He oversees the day-to-day operations of the Center for Rural Partnerships, which includes promoting faculty and student engagement with community organizations, identifying and developing external funding for on-and-off campus partners, coordinating with administrative offices and academic departments, conducting externally funded research, advising graduate students, and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, and Penn State University, Ben’s research interests include the impacts of tourism development on rural communities; farm based recreation and tourism; the local food movement; the socio-ecological factors of place attachment; and natural-resource based volunteer stewardship programs.