Jenny Ramstetter

Jenny Ramstetter is a Professor of Biology at Marlboro College, where she has taught since 1989. Her work bridges biological sciences and interdisciplinary environmental studies, emphasizing process-based understanding in courses like General Biology, Plants of Vermont, and Genetics and Evolution.

Education:

• B.S., Marlboro College, 1981
• M.A., University of Montana, 1983
• Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1988
• Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Montpellier, France, 1988–1989

Research Interests: Her scholarship centers on multi-level biodiversity conservation and sustainability in human-dominated landscapes. She integrates plant reproductive biology with environmental justice, ethnobotany, and ecological design to address complex conservation challenges, particularly in agricultural ecosystems and rare plant habitats.

Scientific Awards:

• Vermont State Award from New England Wild Flower Society (2005)

Advising and Grants: She has mentored seven Plan students on interdisciplinary environmental projects. Her campus sustainability leadership includes securing an NEH Grant for the Data Humanist Certificate program and spearheading energy-saving initiatives like campus-wide LED retrofits and EV charging infrastructure.

Service and Conservation: As a Vermont Flora Advisory Group member and Marlboro Conservation Commission participant, she established a 500-acre Hogback Mountain conservation area and Marlboro College’s 130-acre Ecological Reserve, with ongoing efforts to expand protected timber-harvest zones.