Baptiste, April
April Baptiste
April Karen Baptiste is a professor at Colgate University in New York. She teaches Africana and Latin American Studies and environmental studies. Her research focuses on environmental justice and environmental stewardship in the Caribbean. Dr. Baptiste grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and loved climbing the guava trees in her yard and taking in her natural surroundings. Dr. Baptiste was a Fulbright Scholar from 2006 until 2008. In 2009, Dr. Baptiste was a Technology, Entertainment, and Design Fellow and, from 2010 to 2013, a Senior Fellow.
“In my faith, it is really important for us to be stewards of the physical environment. I am cognizant of the way in which I interact with the physical environment, and I’m very concerned with the way those who are less privileged than myself experience broad advantages and disadvantages of the physical environment”. Dr. Baptiste (Warden, K., 2022).
Smardon, R., Moran, S., & Baptiste, A.K. 2018. Revitalizing urban waterways: Streams of environmental justice. London and New York, Earthscan, Taylor & Francis Group
Baptiste, A.K. & Devonish, H. 2019. The manifestation of climate injustices. The post-hurricane Irma conflicts surrounding Barbuda’s communal land tenure. Journal of Extreme Events, 6(1), 1 -17. doi:10.1142/S2345737619400025
Devonish, H. & Baptiste, A.K 2019. Life Masquerading as Art: An activist-artist take on the environment-development debate. Anthurium – A Caribbean Studies Journal, 15(1), 1 – 14.
Baptiste, A.K. 2016. Factors Influencing Perceptions of Climate Change among Caribbean Coastal Artisanal Fishers: Case Study of Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica. In Beckford, C. & Rhiney, K. (eds)., Globalization, Climate Change, Food and Agriculture in the Caribbean: Climate change, gender and geography (pp. 243 – 264). London, Palgrave-Macmillan.
April Baptiste was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She and her five siblings grew up climbing the guava trees around their house. She enjoyed collecting fruits in her backyard and playing with the many animals her mother cared for. Dr. Baptiste grew up surrounded by greenery and faith. Her mother emphasized hard work and education for Dr. Baptiste and her siblings. “My mother instilled within us that education was our way out of poverty,” Dr. Baptiste said. “I hope that my upbringing has deepened my compassion and also has allowed me to become a stronger person” (Warden, K., n.d.).
Dr. Baptiste grew up Pentecostal, and her family and social circles revolved around the church. Dr. Baptiste’s Christian values have played a large part in her career and current work. “In my faith, it is really important for us to be stewards of the physical environment,” she shared. “I am cognizant of the way in which I interact with the physical environment, and I’m very concerned with the way those who are less privileged than myself experience broad advantages and disadvantages of the physical environment” (Warden, K., n.d.).
Dr. Baptiste graduated at the top of her class at the University of West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemistry from the same institution in 2002 and 2004, respectively. She entered a Ph.D. program at the State University of New York in the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, focusing on environmental stewardship. She completed her doctorate in 2008. Also, in 2008, Dr. Baptiste earned a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Latin America and Caribbean Studies from Syracuse University.
While completing her undergraduate degree, Dr. Baptiste was a research assistant in the chemistry department at The University of the West Indies. She was also a high school teacher at Trinity College. While completing her Ph.D., Dr. Baptistse was a research assistant in the Environmental Studies Department at the State University of New York and a Public Policy Intern at The Wilderness Society. After completing her doctoral degree, Dr. Baptiste was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the African American Studies Department at Syracuse University in 2008.
Dr. Baptiste began teaching in 2009 at Colgate University and is the school’s first environmental studies professor. She researches environmental movements in the Caribbean, examining what environmentalism in the Caribbean looks like. Her research in the United States focuses on food access for low-income residents in Central New York. She teaches environmental justice, and her classes often include a service element.
In 2016, Dr. Baptiste first took nine of 18 students from her class on “Caribbean Ecology” to Puerto Rico as part of the Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach Volunteerism and Education (COVE) trip. This particular trip remains vivid in Dr. Baptiste’s memory and was one of many she has led during her 13 years at Colgate. “Students were able to experience what they did in the class. I taught them the types of mangroves; then, we were able to go to Puerto Rico and do a mangrove walk. They were able to identify – this is the red mangrove, this is the black, this is the white – I think that was really meaningful,” she shared (Warden, K., n.d.).
Although her office is in a biology and psychology-focused building, Dr. Baptiste’s courses are multi-faceted, grounded with components from environmental studies and Africana and Latin American departments. Other courses Dr. Baptiste has taught at Colgate University have similarly diverse content, such as “Caribbean Ecology” and “Environmental Activism in China.”
Dr. Baptiste was a Fulbright Scholar from 2006 until 2008. She was also a Technology, Entertainment, and Design Fellow (2009) and Senior Fellow (2010-2013). Dr. Baptiste researches the relationship between environmental justice and psychological variables in the Caribbean. Dr. Baptiste explains her research projects “have examined the relationship between environmental attitudes and concerns toward oil and gas drilling in Trinidad, the relationship between environmental justice and the siting of aluminum smelters within the same context and knowledge, perceptions and behaviors to climate change in the Caribbean” (Baptiste, n.d.).
Dr. Baptiste was promoted to full professor in 2021. In 2022, she became the Associate Dean for Global and Local Initiatives. Dr. Baptiste was the Caribbean Studies Coordinator for the Africana and Latin American Studies Program almost every year from 2017 to 2022.
April Baptiste. April Baptiste | Colgate University. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://www.colgate.edu/about/directory/abaptiste
Warden, K. (n.d.). Professor April Baptiste: Serving nature with students, from mangroves to bioluminescence. News. Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://thecolgatemaroonnews.com/36024/bakers-dozen/serving-nature-with-…
April Karen Baptiste. Curriculum vitae. June, 2022. https://www.aprilbaptiste.com/_files/ugd/dc18a6_eab072ffecb840c0bfa26f7a….