Faculty & Leadership Blog / Research and Practice

Babson’s Vikki Rodgers Elected to the Ecological Research as Education Network Board of Directors

Vikki Rodgers

Babson professor Vikki Rodgers has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN).   EREN is a group of 300+ faculty from 210+ primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) that collaborate to create and perform ecological research projects that engage students and generate high-quality publishable data. It was started in 2010 from a NSF Research Coordination Network grant and continues to grow.

Vikki Rodgers

Rodgers joined Babson College in September 2007 and has taught a variety of ecology, botany and environmental science courses. She currently teaches courses in: Case Studies in Ecological Management (NST2020), Economic Botany (SCN3630), and Art & Ecology (ENV4610). Rodgers received her B.S. in Biology at the University of New Hampshire in 1999 and her Ph.D. in Forest Ecology and Biogeochemistry at Boston University in 2007. Her doctoral research focused on the impacts of invasive plant species on soil nutrient cycling, microbial populations, and native plant communities in forests of New England. She regularly presents her research at national conferences and her work has been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals such as: BioScience, Journal of Ecology and Oecologia. She was awarded the Deans Award for Teaching Excellence in 2012 and the Faculty Scholarship Award in 2014.

Rodgers’ research interests are focused on understanding the numerous effects humans are having on various natural ecosystems. She is interested in all aspects of global environmental change, including the effects of climate change, land use change, nitrogen deposition, and the spread of invasive species. In addition, Rodgers performs pedalogical research to explore effective teaching strategies to engage non-STEM majors in environmental science. She also actively participates in a variety of outreach programs to encourage young women and other underrepresented groups to pursue careers in science.