Tracy Gartner

  • Professor of Environmental Science and Biology
    Email Address:
    tgartner@carthage.edu
    Office location:
    Straz Center 90
    Phone
    262-551-5803

    Tracy Gartner joined the Carthage faculty in 2005. She directs the Environmental Science Program and teaches research- and service-oriented courses in environmental science, ecology, botany, experimental design and restoration. Her research focuses on how shifts in biodiversity (due to invasive species, environmental change and human disturbance) influence community structure and nutrient dynamics in ecosystems.

    She is co-founder of The Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN), which unites students and faculty at Carthage with more than 150 primarily undergraduate institutions across the country in research endeavors that fit within the context of the classroom or independent student projects. Prof. Gartner serves as the lead scientist for one of these projects that focuses on decomposition processes and invasive species, and also participates on the Leadership Team for the organization. The network is funded by the National Science Foundation.

    Prof. Gartner has presented her work at several national conferences, including the Ecological Society of America, where she co-organized an oral session on the influence of biodiversity in the litter layer. Her work has been published in a variety of professional journals, including Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Oikos, and Ecology Letters. In addition, she has remained active in a variety of professional research groups, including Sigma Xi, MExEco (Microbial Enzymes across Ecosystems).

    Before arriving at Carthage, Prof. Gartner received her B.A. in biology and environmental science at Coe College (Phi Beta Kappa), received her Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Connecticut, and did postdoctoral work in Alaska while sponsored by the University of California-Irvine.

    • Ph.D. — Ecology, University of Connecticut
    • B.A. — Biology and Environmental Science, Coe College (Phi Beta Kappa)
    • ENV 1600 Introduction to Environmental Science
    • ENV 2610 Case Studies in Environmental Science
    • ENV 4000 Senior Seminar in Environmental Science
    • ENV 4900 Research in Environmental Science