James Murren

Office: NH 123 | Email: [email protected]

James Murren has a Master’s of Environmental Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Science, Technology, and Society from Penn State University. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Honduras, 1997-99), he brings 15+ years of practitioner experience to the classroom, primarily in the fields of international environmental and agricultural development, including: watershed management in Honduras; household energy procurement in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Brazil; post-harvest storage in West Africa; agricultural assessments in Paraguay and the Republic of Georgia; climate change/agricultural education in Guinea; and capacity building/business planning with farmer’s associations in Central America.  

Housed in SDSU’s Political Science Department since 2013, Murren teaches courses in various degree tracks for Political Science, Sustainability, Geography, ISCOR, and Environmental Sciences.  He also teaches two courses with the Weber Honors College, and he offers a 1-credit short course (What is International Development?) through the SDSU Global Campus. Recently, he developed a new U.S. Water Policy course with the Sustainability Program. Beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, he will teach Our Global Future: Environment and Climate Change with the International Security and Conflict Resolution (ISCOR) program.

A recipient of the Associated Students College of Arts and Letters PRIDE Award (2022), Murren was awarded the Most Influential Faculty Member for Sustainability in 2023, chosen by the Outstanding Graduating student in the Sustainability program. In 2024, he received the Faculty in Excellence Teaching Award from the College of Arts Letters (CAL), an honor recognizing him as the top CAL Lecturer that academic year. He is one of the core team members for the Food Studies minor and assists with the Peace Corps Prep certificate program, mentoring students interested in international service, government, and/or career tracks related to, among others: volunteerism, foreign service, aid delivery, and global food security. 

He teaches or has taught the following courses at SDSU: Politics of the Environment (POLS/SUST 334); Food Justice (POLS/GEOG 440); U.S. Water Policy (SUST 496); Our Global Future: Environment and Climate Change (ISCOR 310); Intro to Sustainability/Environmental Sciences (SUST/ENVS 100); Global Food Security (Weber Honors College); Global Environmental Issues (Weber Honors College); Living/Learning Community Seminar (GEN S 100); and a 1-credit short course called What is International Development? (Global Campus).