Joe Baust, left, receives the 2007 Walter E. Jeske Award from his friend, 2006 Jeske recipient Terry Wilson. 

Joe Baust inspires and motivates his peers and his students by blending interests in the environment and the arts. Dr. Baust (Ed.D., University of Tennessee in 1978) became a math teacher, but found his calling as an EE leader and has been Director of the Center for EE at Murray State University in Kentucky for more than 15 years. Within the College of Education, the center offers pre-service and in-service teachers ways to integrate the environment throughout their curriculum, via residential workshops, certification in national environmental education (EE) curricula, and other professional development opportunities.

Baust's accomplishments at Murray State include:

* Outstanding Teacher Award for 1994-95 from the MSU student government association

* the board of regents Outstanding Teaching Award for 1993

* institutionalizing required preservice EE for MSU teacher candidates, even though not required by the state of Kentucky

* creating an expanded emphasis on EE for graduate level students (current classroom teachers)

* establishing a graduate level course for teachers through the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, taught each summer in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, focused on teaching about sustainability. Baust has been a leader in EE in Kentucky, bringing new ideas and collaborations to enhance the EE profession.