Campus News
May 13th, 2025
GC to honor Skylstad as professor emeritus
Biologist brought GIS, GPS to Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology
GC to honor Skylstad as professor emeritus
Peter Skylstad was a biologist before he was out of elementary school.
"I grew up in the Chihuahuan desert of West Texas," recalled Skylstad. "My sister [Julie Ison] and I would spend all summer catching reptiles and amphibians and studying them. I credit our parents [the late Larry Skylstad and Peter's 93-year-old mother Ann], who were both educators, for giving us the freedom to explore the world around us."
That training certainly didn't hurt Skylstad, who joined the Navy in 1973 and then, as a civilian, spent 10 years as an industrial glazier before earning a B.S. in Physical Geography and a M.S. in Biology at Texas Tech University.
Skylstad taught courses and labs for several years at Texas Tech until eventually landing at Garrett College, spending more than two decades as a faculty member in the Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology program. His contributions to the College are being honored Saturday morning at this year's 10:30 a.m. commencement exercises with the awarding of professor emeritus status.
"I never would have believed that someday I would be professor emeritus. It's completely unexpected," said Skylstad, whose honor was unanimously recommended by the Garrett College faculty and unanimously approved by the Garrett College Board of Trustees.
Skylstad, who retired in 2021, said he feels fortunate to have had "more than 30 years to actually have the privilege to be in a classroom with the next generation."
"I think, next to being a good parent, teaching is the second-most-important job on the planet," said Skylstad. "There are no doctors, no engineers, no scientists, no lawyers, not even any politicians without teachers.
"The opportunity to get in the classroom and actually make a difference in the future is such an honor," added Skylstad. "It's the opportunity to cast ripples in time."
Professor Kevin Dodge, who has spent more than three decades leading the NRWT program, said Skylstad was the catalyst for bringing key technology to the program.
"Peter's experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology transformed the NRWT program," said Dodge. "He was able to fill in the missing pieces in the curriculum, leading it to become the outstanding technical major it is today."
"It wasn't very common, especially for a biologist or other natural resources professionals, to have that experience," said Skylstad, whose GIS and GPS skills helped him obtain a Garrett College faculty position in 2000. "The College was looking to find someone with a fairly strong background in GIS and other geospatial technology."
Skylstad also developed a course – Neotropical Natural History (BIO 250) – that he taught during winter sessions in study-abroad trips at biological field stations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. His first study-abroad trip in 2006 included two future biological superstars, Justin DeVault and Amo Oliverio. DeVault now works with All-Star Ecology, an environmental consulting firm, and Oliverio succeeded Skylstad as an NRWT faculty member.
"I took Justin and Amo and 10 other students on that first trip," recalled Skylstad. "Justin was already an excellent but uncredentialed herpetologist and Amo was very good with birds.
"I told them, ‘If you guys will make sure you're knowledgeable about neotropical birds and mammals [Amo], and reptiles and amphibians [Justin], I'll hire you as field assistants," continued Skylstad. "Those two guys, even after they graduated, they came back every winter to help me teach that course – for 10 years. They are both outstanding instructors."
Skylstad's impact at Garrett College wasn't limited to the classroom. During his GC career, he secured 21 grants totaling nearly $700,000 to conduct research on several topics, including the impact of acid mine drainage on wetlands in the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River – a designated American Heritage River – and the mitigation of those impacts.
"Over 80 students worked on those projects, gaining invaluable field experience and earning paychecks while doing so," said Dodge. "Those grants had an incredible impact on the education, careers, and lives of those students."
Skylstad, meanwhile, said Dodge "set the standard for being invested in his students, both inside and outside the classroom. Kevin is master educator. I did my best to emulate him in many ways."
"Kevin is also the most knowledgeable naturalist I've ever met, and I consider it an honor to have worked with this amazing man for more than 20 years," added Skylstad.
Skylstad said being a 21st-century faculty member was both rewarding and daunting.
"My primary goal as an educator was to prepare the next generation and help them develop the tools, including critical thinking, so they can deal with the unique nature of what's coming," said Skylstad.
"We're preparing the next generation to inherit a world that's going to be like no other world in human history," observed Skylstad. "We're on the cusp of one of those moments some futurists call a Black Swan or Singularity period.
"We can see that happening right now – things are changing very fast," continued Skylstad. "That said, I believe the faculty at GC is extremely competent and well prepared to lead students into that exciting future."
Skylstad said Garrett College is perfectly situated to educate today's students interested in natural resources and wildlife.
"There are so many benefits for a rural college program like NRWT," said Skylstad. "A lot of that has to do with the personal nature of the interaction between professors, staff and their students. It takes a village – they're not just numbers; we know their names, we see them in the hall, and we even have meals together on many occasions.
"In the NRWT program, we spend countless hours outdoors with our students in the expansive forests, lakes, and rivers that dominate the environment in Garrett County," noted Skylstad. "It is a perfect natural resources and wildlife classroom."
Skylstad noted a report he saw on the Return on Investment (ROI) in education for society at large.
"For every dollar our society invests in education, our society will receive seven dollars in return," said Skylstad, who lives on a farm just north of Accident with his wife, Carolyn, and their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. "If only we could get a 700 percent return on retirement savings! Education is, by far, the most enriching investment a society can make."
