Liberal Studies

JULY 2012 IN TAOS!

SCCL 7205 - Wildflowers of the Southern Rockies
SCCL 7105 - Term paper on a medicinal plant of the Rocky Mountains

July 1-8, 2012

The southern Rocky Mountains in north-central New Mexico are renowned for its spectacular shows of wildflowers in late July and August. The various ecological zones, Alpine, Canadian, Transition and upper Sonoran have a distinctive array of wildflowers that allow identification of plant families that is unequaled in the United States. The 2 hour course will introduce the flowering plant families in various settings with daily field trips to different sites within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. A one hour credit can also be earned for writing a paper on a medicinal plant.

A spectacular introduction to plant identification and collections using field collected or observed specimens on the SMU in Taos campus and from surrounding areas. Students will learn the botanical language, plant names and classification. Students are required to learn 12 families, and collect plants from 12 plant families, press them and make proper museum quality specimens. A one hour term paper on a selected medicinal plant present in the area should not exceed 15 typewritten pages.  The 2012 cost for room, board and fees is $1,350 excluding travel and tuition.

Instructor: Dr. John Ubelaker
Dr. John Ubelaker, is a Professor Biological Sciences and is highly recognized as an outstanding teaching Professor at SMU. In 1993 the University recognized Dr. Ubelaker as an Altschuler outstanding lecturer by awarding him a Distinguished Lecturer Award of the University. He has taught on the Taos campus for the past 20 years and knows the area extremely well. He is currently working on several monographs of plants from this region of New Mexico.

For more details about this program, please contact the MLS Office at: 214-768-4273 or email us at: mls@smu.edu.