Faculty Profile
Dr. Orvis shares a joint appointment between the Departments of Youth Development and Ag Education (primary, Extension) and Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (secondary, Teaching). Her research and extension work focuses on the utilization of plants as teaching tools. Additionally, her background in plant genetics affords her the capacity to focus on various aspects of biotechnology education.

Education
PhD, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 2000
MS, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 1997
BS, Botany and Lyman Briggs, Michigan State University, 1995

Courses Taught
HORT 101 Fundamentals of Horticulture
YDAE 491 Teaching with Plants
YDAE/HORT 542 Introduction to Ag Biotechnology
YDAE 644 Graduate Seminar

Research Interests
Plant science education, experiential learning; science literacy, biotechnology education

Grants & Projects
Collaborator, Enhancing Science Capacity in Introductory Animal, Plant, and Food Sciences Courses. USDA NIFA Higher Education Challenge Grant. 2010-13

Senior Personnel, Youth Outreach and 4-H portion of the Sustainable Production and Distribution of Bioenergy for the Central USA (CenUSA) project. 2011 – 2016