Josephine

Rodriguez

Courses Taught

• BIO 1020: Introduction to Biological Diversity
• BIO 1021: Introduction to Biological Diversity Lab
• BIO 2020: Ecology and Evolutionary Processes
• BIO 2050: Evolutionary Processes
• BIO 3270: Invertebrate Zoology
• BIO 3275: Entomology
• ENV 4980: Environmental Science Seminar I
• ENV 4990: Environmental Science Seminar II
• SEM 1010: Freshman Success Seminar
• SEM 1020: Freshman Skills Seminar

Research Interests

• Insect biodiversity
• Broadening STEM participation

Professional Experience

• 2014-2015: Smithsonian Institution Fellow: Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History (summer)
• 2010-2013: Postdoctoral Research Fellow: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)

Selected Awards and Honors

• 2023-2024: NSF S-STEM DUE 2322482: Exploring Pathways to Access, Collaboration, and Equity for Central Appalachian Students, former Co-Principal Investigator ($100,000)
• 2019-2024: NSF Division of Human Resource Development ADVANCE Partnership: Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges Partnering and Liaising Across the Nation, former Co-Principal Investigator ($1,012,194 to all collaborating institutions of SUNY Geneseo, UNC-Asheville, and UVA Wise)
• 2019-2025: NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) 1833781: Bridging the Natural Sciences and Liberal Arts to Increase Retention, Graduation, and Career Preparedness, former Principal Investigator ($650,000)
• 2021-2023: University of Virginia 3Cavaliers: Training the Next Generation of Scientists: Developing a Model of K-6 Science Teacher Preparation in a COVID-19 Era (Co-PI with P.A. Cox and F. Mumba) ($60,000)
• 2022: Outstanding Advising Award, UVA Wise
• 2021: The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, Certificate
• 2021: Diversity and Inclusion Certificate, Cornell University (online)
• 2020: Outstanding Contribution to the Academic Program, UVA Wise
• 2020: SPLINE Scholar, STEMed Project Leaders Inclusivity NEtwork
• 2019: Glyptapanteles jjrodriguezae (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) a new species of insect named in my honor (description published in ZooKeys)
• 2019: Fellow, UVA Appalachian Prosperity Project
• 2016: Rising Star Award, UVA Wise
• 2016: Ecological Society of America (ESA) Education Scholar
• 2015: Professor of the Year Award, UVA Wise Student Government Association
• 2013: Iconella jayjayrodriguezae (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) a new species of wasp named in my honor (description published in ZooKeys)

Selected Recent Presentations

"Faculty Equity Training for Department Chairs" at the COPLAC Department Chairs Training (virtual) (2023) (contributing author with NSF ADVANCE Co-PIs)

"The Successful Implementation of the Institutional Capacity Building National Science Foundation S-STEM Program at UVA Wise" at the 2023 COPLAC Annual Meeting, UNC Asheville (2023) (presenting author)

"Experiences in Writing and Administering a COPLAC-wide NSF ADVANCE Grant" at the 2023 COPLAC Annual Meeting, UNC Asheville (2023) (contributing author)

“Roadmaps to Reform in Tenure and Promotion” workshop at the 2023 COPLAC Annual Meeting, UNC Asheville (2023) (contributing author)

"High 5 Talk: Promoting Faculty Equity in Public Liberal Arts Colleges through the COPLAC ADVANCE Partnership" at the 2023 ADVANCE Equity in STEM Community Convening (NSF ADVANCE PI Meeting) Durham, NC (2023) (presenting author)

"Poster Showcase: Promoting Faculty Equity in Public Liberal Arts Colleges through the COPLAC ADVANCE Partnership: Many Layers of Change through Top-Down and Bottom-Up Strategies" at the 2023 ADVANCE Equity in STEM Community Convening (NSF ADVANCE PI Meeting) Durham, NC (poster) (2023) (contributing author)

"Prioritizing Equity and Access in Undergraduate Science Education with NSF ADVANCE and NSF S-STEM" University of California Santa Cruz: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Seminar Series, Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology (METX) (2023) (invited seminar)

