Faculty Profile
Heather Plumridge
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies (2014)
Contact Information
Kaufman Hall Kaufman Hall 110
717-254-8168
Bio
Dr. Heather Plumridge's interdisciplinary social science research examines human-environmental injustices linked to climate change, the energy transition, and agricultural land grabbing. Her research has been funded by the Fulbright Program, the Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust, Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship, Project Pericles Civic Fellowship, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the UK-India Education Research Initiative, the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, and Mellon Foundation grants at Dickinson College. Current research examines climate adaptation and mitigation in the Rust Belt, Colorado, and India. Grant funding currently supports her collaborative project with a non-profit to expand energy retrofit access for vulnerable communities in New York. Dr. Plumridge received the American Association of Geographers Harm de Blij Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. She was a Research Affiliate at the University of Colorado Boulder, Environment & Society Program and the Center for the Governance of Natural Resources. She serves on the Environmental Justice Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Cumberland County Food System Alliance.
Education
- B.A., Occidental College, 2000
- M.S., University of Michigan, 2002
- Ph.D., University of Cambridge, 2012
2026-2027 Academic Year
Fall 2026
ENST 161 Environmental Connections
This introductory environmental studies course draws from the influences of the humanities and natural sciences on the social sciences in relation to the environment. The course will examine the ideas, concepts, and debates central to the field. Students will examine the relationship between humans and the environment and become familiar with a range of environmental challenges, with an emphasis on how these challenges have emerged over time and space. The course will investigate and evaluate a variety of strategies that are currently being pursued to address these environmental challenges. The course stresses the importance of “seeing connections”, thinking carefully and critically about environmental issues, and appreciating that complex questions rarely have a single solution. This is an introductory course for those majoring in environmental studies and environmental science. Non-majors should enroll in ENST 121 Introduction to Environmental Science. This course has no laboratory section.
Spring 2027
ENST 338 A Just Energy Transition
Part of the Sustainability and Energy Transition Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants.
ENST 390 Env Rsch Meth & Civic Engagemt
Prerequisite: ENST 161 or permission of instructor. FDST students may email Professor Plumridge for an override for the ENST 161 prerequisite.
ENST 500 Independent Study
Part of the Sustainability and Energy Transition Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants.