FEATURED STORY
Clemson University and Beyond
Jeff Hallo '98, Associate Dean, Professor and Graduate Coordinator
BY TY DEMARTINO '90
The first exposure Jeff Hallo ’98 had to the great outdoors was a small ditch along the highway in his hometown outside of Pittsburgh.
Young Hallo loved flipping over rocks and discovering crayfish, salamanders and other creek critters. Exploring state or national parks was not an option for the son of a single mom who held down several jobs to support her three children. The small stream had to satisfy his curiosity.
“So, I explored the green space in a ditch along the highway,” Hallo recalled.
Now, Hallo, who is a professor and graduate coordinator at Clemson University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and associate dean for academic policy and program effectiveness, has explored green spaces throughout the world. He has even written a children’s book about a little boy and his love of national parks and all they have to offer.
Hallo finally waded out of that muddy ditch in Pennsylvania at age 16 when he received a scholarship from the Safari Club to attend a Wilderness Leadership School in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. The experience opened Hallo’s eyes to the world beyond that tiny stream.
“It was my first time being in the woods when you realize you’re not the biggest, baddest creature out there,” he said about camping among the Teton’s menagerie of grizzly bears, gray wolves, bison and other wildlife.
That experience, paired with his love of chemistry and wildlife and fisheries, led Hallo from Pennsylvania to Western Maryland and Frostburg State.
“For me, the Frostburg campus was the perfect size and perfect for me to hike and camp. Frostburg was the best education experience I ever received.”
Hallo cites many of the FSU faculty and staff who helped shape his career path. He enjoyed FSU so much that he stayed for five years and served as a resident director on campus during his tenure. While he was immersed in chemistry and wildlife, he was also drawn to how visitors interacted within these parks, forests and other protected areas.
“I was always more interested in the human-related issues,” he said.
After a stint in the Navy as a defense contractor and receiving his master’s degree in technical/project management from Johns Hopkins University, Hallo worked for the Youth Conservation Corps and as a manager for Branbury State Park in Vermont. He received his doctorate in natural resources from the University of Vermont and secured a job at Clemson where he has been teaching about human relations to parks and recreation students ever since.
Clemson proudly boasts of the largest university forest adjacent to the campus. Exploring these South Carolina woodlands has been a favorite pastime for Hallo, his wife, Lisa, and their three children, Cooper, Ashlyn and Bridger.
Over the years, Hallo’s research projects have taken him to the four corners of the country, including Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia, Pinnacles National Park in California, Cape Cod National Seashore, Acadia National Park in Maine and Arctic National Park in Alaska. There, Hallo consulted on the complex issue of tourists visiting polar bears. The assignment of collecting information on how to manage the visitors gave Hallo himself the chance to see these amazing creatures up close and personal.
“It was a special opportunity to see polar bears in their natural habitat without barriers,” said Hallo, who came within 30 feet of some bears during his research.
Hallo has had a global impact over the years, working with international doctoral students from such countries as Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania among many others, teaching them how to manage human interaction among wildlife in those areas. They learn how to “protect wildlife and protect the experience.”
Hallo also acknowledges that the pandemic has led to an uptick in the number of visitors to national parks.
“COVID created a dramatic increase in people visiting parks and open spaces,” he said. “It reminded us of the importance of parks and what role they serve.”
The importance of national parks is also what inspired Hallo to write his first children’s book back in 2016 during a sabbatical. Rosy Ralph Visits His National Parks tells the tale of a little boy who explores American parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Acadia, Denali, Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains where Ralph comes in contact with wolves, sea caves and even glowing mushrooms.
It has been quite a journey from the Pennsylvania boy wading through a muddy creek next to a highway to a college dean changing how the world interacts with public open spaces. Hallo hopes his teaching, research and his children’s book inspire all to visit and respect the parks.
“Explore these parks – they’re yours.”
Rosy Ralph Visits His National Parks is available at amazon.com.
Designate the Recreation and Parks Management Fund or the Wildlife and Fisheries Development Fund to support future opportunities for students in these programs at www.frostburg.edu/makeagift.
