James Mickley

Instructor

he/him

james.mickley [at] oregonstate.edu

Office: 541-737-5297

Our priceless and irreplaceable collection of plants, fungi, lichens, and algae provides data to allow us to see where species were historically, how that has changed, and how species have evolved. Join us, and contribute to our knowledge of the plants around you.

Together with OregonFlora, we are working on making the data and images of all 600,000 specimens in our collection available to the public, and building tools to allow people to explore the plants across Oregon.

Teaching & Mentoring

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Oregon State University Graduate School - Trained Mentor

I am especially interested in building student appreciation for plants and in involving students in botanical research and our herbarium collection. I place a premium on effective, influential, and high quality mentoring to all who are interested in contributing, including those from underrepresented backgrounds. It is important to me that my mentees receive lasting benefits from our relationship.

My mentoring strengths lie in skills training, promoting student ideas, and building confidence. I strive to facilitate inspiration, confidence, pride, and understanding of the lessons of occasional failure. I prefer to work as a group, and to prioritize listening to everyone’s ideas so that all members feel their intellectual contribution is valued.

Prospective Graduate Students: My position only has a small research component, and I do not oversee a research group. Unfortunately, that means that I will generally not be able to take on graduate students.

At OSU

Affiliated with:

Ag Botany / Plant Path

Headquarters:

OSU Main Campus

Career Links:

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology

OSU Herbarium

Oregon Flora Project

I can serve on graduate committees

Courses Taught:

BOT313 Plant Structure
BOT325 Plants and Humanity
BOT425/525 Flora of the Pacific Northwest

Beyond OSU

Personal Links:

iNaturalist Profile

Code on Github

Photography

Biography

I grew up in rural southeastern Pennsylvania, spending a lot of time outdoors and learning about the plants growing around me. During my first year of college in Michigan, I asked my plant ecology professor if I could help out with her research and was floored when she agreed. With her, I helped run greenhouse experiments and conducted vegetation surveys.

After college, I went on to Stony Brook University and worked on invasion demography of Centaurea stoebe. I then moved to the University of Connecticut to study evolution and adaptation in floral petal number in the Polemoniaceae for my Ph.D. Prior to coming to OSU I was a postdoc studying the effects of forest fragmentation on caterpillar foodwebs.

At Oregon State University, I oversee and curate the plant collections at the Oregon State University Herbarium, priceless and irreplaceable collections of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae, with about 450,000 specimens. I identify plants for the Oregon public, and spearhead the outreach mission of the herbarium. I am also an instructor in Botany and Plant Pathology, where I teach three classes.

Professional Accomplishments

Education:

Ph.D., 2017, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
M.A., 2010, Stonybrook University, Stonybrook, NY
B.A., 2008, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI

My Awards

My Publications

Google Scholar

ResearchGate

Primary tabs

James Mickley

Cordley Hall

2701 SW Campus Way

Herbarium

Teaching & Mentoring

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Student Resources

Employee Resources

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