The Port Jefferson School District welcomed renowned ecologist Dr. Lindsey E. Rustad as its 2023 Wall of Fame inductee at a ceremony in the high school library on Oct. 16.

A graduate of the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Class of 1976, Dr. Rustad offered a master class in life, reflecting on her four decades in her profession, philosophy, the environment, the integration of art and science, diversity, an individuals’ character traits, behavioral health and more. She touted the Port Jefferson schools for offering her an education that was the foundation of her career.

Dr. Rustad is the director of the USDA Northeast Climate Hub and research ecologist for the USDA Forest Service Center for Research on Ecosystem Change. She is an internationally recognized authority on the disturbances and effects of pollution on forest ecosystems.

Dr. Rustad toured her alma mater before being introduced to an audience that included district administrators, students, teachers and staff. High school chamber orchestra members Caitlin Dickhuth, Andi Kelly, Joshua Kwon, Evan Monaghan, Sophia Padin, Iris Park, Nicholas Smirnov and Christopher Smith, directed by Dr. Michael Caravello, performed to welcome her to the library. She enjoyed lunch with the students after an unveiling of the plaque securely placed on the school’s Wall of Fame.

Dr. Rustad received a B.A. in philosophy at Cornell University in 1980, an M.S. in forest science at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences in 1983, and a Ph.D. in plant science in 1988 at the University of Maine.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards, including the USDA Forest Service Gifford Pinchot Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Conservation Education. She is highly regarded as a role model and mentor for women in science.

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Date Added: 10/23/2023