Jim's formal education focused on ecology, both biological and cultural, at Baylor, the Yale School of the Environment, and the University of Texas-Austin. As a cultural ecologist, he recognized that theology and religion are important determinants of how a society relates to its environment. To better understand that process, he studied theology and religion at the Yale Divinity School and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. Jim has also taken multiple workshops and online conferences with the Celtic-based writer John Philip Newell and others, including Mirabai Starr, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Sr. Ilia Delio, and Dr. Catherine Keller. He holds a Certificate in Ecotheology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Jim is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography and the Environment at Texas State University. From 2005 through 2008, he held the Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones Chair of Southwestern Studies. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Jim taught as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana.

Rivers were a main focus of his teaching and writing because they provide the opportunity to understand humans as part of the complex set of systems that the Episcopal liturgy calls “… this fragile Earth, our island home.” He wrote books about the San Marcos and Brazos rivers, published by Texas A&M University Press. The Brazos River book received the Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography from the Association of American Geographers.

Currently, Jim serves as chair of the School of Wisdom at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Marcos. He frequently facilitates courses in the School, generally based on ecotheology. He also serves on the Creation Care Committees at St. Mark’s.

Jim has been married to Jerry Touchstone Kimmel for 57 years. She is educated as a biologist, artist, photographer, and yoga teacher. They are the parents of two wonderful women and have one grandson.