Hiram College Resources
The James H. Barrow Field Station
Janice Mock (2003) Coordinator, J.H. Barrow Field Station Facility Operations and Animal Programs
B.A., Hiram College
Stephen L. Zabor (1980) Coordinator, J.H. Barrow Field Station Facility of the Center for the Study of Nature and Society, Professor of Economics and Management
B.A., Carleton College;
Ph.D., Northwestern University
The James H. Barrow Field Station was established in 1967 to provide Hiram College students the opportunity to supplement classroom activities with hands-on learning experiences. Over the last 32 years, the Station has grown and developed into an active research and educational facility that not only enhances the College’s science and environmental studies programs, but also provides a means for the general public to increase their understanding and appreciation of Ohio natural history. Experiences gained at the Field Station enhance student research, teaching, and leadership development. The Station consists of a 260-acre parcel of land, with 100 acres of mature beech-maple forest, a cold-water stream, two ponds, old-fields of varying ages, young forests, a five-mile interpretive nature trail, a waterfowl observation building and meeting center, a lab building with student research areas and natural history displays, including live animal exhibits, and an aquatics building that includes an experimental stream and two containment pools. The Station also has experimental agricultural plots for research into the ecology of crop systems. Student involvement in Station research makes such research possible and guides its direction by student interest. Students involved in these projects often gain valuable experiences and make contacts with other students and faculty through presentation of their work at professional meetings. The Field Station’s buildings, experimental fields, and natural and semi-natural areas are maintained entirely by college students. Student workers involved with grounds keeping also gain experience with woodworking, landscaping, and trail maintenance. Teaching experience is gained through the nature education outreach programs. These programs, which are developed and executed by Hiram students, are designed to educate pre-college students about the natural history of northeastern Ohio and such critical issues as habitat preservation and conservation of natural resources. Alumni often credit their experiences at the station as inspiration for further study in science, education, and/or environmental studies. In all activities, direct involvement of students in the learning process is the key to success.
Northwoods Field Station
Richard Hyde (1990)
B.A., University of Windsor;
M.F.A., University of Georgia
The Northwoods Field Station, located in the Hiawatha National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, serves as a headquarters for trips in the spring, summer, and fall. The station is twelve miles from Lake Superior at the western boundary of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and provides a semi-wilderness setting for special courses and field research in the summer. The buildings include six sleeping cabins and a main lodge — all designed and built by Hiram students and faculty since 1977. Although “rustic” in that there is no electricity at camp, the main lodge is outfitted with propane lights, indoor plumbing, and modern kitchen appliances. The camp is on the shore of Little Lost Lake, and is surrounded by federal lands of hardwood and conifer forests, meadows, bogs, a river, and more than a dozen other undeveloped lakes all within a two-mile hike of the station. Facilities can house up to sixteen students and two or three faculty families. Emphasis here is on living in harmony with nature, a low consumption lifestyle, and appropriate technology including wind power and solar water heating. Summer offerings vary and have included courses in field biology, field botany, geology, environmental studies, natural history, and photography. Other recent offerings include: astronomy, storytelling, writing, literature, and leadership. The Spring Three-Week term has been especially successful with team-taught interdisciplinary courses about subjects as diverse as water and Shakespeare. The Northwoods program encourages individual projects and internships in areas such as water quality monitoring, fisheries survey and habitat improvement, research and management of reproduction in the bald eagle, common loon, and sandhill crane, as well as in local oral history and folklore.
Marine Science Opportunities
Dennis J. Taylor (1979) Chair, Professor of Biology
B.A., Hiram College;
Ph.D., Cornell University
Students interested in Marine Science enroll in Hiram College courses with built in marine field experiences. Courses include but are not limited to marine ecology (Gulf of Mexico), fisheries biology (Alaska), biology of fishes (Long Island Sound), invertebrate biology (Florida , Atlantic Coast), non-vascular plants (Gulf of Maine). In addition, many Hiram College students pursue internships as part of their graduation requirements for a biology major at sites ranging from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean and Florida Keys . Students also engage in independent research in marine biology with faculty. Hiram College is affiliated with the Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), through which students may participate in summer courses and internship opportunities. SML is also a site for annual marine field trips of traditional Hiram College classes during the academic year. Shoals programs are administered by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire on Appledore Island in the Gulf of Maine. Details about SML programs, facilities, and financial aid can be obtained by contacting Professor Dennis Taylor, a member of the SML summer faculty since 1982.
Computer Resources
The computer facilities at Hiram College include the SCT Banner software package for administrative use, and a variety of workstations and servers for file storage, email, word processing and general office automation. These computers are networked via fast Ethernet to all campus buildings and offices, including the residence halls. Wireless connectivity to the network is available across the central campus and in primary classroom buildings. Personal computers are available for student use in multiple computer labs located in the library, residence halls and other locations across campus. All students are encouraged to use the computer facilities for their academic work.
Regional Resources
Northeastern Ohio — roughly the original Western Reserve, which was part of Connecticut until 1800 — has been a crossroads of American history and life for almost 300 years. Before that, it was home to some of the most sophisticated Indians in the United States. Many courses touch on one or another aspect of the region: the Mormon trek, the religious utopias, the Indian settlements, the heavy European immigrations, and the industrial revolution. All provide rich material for using our geographic setting as a local laboratory. Many Hiram students use local materials in regular courses, drawing on sources, people, and events of the region to test and explore the abstract propositions that they are studying. Hiram uses its region, which is indeed distinctive and remarkably rich in variety, to make learning personal and active.