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About Eileen Smith-Cavros

Eileen Smith-Cavros, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor who teaches sociology and anthropology classes in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies. Previously, she worked at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Florida as Head Naturalist and in Zion National Park, Utah, for the Zion Natural History Association, where she was the founding Director of the Zion Canyon Field Institute (ZCFI). ZCFI provided outdoor instruction in areas including geology, Native American basket-weaving, petroglyphs, photography, edible plants, bats, and botanical illustration, as well as hands-on service-learning projects on archaeology and oral history. She has written in the area of environmental sociology in the bookPioneer Voices of Zion Canyon and the closing chapter ofA Zion Canyon Reader. Smith-Cavros has published articles in national and international academic journals on African-American churchgoers and the environment including a visual anthropology project centering around social justice and local participants' photography in Miami's historic Overtown neighborhood.

Dr. Smith-Cavros has also published her field research (performed with an interdisciplinary and international team) among campesinos in Veracruz, Mexico, who once hunted manatees and she filmed and co-wrote the accompanying anthropological documentary Laguna Manati: Ayer y Hoy. The film was chosen as part of the Green Unplugged international online film festival. She has also published research concerning infertility from medical sociology perspectives in a peer-reviewed academic article as well as a book co-authored with Dr. Ellen Miller,The Infertility Challenge. She recently co-authored a law journal article on lesbian lawyers and issues of identity in South Florida. Her ongoing research projects include: examining interactions between spirituality and healthcare access among rural elders in the village of Agate, Ghana (with Dr. Joyce Avotri-Wuaku), and an analysis in rural Utah of households who have lived completely off the municipal utility power grid.

Positions

2005 - Present Associate Professor, Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Arts and Sciences - Department of Conflict Resolution Studies
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2007 - 2015 Sociology Major Chair, Nova Southeastern University
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2005 - 2006 Education Consultant, Zion Natural History Association
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2002 - 2005 Director, Zion Canyon Field Institute
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2001 Research Assistant, Florida International University ‐ Immigration and Ethnicity Center
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2000 - 2001 Teaching Assistant, Florida International University ‐ Department of Sociology and Anthropology
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1997 - 2000 Program Coordinator and Head Naturalist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center
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1996 - 1997 Assistant to the Naturalist, Enchanted Forest/Elaine Gordon Park
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1989 - 1995 Assistant Professor, Millikin University ‐ Theatre Department
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Administrator, Nova Southeastern University Undergraduate Program
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Professional Service and Affiliations

2014 - Present Member, Nova Southeastern University Cross Collaborative Team for Sustainability
2011 - Present Member, Rank and Review Committee, Nova Southeastern University
2016 Member, CHASS Faculty Conversations
2016 Judge, Nova Southeastern University and the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund (HELF), Inc.
2016 Chair, Undergraduate Issues Committee, CHASS, Nova Southeastern University
2015 Evaluator, Faculty Merit Pay Process, Nova Southeastern University
2015 Member, General Education Assessment: Introduction to Sociology Assignment Used in Pilot Program
2015 Judge, Nova Southeastern University and the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund (HELF), Inc.
2015 Faculty Advisor, Student Undergraduate Symposium
2013 - 2014 Member, Academic Freedom and Responsibility Committee, Nova Southeastern University
2011 - 2013 Member, Sustainability Major Task Force, Nova Southeastern University
2011 - 2012 Member, Internal Review Committee for Environmental Science Major, Nova Southeastern University
2011 - 2012 Chair, Search Committee for Sociology/Anthropology Faculty Position, Nova Southeastern University
2010 Panelist, Civil Rights and Norman Rockwell Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale
2009 - 2010 Member, Upper Level Course Credit Committee, Nova Southeastern University
2008 - 2010 Member, Faculty Council Executive Council, Nova Southeastern University
2008 - 2010 Member, General Studies Committee, Nova Southeastern University
2008 Moderator and Panel Organizer, International Birth and Death Rituals, Nova Southeastern University
Co-Author, Laguna Manati: Ayer y Hoy Anthropological Documentary
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Honors and Awards

  • (2007) Association of Partners of Public Lands: APPL Excellence Award: Pioneer Voices of Zion Canyon Project
  • (2007) Association of Partners for Public Lands: Winner Commemorative Project: Pioneer Voices of Zion Canyon Project
  • (2006-2007) Faculty Fellow in the Arts, Nova Southeastern University
  • (2006) Keynote Speaker: Nova Southeastern University, Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • (2004-2005) Faculty Fellow in the Arts, Nova Southeastern University
  • (2004) Mayor’s Award in the Humanities, Springdale, Utah/Utah Humanities Council
  • (2004) Association for Partners for Public Lands APPL Media and Partnership Awards finalist “Best on-site Education Program” for Zion Canyon Field Institute
  • (2003) Barry Levine Award, Best Social Theory Paper, Florida International University
  • (2002) 2ndplace, statewide award Florida Native Plant Society: Hammock Restoration Key Biscayne, Florida
  • (2000) Graduate Scholars Forum 2nd Place Award for research paper/presentation on the natural sciences, Florida International University
  • (1999) Tropical Biology Program Travel Grant, Florida International University
  • (1987-89) Minnesota State University, Mankato: full tuition graduate assistantship and stipend
  • (1987) Mt. Holyoke College: Stitt Award for Excellence
  • (1983-87) Mt. Holyoke College: full 4-year undergraduate tuition grant

Courses

  • Environmental Justice
  • Taboos
  • Anthropological Theories
  • Gender, Family, and Sexuality
  • Family Relationships
  • Gender at Work
  • Sociology of Sexuality
  • Race and Ethnicity in the United States
  • Introduction to Sociology
  • ANTH 1020: Introduction to Anthropology
  • SOCL 2510: Social Problems
  • SOCL 3000: Research Methods in Social Sciences
  • SOCL 3600: Environmental Sociology

Education

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2003 Ph.D., Sociology, Florida International University
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2000 M.S., Environmental Studies, Florida International University
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1989 M.F.A., Theater Arts, Minnesota State University, Mankato
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1987 B.A., Liberal Arts, Mount Holyoke College
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Contact Information

(954)262-8172 

Email:


Articles (22)

Books and Book Contributions (4)