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Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Day-to-day Home Study Course operations are managed by:

Megan Whitman
Terry Mingle

Home Study Course (Lab staff) editors/consultants are:
Rick Bonney
Sandy Podulka
Ron Rohrbaugh

Additional Lab/Cornell staff have also provided guidance, support, and answered student questions. HSC assistance has been provided by Dr. John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Lab; Dr. Ken Rosenberg, Director of Conservation; Dr. Andre Dhondt, Morgens Professor of Ornithology; Dr. Kevin McGowan, Natural Resources Dept. Research Associate; Dr. Jason A. Mobley, former HSC Instructor/Interim Director of Education; Charles Eldermire, MSc, Public Education Outreach Associate; and Scott Haber, HSC Undergrad Assistant.

The staff members from eCornell are responsible for all online exam-related aspects of the course. To contact them regarding technical assistance, please visit:

http://www.ecornell.com/help

To contact a member of the HSC staff, send an email to hstudy@cornell.edu, or call 607-254-2452.


 


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Megan Whitman
Home Study Course Instructor

As the Instructor of the course, Megan oversees all course activities and interacts with the course authors and editors in order to keep the course materials current. She earned her BA in Biology and Spanish from Earlham College where she first fell in love with birds, and after graduating she spent a number of years as a avian field biologist working in the U.S. and Central America. She earned her MS in Environmental Science at the University of Rhode Island where she studied changes in body composition of birds during migration.

 


 


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Terry Mingle
Course Coordinator

Terry is in charge of day-to-day course operations such as processing enrollment requests, maintaining student records, grading exams, and assisting with web development. She is also the coordinator for the Lab's annual Spring Field Ornithology Course. In addition, Terry works part-time as Assistant to the Director for the National Audubon Society's Seabird Restoration Program/Project Puffin, and as a part-time DJ/board op for a cluster of local radio stations. Terry obtained a B.A. in Music Merchandising (Music/Business/Marketing) from Mansfield University, Pennsylvania.

 


 


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Rick Bonney
Director of Program Development and Evaluation

One of three course editors, Rick continues to assist with course operations and content management. He has a B.S. in wildlife biology and a M.P.S. in natural resources extension, both from Cornell University, and he has been working at the Lab since 1981. A Cornell Senior Extension Associate, his research focuses on development and evaluation of inquiry-based science education projects.

 


 


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Sandy Podulka
Education Associate

The primary editor of the course, Sandy also developed the course exams. She provides guidance to course instructors and is responsible for maintaining course quality by integrating student comments and suggestions. She received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Cornell University and an M.S. in Zoology (Animal Behavior) from the University of Maryland, where she studied the function of song repertoires in Song Sparrows.

 


 


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Ron Rohrbaugh
Director of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Research Project

Second of the course editors and Director of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Research Project, Ron guided the production of the course, and continues to advise the course's current staff on biological issues. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Wildlife Biology from Penn State University. Ron's research focuses on the breeding biology of American Kestrels, grassland ecology, and using citizen science to study and monitor bird populations.