January 09, 2008
Environmental politics and design expert to deliver lecture at Clark
David W. Orr, renowned scholar of environmental politics and design, will deliver “Some Like it Hot . . . But Lots More Don't; The Changing Climate of U.S. Politics.”
Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
At Clark University’s Higgins University Center, Tilton Hall, 950 Main Street
Pictured left Professor David Orr.
This free, public lecture is part of the ongoing President’s Lecture Series and serves as the keynote address for the Difficult Dialogues Spring Symposium on Climate Change, which comprises such events as a teach-in, film screenings, panel discussions, and conversation cafes during the spring semester. The lecture and Clark’s Difficult Dialogues program are also sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities at Clark.
David W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College. He is also a James Marsh Professor at large at the University of Vermont.
Orr’s career as a scholar, teacher, writer, speaker, and entrepreneur spans fields such as environment and politics, environmental education, campus greening, green building, ecological design, and climate change. He is best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in higher education and his recent work in ecological design.
Orr is the author of five books and co-editor of three others, among them: “Design on the Edge: The Making of a High Performance Building” (MIT Press, 2006); “The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment” (Island Press, 2004); and “The Campus and Environmental Responsibility” (Jossey-Bass, 1992). He serves as contributing editor of Conservation Biology. Orr has also published 150 articles in scientific journals, social science publications, and popular magazines.
In 1987, Orr helped to launch the green campus movement by organizing studies of energy, water, and materials use on several college campuses. He later raised funds for and spearheaded the effort to design and build a $7.2 million Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College. The building was described by the New York Times as “the most remarkable” of a new generation of college buildings and by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of thirty “milestone buildings” of the 20th century.
Orr is the recipient of a Bioneers Award (2003), a National Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation, a Lyndhurst Prize awarded by the Lyndhurst Foundation “to recognize the educational, cultural, and charitable activities of particular individuals of exceptional talent, character, and moral vision.” He was also named “an Environmental Hero for 2004” by Interiors & Sources Magazine.
Orr holds three Honorary Doctorates and has been a distinguished scholar in residence at University of Washington, Ball State University and Westminster College in Salt Lake City. In a special citation, the Connecticut General Assembly noted Orr’s “vision, dedication, and personal passion” in promoting the principles of sustainability. The Cleveland Plain Dealer described him as “one of those who will shape our lives.”
He has served as a Trustee of the Educational Foundation of America, the Compton Foundation, and the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. He serves on the Boards of the Rocky Mountain Institute (Colo.), the Center for Ecoliteracy (Calif.), and the Center for Respect of Life and Environment. He is also an advisor and consultant to the Trust for Public Land, the National Parks Advisory Committee, and other organizations.
For more information on this lecture, please call 508-793-7479.
Clark is one of 27 institutions of higher education selected out of 675 nationwide for a $100,000 Ford Foundation grant to facilitate a two-year program of trainings and events to encourage discourse across differences. This focus on dialogue is aimed at addressing a climate of separation and silence around difference that is too often seen, not only on campuses across the nation but in our society as a whole. For more information, visit the difficult dialogues page.