Vicki Penziner-Matson Field Trips
The Vicki Penziner-Matson Field Trips are endowed by a fund set up in the memory of Vicki who passed away during her senior year at Earlham. Vicki was a biology major, who had a strong interests in natural history and photography. Her love for the outdoors was great, and her parents and friends honored her by setting up the Vicki Penziner-Matson endowed fund with the College, the income to be used for natural history field trips that are open to all in the Earlham Community. The fund was set up explicitly to offer field natural history and photography experiences open to the Earlham community.
The fund is distinctive, perhaps unique in higher education. It is restricted to supporting experiences not required by academic courses and programs. Since late 1970’s, this fund has supported travel, meals, equipment and lodging (usually tents or state park cabins) for weekend or spring break trips to various sites in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ontario, Kentucky, Florida, Texas and elsewhere. As our broader culture has become increasingly estranged from nature and the natural aspects of landscapes, this travel opportunity has become increasingly important for participants’ world-views and environmental insights.
Sandhill Crane 2022 photos
![AXHD5651[1]](https://earlham.edu/wp-content/uploads/slider/cache/490088434fca7a60c3a3507cf9b4754d/AXHD56511.jpg)
![ACPD2055[1]](https://earlham.edu/wp-content/uploads/slider/cache/26678c298c844a87e162f5f856f8ae2d/ACPD20551.jpg)
Past trips
Like the locations represented on the trip map, the Vicki Penziner-Matson Field Trip experiences relate to a variety of initiatives and academic programs offered at Earlham.
Related programs:
Team leaders
| Name | Earlham Affiliation | Trip Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Wendy P. Tori | Professor of biology Martha Sykes Hansen endowed chair in biology for ornithology | Led Florida, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Canada trips |
| José I. Pareja | Science technology learning specialist; Assistant professor of environmental programs | Co-led Florida, Texas, Indiana, Illinois trips |
| Brent Smith | Professor of biology | Led Indiana trip |
| John Iverson | Former director of Joseph Moore Museum; retired professor of biology | Led Florida, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Canada trips |
| Bill Buskirk ’66 | Emeritus professor of biology | Led Florida, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Canada trips |
| Jaime Coon (Faculty) | Assistant professor of biology and environmental studies | Led Indiana |
| Matt Lachiusa ’10 | Biology alumnus | Led Texas trip |
| Kevin Schmidt ’12 | Biology and chemistry alumnus | Led Indiana, Canada trips |
| Joel Hogle ’12 | Biology alumnus | Led Indiana, Canada trips |
| Erin Lewis ’17 | EC student | Led 2017 Florida Peninsula trip |
| Aiden Newman ’19 | EC student | Led 2017 Florida Peninsula trip |
| Andrea Ball ’17 | EC student | Led 2017 Sandhill Crane and Dunes trip |
| Caroline Wolfe-Merritt | EC student | Led 2019 Sandhill Crane and Dunes trip |
| Lilly Hartman | EC student | Led 2019 Sandhill Crane and Dunes trip |
| Jennifer Shamel `19 | EC student | Led Indiana |
| Hannah Grushon `19 | EC student | Led Indiana |
| Sylvan Gilkey `21 | EC student | Led Indiana |
Ready for an adventure?
For details about upcoming Vicki Penziner-Matson Field Trip experiences and how to sign up for them, reach out to Associate Professor of Biology Wendy Tori.