About the Authors

William Cunningham is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Minnesota where he taught for 36 years in the Departments of Botany and Genetics and Cell Biology as well as the Conservation Biology Program, the Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability, the Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, and the McArthur Program in Global Change. He received his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Texas in 1963 and spent two years at Purdue University as a postdoctoral fellow. At various times, he was a visiting scholar in Sweden, Norway, Indonesia, and China, as well as several universities and research institutions in the United States.

Cunningham's teaching covered a wide variety of courses including biochemistry, general biology, plant physiology, cell biology, electron microscopy, the social uses of biology, environmental ethics, environmental science, environmental health and toxicology, wilderness literature, ways of knowing, and garbage, government and the globe. His research interests varied from isolation and characterization of cell organelles (especially mitochondria and the Golgi apparatus), the effects of air pollution on plant tissues, and land use planning and environmental policy. He published approximately 60 scientific articles or book chapters. He is coauthor of Environmental Science: A Global Concern and Principles of Environmental Science published by WCB/McGraw-Hill, and was managing editor for the Environmental Encyclopedia published by Gale Research.

In 1991, Cunningham was honored with the Continuing Education Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 1993, he won the Morris/Alumni Teaching Award, the highest recognition of teaching at the University of Minnesota. He served as a Bush Foundation Faculty Development Mentor in 1994/95, and as a member of the University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers from 1996-2001.

A member of the Sierra Club since 1967, Cunningham served on the Midwest Conservation Committee from 1968-70 and was chair of the Minnesota Chapter in 1973-74. He also chaired the Northern States Power Company Citizens Advisory Board, the State of Minnesota Energy Policy Task Force, and was Commissioner of Energy for the State of Minnesota between 1973 and 1975. He was vice chair of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness in 1975-1976. He also was a member of the board of Directors of YMCA Camp DuNord 1982-1991 and the Acid Rain Foundation 1991-1996.

Mary Ann Cunningham teaches geography and geographic information systems (GIS), and environmental studies at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY. Her research involves using GIS to assess landscape-level problems in conservation and biodiversity. In particular, she is interested in understanding the nature of fragmentation in grassland environments and the effects of fragmentation on the make-up of bird communities. The agricultural landscapes where she has been working represent a complex and fascinating interaction of issues concerning working landscapes, resource use, remnant wildlife habitat, and landscape aesthetics. It is at the intersection of these issues that she likes to try and understand the geography of physical environments. Mary Ann earned a PhD in Geography at the University of Minnesota, an MA in Geography at the University of Oregon, and a BA in Geology at Carleton College.