Jennifer Zavaleta Cheek

Title

Assistant Professor

Office Building

Edgar S. McFadden Biostress Lab

Office

255C

Mailing Address

McFadden Biostress Laboratory 255C
Natural Resource Management-Box 2140B
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Education

• Ph.D. | University of Michigan
• M.S. | Texas Tech University
• B.A. | Claremont McKenna College

Academic Responsibilities

1. NRM 221: Introduction to Conservation Planning
   This course introduces students to key concepts and accepted practices in conservation planning and management. Students develop written and oral communication skills to address social-ecological challenges in conservation planning.
2. NMR 321: Park Interpretation
   This course introduces principles of park interpretation and professional standards of interpretation. Students learn how to communicate the value of natural and cultural resources as they build skills related to effective tours, sign design, exhibit curation and educational programming.
3. WL 430: Human Dimensions in Natural Resource Management
   This course will cover skills related to understanding and resolving conflicts in natural resource management. Students will learn more about the social process, including how to identify relevant stakeholders, what they value, and the strategies they use to achieve their goals, so they are better positioned to weigh tradeoffs between different management decisions. Students will hone their written and communication skills as they become effective natural resource problem solvers.
4. WL 724: Advanced Human Dimensions
   This course will provide instruction for how to collect and analyze qualitative data in natural resource management research. Students will also learn facilitation and conflict resolution skills needed to alleviate natural resource management conflicts.
5. ABS 475: Senior Capstone
   A capstone course that requires students to integrate previously-learned natural resource techniques and information into the strategic planning process. Students are divided into small groups to develop a management plan. Various majors are involved to allow for integrated course materials.

Areas of Research

Jennifer Zavaleta Cheek is an assistant professor in the Natural Resource Management Department at South Dakota State University. She is a sustainable development scholar who uses quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand complex human-natural systems and advance human dignity. Her research interests are broad, ranging from food and agricultural systems, community forestry management and human dimensions of biodiversity conservation.