Associate Professor Jim Proctor will be leaving us in June. With a BA in Religious Studies, an MS in Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Geography, it isn’t surprising that Dr. Proctor describes his research interests as being focused on theoretical and philosophical issues in environmental geography. In his own philosophical way, Jim states, “My life has been rich, including far more than my job as a professor at UCSB. I grew up in the small town of Canyonville, nestled in the forests and farm valleys of rural southern Oregon. Oregon is still an extremely important part of my life: I founded an educational nonprofit there called Alder Creek Children’s Forest as a way to give something back to this special place. After graduating from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) in 1980, I lived and worked as a Peace Corps volunteer for nearly four years in Swaziland, located in southern Africa. Then, returned with my family to New Mexico, where I went to school, eventually transferring to UC Berkeley (go Bears!) for graduate school. After 13 years of college, they kicked me out and told me I had to do something useful for a change, so that’s how I got my job at UCSB (go Gauchos!). After 12 years here, I’m going full circle and have accepted a position as Professor and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Lewis and Clark College (go Pioneers!) in, you guessed it, Oregon.”Go Jim!
