FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steven Marx
(805) 756-2411
Noted ‘Sustainable’ Environmental
Designer, Author to Speak at Cal Poly
During Earth Day Convocation April 23
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Renowned author, “green” environmental
designer and
educator David Orr will speak at Cal Poly April 23 as part of the
university’s Earth Day activities.
The Oberlin College professor will be just one of the speakers at a
special Earth Day “Education for Sustainability” convocation
from 4 to 6
p.m. April 23 in Chumash Auditorium in the University Union. The
professor’s speech, and the convocation, are free and open to the
public.
Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker will begin the convocation with
remarks about Cal Poly’s historic mission as a polytechnic university
and the announcement that the university has signed the Talloires
Declaration, joining some 300 universities worldwide in a 10-point
pledge to practice, improve and teach methods of sustainable resource
use and environmental protection.
Professor George Lewis, chair of the Cal Poly Academic Senate, Cal Poly
College of Engineering Dean Peter Lee, College of Architecture and
Environmental Design Dean R. Thomas Jones and Associated Students Inc.
President Alison Anderson and ASI Vice-President Olga Berdial will also
speak on the university’s plans and efforts regarding sustainability
and
environmental responsibility. Orr’s keynote address will close the
public portion of the convocation.
Orr spearheaded the effort to design, finance and build the
Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College in Ohio. The green
building has been described by The New York Times as “the most
remarkable” of a new generation of environmentally responsible college
buildings, and was also selected as one of 30 “milestone buildings”
by
the U.S. Department of Energy.
“There is a lot of interest in sustainability issues on the Central
Coast, and we believe Professor Orr’s background and experience
would be
of interest to many in the community. It’s really quite an honor
to have
him here,” said Cal Poly English Professor Steven
Marx, chair of the Cal Poly Land Project and a member of Cal Poly’s
Sustainability Initiative.
rr is currently professor and chair of the environmental studies program
at Oberlin and a pioneer in the field of sustainable design. He is
perhaps best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in
higher education and his recent work in sustainable design, said Marx.
He is the author of four books, “The Last Refuge: The Corruption
of
Patriotism in the Age of Terror” (2004); “The Nature of Design”
(2002);
“Earth in Mind” (1994) and “Ecological Literacy”
(1992), as well as more
than 120 articles in science journals, social science publications and
popular magazines.'
Orr is a contributing editor of Conservation Biology and a trustee of
the Educational Foundation of America and the Compton Foundation. He
serves on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Institute (Colo.), Second
Nature (Mass.) and the Center for Ecoliteracy (Calif.).
For details on Cal Poly Earth Day activities and university
sustainability plans and accomplishments, visit:
http://www.facilities.calpoly.edu/Facilities_Planning/campusprojects/projects/sustainability/index3.htm.
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