Eric Brown

Name: Eric Brown

Email: eric.brown1@maine.edu

Degree Program(s): PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences (EES)

Home Country: USA

Role in Graduate Student Government: Liaison Officer

Reason behind joining the GSG as an officer: Graduate student workers (GWs) have at long last won the first contract of our Union. Our contract treats the issues of GW safety in the workplace, compensation and healthcare, work expectations, and procedures to rectify conflicts between GWs and management (the university), among other items. I joined GSG to ensure that all graduate students are aware of and familiar with the terms of our contract and the protections and benefits it provides. 

As an officer in the GSG, how would you like to contribute in such a way that you improve the situation for graduate students?: By serving as a bridge between GSG, our Union, and other bodies such as the undergraduate student government, I will aim to promote a culture on campus that is collaborative and constructive. As a unionist, I hope to dispel taboos around talking about issues in the workplace—be they issues of harassment, discrimination, or delayed payment or healthcare enrollment. Oftentimes there are many of us dealing with the same issues, and we can much more easily resolve them by working together.

Long-Term Career Goals: I hope to do good. Perhaps that will mean working as a researcher or organizing representative for a union, or perhaps it shall mean continuing on as an ecologist. Time will tell.

Research at UMaine: I research the thermoregulatory physiology of squirrels. My primary study has been in Sarawak, Borneo (Malaysia) for the past several years, but I am also interested in North America’s flying squirrels and global patterns of squirrel diversity generally.

Involvement in clubs and other organizations: I am the Financial Secretary for the UMaine Graduate Workers Union, a member of the Eastern Maine Labor Council, Food AND Medicine, and the archival and editorial committees of the Science for the People magazine. 

Hobbies: I like to read, write, and run in the woods. Drink tea and coffee. Hang out. Saunter.

Fun facts: I’ve spent ~50% of my PhD living in Borneo chasing squirrels. Yes, they do bite. Also, woodchucks (groundhogs, whistlepigs, or whathaveyou) are squirrels.