Professor wins STEM award for environmental science textbook

^{From left, Corena Reed, Jesse West, Julia Haas and Tanner Cook learn about sustainable practices from Carson-Newman University’s Dr. Susan Karr, who recently won Macmillan Publishers’ STEM Product of the Year award for the 3rd edition of “Environmental Science for a Changing World.”}

(Feb. 14, 2019) JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Macmillan Publishers recently recognized efforts by a Carson-Newman University professor to produce a textbook that draws students into their studies using current stories to bring context to environmental issues.

Dr. Susan Karr, assistant professor of biology, is the lead author of “Environmental Science for a Changing World,” a college textbook that is in use at nearly 200 higher education institutions.

The third edition, produced in 2018, has received Macmillan’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Math “Product of the Year” award.

A case study threads throughout each chapter to help put a given environmental issue in context, making the chapters interesting to read and enticing students to see how the story plays out. The case studies are timely, such as the lead contamination in the water of Flint, Michigan.

The textbook “was selected out of all the projects Macmillan published in 2018 to win this award based on criteria such as ‘extensive and meaningful revision, alignment to core challenges and objectives of course, digital growth, learning impacts, and fiscal performance and growth,’” according to information provided by the publisher. The award is the highest honor Macmillan presents annually.

“Working on this book has been a labor of love that began with my desire to help produce a science textbook that was more appropriate for non-science majors,” Karr said. “I have been fortunate to work with a talented science writer and editors whose input has made this book a success. Receiving the Macmillan STEM Product of the Year award is quite an honor as this publishing house publishes many well-respected science titles.”

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts university located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The University has over 2,500 students and offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.