"Developing Elementary Teachers’ Virtual Science Instruction" at the 3Cavaliers 2.0 Symposium, Charlottesville, VA (poster) (2023) (contributing author)

"Research and Initiatives to Strengthen STEM Education and Broaden Participation" for the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education (virtual) (2023) (invited presentation)

"Strategies From an NSF ADVANCE Partnership in Building Social Support Systems with Virtual Affinity Groups to Connect and Empower Women Faculty" at the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy 11th Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA (poster) (2023) (presenting author)

“Virtual Science Instruction Resources for Teachers” at the NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) National Conference on Science Education, Atlanta, GA (2023) (contributing author)

"Developing Elementary Teachers’ Virtual Science Instruction" at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) 34th International Conference, New Orleans, LA (2023) (contributing author)

"Challenges and strategies for promoting STEM faculty equity through Department Chair training in primarily undergraduate institutions" at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, Indianapolis, IN (poster) (2023) (contributing author)

"Creation of Virtual Affinity Groups to Provide Support to Women Faculty in STEM Across a Consortium of 29 PUIs/Public Liberal Arts Colleges" at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA (invited talk in a session on Intentional Leadership) (2023) (contributing author)

 “Outcomes, Impacts and Current Directions of the NSF ADVANCE Partnership to Promote Equity for COPLAC Women STEM Faculty” at the COPLAC Board of Directors Meeting at the AAC&U Annual Meeting (2023) (contributing author)

"Promoting Equity for Women STEM Faculty with an NSF ADVANCE Partnership for the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges" at the AAC&U Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference, Arlington, VA (2022) (presenting author)

"Equity for Women Faculty in STEM at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions: Issues and Solutions" at the Northeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Rochester, NY (2022) (poster, contributing author)

"Impacts and Outcomes of NSF S-STEM Capacity Building Supports, Interventions, and Mentoring at UVA Wise" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) S-STEM Symposium, Washington, D.C. (2022) (poster with Galen Sedo, Tegan Makal, and Bruce Cahoon)

“Affinity Groups as a Strategy to Advance Equity Among Faculty" at the 2022 Annual COPLAC Meeting, hosted by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), Adams, MA (2022) (contributing author)

“Summer Institute on Liberal Learning: Women Faculty in STEM" at UNC Asheville, supported by the NSF ADVANCE Partnership and COPLAC (6/2022) (co-organizer)

“Workshop for Provosts and Deans led by the Principal Investigators of the COPLAC Partnering and Liaising Across the Nation (PLAN) Initiative: Encouraging Steps Toward Equity" at the COPLAC Annual Meeting (2021) (virtual) (contributing author)

Undergraduate STEM Reform PKAL (Project Kaleidoscope) Session: "Intersectional Strategies for Supporting Women Faculty in STEM at PUIs in a COVID-19 Era" at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting (2021) (virtual) (contributing author with NSF ADVANCE Co-PIs)

"Hymenoptera 2020: No, we don't have *that* wasp, but here is what you should worry about" for the Virginia Master Naturalists High Knob Chapter. Wise, VA (2020)

"Fighting the Mom Penalty in the COVID Era: How to Push Scientific Institutions to Ensure Caregiver Scientists Can Thrive at Work" SACNAS Webinar Co-Hosted by 500 Women Scientists (2020)  (panelist/speaker)

”Introduction to honey bee anatomy" 2019 Coalfield Beekeeping Conference. Mountain Empire Community College, Big Stone Gap, VA (2019)

“Dragonflies, Damselflies, Fireflies, and Undergraduate STEM Education in (Far) Southwest Virginia” Eastern Kentucky University Department of Biology, Invited Seminar. Richmond, KY (2019)

“Phenological shifts detected for Zygoptera in the context of an ongoing inventory of Odonata” COPLAC’s Southeast Regional Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity Conference (SEURSCA). Aiken, SC (poster) (2018) (with Christian Bullion)

“Bridging STEM with the Liberal Arts: Teachers First and Mentors Always” Keynote Address, Co-Presented with Chancellor Donna Henry, 2017 Central Appalachia STEM Summit. Virginia Tech Southwest Center, Abingdon, VA (2017)

“Introduction to Entomology” for the Virginia Master Naturalists High Knob Chapter. Wise, VA (2017)

