Overview:
As Chair of Environmental Science, Dr. Bratton's major goal is to support students by organizing an interdisciplinary curriculum with student friendly undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Dr. Bratton has also revised and improved the undergraduate curriculum in the department, including establishing a new degree option in environmental science and also by developing supervised research opportunities for undergraduates. Internships and research assistantships have also been expanded. All of these changes has helped to triple the number of graduate enrollments and also has increased research productivity.

Biography:
Having grown up in a rural environment in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, Dr. Bratton was always interested in the environment and in land and water management. She began field training as an undergraduate, attending courses in Scotland and the Colorado Rockies. Then as a graduate student, she studied at Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica, and conducted research on forest dynamics in the Adirondacks and the Great Smoky Mountains. Her hobbies include reading, walking, fishing, visiting natural areas and museums and supporting Baylor basketball, particularly the Lady Bears. Dr. Bratton also is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church and periodically teaches adult Sunday school.

Research:
Dr. Bratton is the author of three books on Christianity and environmental ethics. The most recent is Environmental Values in Christian Art (SUNY Press) and the previously published, Six Billion and More: Human Population Regulation and Christian Ethics, and Christianity Wilderness and Wildlife: The Original Desert Solitaire. Dr. Bratton has also published articles and book chapters on ecology and religion, Rachel Carson and ocean ethics, the ethics of commericial fishing, fire management in parks, the impact of wild hogs, restoration of disturbed high mountain floras, and Christian ecotheology and the Hebrew Scriptures. Dr. Bratton has also most recently become involved with research concerning Cameron Park, Cameron Park Zoo, the Brazos and Bosque Rivers, the coastal zone of Texas, and the Appalachian Trail. To see Current Activities, Current Research, and Blog Page, visit my Home Page at: http://homepages.baylor.edu/susan_bratton/