The days in August and September were a flurry of activity!   Here are some updates from the Hall Lab :

  • The Hall lab presented research at the 2022 annual conference of the Ecological Society of America conference in Montreal!
    • Graduate students Aleigh Cocroft and Jeff Haight presented their research to a large audience at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (photo of Aleigh –>).
    • For the Natural History lgnite session during the ESA conference in August, I presented new ideas in an invited talk, “Developing empathy and nature connectedness through technology at scale:  How and when can it work, and to what end?” with collaborators Matthew Chew, Sara Brownell, and new PhD student Nolina Doud.  I look forward to developing these ideas further!
    • CAP LTER collaborators helped to put together a poster presentation on the drivers of people’s perceptions of wildlife in metro Phoenix. See a copy of the poster here:  Hall et al. 2022.  Residents’ risk perceptions of common wildlife vary more by neighborhood than by characteristics of individuals. Poster presented at the 2022 ESA Conference, Montreal, Canada.
  • In a ceremony in late August, I was inducted as a ASU President’s Professor by President Crow and Provost Gonzales.  I was honored to be featured in this video, where I talk about my passion for helping students to become change agents for a better future.   Here is the text of my acceptance remarks:

“Thank you to all of my students and faculty nominators, many who’ve been my trusted mentors and collaborators since I arrived here at ASU 17 years ago. Because that’s how it works, right?  We are in this business because we want to have an impact on the world– but all of us need a hand to do this — someone who saw potential in us to teach, to discover, to transform others.

That’s my mission here at ASU. Among the many things these last couple of years have taught me is that our linked environmental and social challenges are becoming more immediate and local, affecting all of our lives through our infrastructure, schools, and our food and water systems, all of which are causing stress in our political systems. But too many people who are currently in conservation and sustainability science don’t have the life experiences to move this message effectively to the American and global public.

We’re hoping to change that – to build the next generation of scholars who are more diverse, more culturally competent, and more technologically savvy than we are – to help us solve the challenges that await us. We need everyone to be a part of this mission, by expanding educational access to all learners, and then connecting those learners to jobs and careers. I’m grateful to ASU and its’ mission of inclusion and access so we can elevate these opportunities for students.”

  • I have accepted a new position in the College of Global Futures as Associate Dean of Student Success.  I will be stepping into this position to join an incredible team of leaders and professionals who are dedicating their work to building the next generation of sustainability and complexity scholars, ocean scientists, and innovators.

More soon!

Sharon