On Tuesday, November 18, Blair Skeptics is honored to welcome Current Assistant Extension Specialist in Climate Services at Rutgers University Dr. James Shope. For his inaugural visit to Skeptics, Dr. Shope plans on discussing his work in applied climatology as it relates to hazards such as how urban heat affects vulnerable residents in Camden, New Jersey, and how coastal flooding and erosion affect Pacific Island communities.  

“I find it extremely important to talk with young people about climate change as it has and will continue to affect their lives,” says Dr. Shope in a pre-event interview. 

Dr. Shope seeks to bring optimism and hope to a topic that has had the adverse connotation especially in recent years. 

“I want to bring a [positive] perspective on these issues that students can take into other aspects of their lives or careers, even if they are not in the environmental or geosciences, that will help them throughout their lives. I hope participants take away that while climate hazards and climate change present large, often scary, problems, we can adapt to these issues and make our communities both more resilient and sustainable.”

With over 10 years of experience working in climate and environmental sciences, the Georgia native recalls that his experiences both in high school and college were what led him to commit to his career path. 

“In high school and college, I both developed a love of the environmental sciences and a desire to apply this discipline to improve people’s lives. This stemmed from growing up in a disadvantaged community surrounded by nature and being presented with opportunities to further explore my academic and professional interests in college.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Emory University, Dr. Shope went on to obtain his doctorate degree in philosophy and coastal processes from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

As an individual who has always aspired to build a career in helping others, Dr. Shope says the most gratifying part of his job is “having had the opportunity to pair [his] research-focused work with real world impacts.”

“What gets me out of bed each morning is the fact that my work is applied, meaning that I get to work with communities and stakeholders to produce science that matters to them and improves their lives. Geosciences is a huge field, with opportunities to explore interests and very different types of work and there may be ways for students to work across disciplines in geosciences if they explore it as a future career option.”

All are welcome to hear Dr. Shope speak in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.