sustainability Leaders of the Future. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.
• Schrock L*, Giannini L*, Choate B, Bethurem M. (2023) Student knowledge and perceptions of a green campus. In Education the Sustainability Leaders of the Future. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.
• Choate B. October 2022. The Value of Our Sustainable Campus in Attracting Students & Creating Sustainable Citizens. Allegheny College Board of Trustees Fall Meeting. Allegheny College. Meadville, PA.
• Bethurem M, Choate B and Bramwell S.* (2021) Stop Piling on: Assessing Efforts to Reduce Single-Use Water Bottles at Allegheny College. Sustainability. 13 (16): 8864. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168864
• Emerald Publishing Impact Case Study: Pinching, J. (October 2019) “Real impact is empowering people to reject plastic bottles”. https://www.emeraldpublishing.com/case-studies/real-impact-is-empowering-people-to-reject-plastic-bottles/
• Faculty Focus Live Podcast (April 2022)”For What It’s Earth…Implementing Measures to Help Campuses Go Green”. https://www.facultyfocus.com/faculty-focus-live-podcast/
• Choate B, Davis B and Verrecchia J*. (2018) Campus Bottled Water Bans, Not Always the Solution. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 19:5. 987-997. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2017-0089.
• Choate B, Hickman P* and Moretti E* (2018) Wild Bee Abundance and Richness Across an Urban-Rural Gradient. Journal of Insect Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0068-6.
• Boulton K, Pallant E, Wilson C, Choate B and Carbone I. (2017) Energy Challenges: Isolating results due to behavior change. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 18:1. 116-128

Research

I consider myself an interdisciplinary environmental problem solver. My research spans a variety of topics and disciplines within the theme of sustainable systems. I have conducted insect biodiversity research in agricultural and urban landscapes aimed at understanding how land management impacts communities. On college campuses, I have worked to promote campus sustainability through a variety of avenues including better understanding student choices and creating systemic change to encourage environmentally-friendly behaviors. Finally, a significant portion of my research is focused on pedagogy and how best to prepare environmental science students to move forward in life and solve the ever-changing problems surrounding the environment. I find it extremely fulfilling to work with students to develop research projects that fit within their interests and meet the needs of both time and place.