Organization
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Alex Racelis
Profile
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Biography
Alex Racelis is an assistant professor in the School for Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In response to the challenges of balancing agricultural and urban development in the Rio Grande Valley, Alex has initiated a student-driven training program at UTRGV that both inspires and prepares skilled and competitive professionals who can help address our pressing socio-environmental problems though ecological literacy. Ultimately, the goal is to have students who are able to (1) look at the world with an ecological lens, recognizing connections of elements within a system based on a deep understanding of ecological concepts, (2) identify and explain specific patterns or phenomenon resulting from these connections and interactions with a system, and (3) have both the skills and motivation to critically evaluate the implications of such patterns, in the context of solving real world ecological problems. Students are trained both in and out of classrooms through inquiry based instruction, experiential learning, and community-engaged scholarship and learning. Alex teaches Ecology, Advanced Ecology, Scientific Communication, and Agroecology at UTRGV.