Howard R. Ernst, Ph.D. 

Dr. Ernst was recently appoint Director of the Kohler Environmental Center at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT. Dr. Ernst brings to the position more than ten years of college teaching and research experience. As an associate professor at the United States Naval Academy, Professor Ernst  taught classes in environmental policy, oversaw various capstone classes, and directed an honors program. He represents University of Virginia's Center for Politics as a Senior Scholar in the area of environmental policy and directs the Environmental Leadership Program at Gettysburg College's Eisenhower Institute. Dr. Ernst received his Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia in the spring of 2000. While at University of Virginia, Dr. Ernst received several of the school’s highest academic awards, including: the Governor's Fellowship, the Bradley Fellowship, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship. In 2004, Dr. Ernst received an honorable mention for the Naval Academy’s highest teaching award. Dr. Ernst’s research focuses on the American political system and gives close attention to citizen influence over the environmental policy process. He has developed a national reputation for his work in the area of environmental policy and natural resource management. His interdisciplinary research in this area exemplifies his desire to span multiple academic fields. His environmental policy books have been adopted in courses as diverse as a graduate seminar at Yale University’s School of Forestry, New York University’s School of Law, and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Geography and Environmental Engineering, in addition to dozens of public policy courses taught in political science departments throughout the country. His books have been highlighted in numerous media outlets, including the Washington Post, National Public Radio, C-SPAN, Voice of America, and a PBS Frontline documentary. Ernst’s work has resulted in invitations to testify before Congress and to guest lecture at institutions such as Case Western Reserve, University of Virginia, Yale University, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute, and other centers of higher education.