“Exploring the diversity of microgastrine braconid parasitoid wasps from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) Costa Rica” Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, Invited Seminar. Blacksburg, VA (2016)

“Diversity of Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) at the UVA Wise Wetlands” National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Asheville, NC (poster) (2016) (with Austin Marshall)

“Assessment of Restoration Efforts on the University of Virginia’s College at Wise Campus” National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Asheville, NC (poster) (2016) (with Michael Hinkle)

Selected Publications

* denotes mentored undergraduate
** denotes mentored high school student

Smith, M.A., ... J. Rodriguez, et al. (2023). Communities of small terrestrial arthropods change rapidly along a Costa Rican elevation gradient. In R.W. Myster (Ed.), Neotropical Gradients and Their Analysis (pp. 255-307). Springer International Publishing.

Ojeogwu, J., J. Rodriguez, F. Mumba, and A. Cox (2023). Developing Elementary Teachers’ Virtual Science Instruction. In Elizabeth Langran (Ed.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1766-1775). New Orleans, LA, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/222210/

Parks, K.S., D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs, J. Fernández-Triana, L.A. Dyer,J.J. Rodriguez, D.C. Arias-Penna, and J.B. Whitfield (2020). A five-gene molecular phylogeny reveals Parapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to be polyphyletic as currently composed. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 150: September 2020, 106859.

Bullion*, C., M. Huguenin**, J. Vance, and J. Rodriguez (2018).Phenological Shifts Detected for Zygoptera in the Context of an Ongoing Inventory of Odonata. Lux: Undergraduate Scholarship at UVA Wise 1: 2-16.

Fernández-Triana, J., C. Boudreault, T. Dapkey, M.A. Smith, J. Rodriguez, W. Hallwachs and D.H. Janzen (2016). Revision of the genus Promicrogaster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, with a key to all species previously described from Mesoamerica. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 50: 25-79

Langen, T.A., T. Mourad, B.W. Grant, W.K. Gram, B.J. Abraham, D.S. Fernandez, M. Carroll, A. Nuding, J.K. Balch, J. Rodriguez, and S.E. Hampton (2014). Using large public datasets in the undergraduate ecology classroom. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12: 362–363.

Fernández-Triana J.L., J.B. Whitfield, J.J. Rodriguez, et al. (2014). Review of Apanteles sensu stricto (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, with keys to all described species from Mesoamerica. ZooKeys 383: 1–565

Rodriguez, J.J., J.L., Fernández-Triana, M.A. Smith, D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs, T.L Erwin and J.B. Whitfield. (2013). Extrapolations from field studies and known faunas converge on dramatically increased estimates of global microgastrine parasitoid wasp species richness (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Insect Conservation and Diversity 6: 530–536

B.J. Abraham and J. Rodriguez. September 2012, posting date. Investigating the Ecology of West Nile Virus in the United States. Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology Vol. 8: Practice #3 [online]

Smith, M.A., … J. Rodriguez, et al. 2012. Wolbachia and DNA Barcoding Insects: Patterns, Potential, and Problems. PLoS ONE 7(5): e36514

Quicke, D.L.J., … J.J. Rodriguez, et al. 2012. Utility of the DNA barcoding gene fragment for parasitic wasp phylogeny (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea): data release and new measure of taxonomic congruence. Molecular Ecology Resources 12: 676–685

Whitfield, J.B., J.J. Rodriguez and P.K. Masonick*. (2009). Reared microgastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Yanayacu Biological Station and environs (Napo Province, Ecuador): diversity and host specialization. Journal of Insect Science 9: article 31: 1-22

Janzen, D.H., … J.J. Rodriguez, et al. (2009). Integration of DNA barcoding into an ongoing inventory of complex tropical biodiversity. Molecular Ecology Resources 9, s1: 1-26

Smith, M.A., J.J. Rodriguez, J.B. Whitfield, A.R. Deans, D.H. Janzen, W. Hallwachs and P.D.N. Hebert. (2008). Extreme diversity of tropical parasitoid wasps exposed by iterative integration of natural history, DNA barcoding, morphology and collections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105: 12359-12364