Faculty Profiles
Clayton Russell
Title: Associate Professor of Environmental Education and Outdoor Education
Office Location: Wheeler 326
Phone:715- 682-1491
Email: crussell@northland.edu
At Northland Since: 1990
Education
B.S., Western Illinois University M.A., Ball State University M.S., University of Montana
Profile
My favorite thing about Northland College is Location, Location, Location! We have access to great river and lake canoeing, the North Country Trail, wilderness areas, national lakeshores, Indian reservations, and who can forget the 10 percent of the world’s freshwater in Lake Superior. I am currently working on a place-based field guide to outdoor experiential activities with an accompanying regional literature component. I am also interested in how the “habits of mind” used to pursue natural history can improve the quality of our lives. I’m intrigued by sense of place studies, the power of language, our perception of time, and the evolution of an outdoor education praxis. The majority of our students participate actively in the pursuit of a quality education. They take opportunities, make opportunities, and aren’t afraid to ask for more. Our location contributes a great deal to the shaping of fulfilling studies and a meaningful life. A plethora of childhood outdoor experiences in fields, woods, and local streams held my fascination and helped shape my early career and education choices. I enjoy canoeing historic voyageur routes, basket making, rawhide work, brain tanning, reading, rock climbing, powwow culture, and development of the International Camping Museum.