November 2, 2006
Environmental literacy expert is next Walker Ames speaker
David Orr, currently professor and chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, will speak on Design on the Edge: Climate Change, Posterity, and the Design Professions at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7 in 120 Kane. The talk will focus on the revolution in the design professions and its relation to larger issues of climate change, law, and the rights of future generations.
In addition to his lecture, Orr will be available for an informal conversation from 3 to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 in the Petersen Room of the Allen Library. Because the room will accommodate a limited number of people, reservations are required. Send your reservation to poe@u.washington.edu.
Orr is best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in higher education and his recent work in ecological design. He raised funds for and spearheaded the effort to design and build a $7.2 million Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College, a building described by the New York Times as “the most remarkable” of a new generation of college buildings and selected as one of 30 “milestone buildings” in the 20th century by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Orr has been much honored for his work, including a Bioneers Award in 2002, a National Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation in 1993, a Lyndhurst Prize in 1992 awarded by the Lyndhurst Foundation “to recognize the educational, cultural, and charitable activities of particular individuals of exceptional talent, character, and moral vision,” and the Benton Box Award from Clemson University for his work in environmental education in 1995.
Orr is the author of four books: The Last Refuge: The Corruption of Patriotism in the Age of Terror; The Nature of Design; Earth in Mind; and Ecological Literacy. He is also the co-editor of The Global Predicament and The Campus and Environmental Responsibility. He has published 120 articles in scientific journals, social science publications and popular magazines.
Orr is contributing editor of Conservation Biology. He is a Trustee of the Educational Foundation of America and the Compton Foundation. He serves on the Boards of the Rocky Mountain Institute (CO), Second Nature (MA), the Center for Ecoliteracy (CA), 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. He is a frequent lecturer at Schumacher College (UK) and has lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the U.S.
Jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Program on the Environment, the lecture is part of the Walker Ames Lecture series. It is free and open to the public.
