Kara Lanning (student invited speaker, Pacific University, Oregon)

Plant Pathology in Context: Teaching, Research, and Community Engagement at a Small Liberal Arts Institution.

About the Presenter

Dr. Kara Lanning is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at Pacific University (Forest Grove, Oregon, USA), where she teaches courses in plant science, and sustainability science. Her current research focuses on plant pathogens, particularly Phytophthora species, and their potential ecological impacts in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Lanning mentors undergraduate students in field-based research, fostering their engagement in high-impact learning experiences that integrate scientific inquiry with community-based environmental stewardship.

Dr. Lanning is dedicated to advancing undergraduate research opportunities, helping students develop critical thinking skills while contributing to meaningful scientific work. Her research also emphasizes the importance of community engagement, as she collaborates with local organizations to promote environmental conservation, inform sustainable practices, and provide place-based ecological information for strategic and informed decision making. Dr. Lanning’s work reflects her commitment to environmental stewardship, particularly through efforts that bridge academic research with real-world applications in ecosystem management and pathogen prevention.

As an educator, Dr. Lanning employs innovative teaching strategies to empower students, cultivating both their academic growth and their role as informed citizens in addressing environmental challenges.

Abstract

This seminar traces my professional experiences as a doctoral student at Washington State University (Ph.D Horticulture) to my current role as Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at a small liberal arts institution. I will reflect on how my disciplinary background in Horticulture and Plant Pathology is highly integrated in my present work in sustainability-focused teaching and research programs, and how the demands of working at a teaching-focused institution has reshaped my professional identity and definitions of scholarly impact.

A central theme of the seminar is how teaching and curriculum development differ in undergraduate versus graduate-centered contexts. While graduate education often assumes disciplinary fluency and high levels of independence, undergraduate-focused teaching requires intentional scaffolding of research skills, explicit cultivation of scientific identity, and structured opportunities for experiential learning. I will share examples of pedagogical strategies I use in ENV 410: Plant Pathology that maintain disciplinary rigor and provide a strong grounding in foundational concepts. I have found that these approaches have broadened access to the field, allow for systems thinking integration, and highly engage students in a field that is typically offered at R1 institutions.

Finally, I will discuss both the challenges and the rewards of conducting research in an undergraduate-focused laboratory, and how disciplinary expertise in Plant Pathology can translate into community-engaged scholarship and transformative student research experiences. I will describe my approach to designing field-based surveys of local plant pathogen communities that center student development alongside knowledge generation. This model requires rethinking traditional metrics of productivity, mentorship, and impact.

Zoom Recording