Mark Stemen

Mark Stemen, who graduated from Chico State in 1989 with a BA in Economics and in History, received his MA in History in 1993 and his Ph.D. in History in 1999, both degrees from the University of Iowa. Since 1999 he has been teaching environmental classes at Chico State in the Geography Department and he has been a tireless advocate for sustainability. He works with environmental groups in the City of Chico and throughout CSU as well as UC and the Community College systems.

In 2008 he and 17 Chico State students rode their bicycles on a 9 day trek to the Seventh Annual UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference, an environmental conference at San Luis Obispo where he was surprised with the title “Sustainability Champion.” Assistant vice chancellor for the CSU, said in her introductory remarks, "This CSU faculty member has more energy than seems humanly possible. He is a tireless advocate for sustainability, incorporating the concept into every fabric of his campus as he champions sustainability with his students, fellow faculty, campus staff, and the local community."

“Under his direction, his students recently completed greenhouse gas inventories for CSU, Chico, Butte Community College, and the City of Chico. He is advisor to eight student groups at CSU, Chico and faculty mentor to the new "Sustainability House" in the residence halls. Additionally, he is the executive director of Each One, Teach One of Northern California, a new community nonprofit focused on leadership development around issues of sustainability.”

In a recent email Dr. Stemen stated , “I have found that in university culture, Economics is often viewed as a "hard science." So early in my career, many in the academy saw me (to my benefit) as having a foot on both sides of the academic divide."